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Abstract
Cabus S. J. Does enhanced student commitment reduce school dropout? Evidence from two major dropout regions in the Netherlands, Regional Studies. Enhanced student commitment to the school, peers and teachers may improve student motivation and reduce school dropout. A Dutch dropout prevention measure in this respect deals with smoothing the transition from the pre-vocational school to the vocational school in order to reduce school dropout. Potential dropout students are followed during the summer break, go through an intake procedure, and communication between the pre-vocational school and the vocational school is enhanced by transferring a file containing detailed information on the student. Also a small government experiment offered the possibility to students to attend classes from familiar teachers in their pre-vocational school. Using regional borders as an instrument, and accounting for differences in the underlying student population in a quasi-experimental set-up, the results show, on the one hand, that the transition policy did not decline school dropout among native Dutch students. On the other hand, ethnic minority students increasingly dropped out of school one year after the transition policy became effective.
Cabus S. J. 强化学生的承诺能否减少辍学？荷兰两大主要辍学区的证据，区域研究。强化学生对学校、同侪及老师的承诺，或可促进学生的积极性并减少辍学。于此，荷兰一个防止辍学的措施，便在于缓和学生自职前学校进入正式职业学校过程中的障碍，以减少学生的辍学。可能中辍的学生在暑假时进行追踪，经过招生程序，并藉由职前学校转交有关学生详细资料的档案给职业学校，促进两者之间的沟通。同时，小政府的实验，提供了学生参与他们在职前学校熟悉的教师所授课的课堂之机会。本研究运用区域边界做为工具，并说明学生人口于半实验性的计画中之差异，结果显示，过渡政策一方面无法减少荷兰本地学生的辍学；另一方面，过渡政策施行一年后，少数族裔的学生却增加了辍学。
Cabus S. J. L'engagement renforcé des élèves, est-ce qu'il réduit le décrochage scolaire? Des preuves provenant de deux régions aux Pays-Bas où le décrochage scolaire s'avère très important, Regional Studies. Il se peut que l'engagement renforcé des élèves à l’égard de leurs études, de leurs pairs et de leurs enseignants puisse améliorer la motivation des élèves et réduire le décrochage scolaire. Un programme de prévention du décrochage scolaire aux Pays-Bas facilite la transition du lycée professionnel préparatoire au lycée professionnel pour réduire le décrochage scolaire. Les élèves qui risquent d'abandonner l'enseignement sont suivis pendant les grandes vacances, complètent une procédure d'inscription et la communication entre le lycée professionnel préparatoire et le lycée professionnel s'améliore à partir du transfert d'un dossier qui contient des informations détaillées à leur sujet. En outre, un petit projet gouvernemental a offert aux élèves la possibilité d'assister aux classes animées par des enseignants qu'ils connaissaient bien dans leur lycée professionnel préparatoire. Employant des frontières régionales en tant qu'outil et tenant compte des différences de la population d’étudiants sous-jacente dans une étude quasi-expérimentale, les résultats montrent, d'un côté, que la politique de transition n'a pas réussi à réduire le décrochage scolaire des élèves hollandais autochtones. De l'autre côté, le décrochage scolaire des élèves de minorités ethniques a augmenté une année après la mise en oeuvre de la poltiique de transition.
Cabus S. J. Verringert sich durch ein erhöhtes Engagement von Schülern der Anteil der Schulabbrüche? Belege aus zwei wichtigen Schulabbruch-Regionen in den Niederlanden, Regional Studies. Ein erhöhtes Engagement von Schülern für ihre Schule, Mitschüler und Lehrer könnte die Motivation der Schüler verbessern und den Anteil der Schulabbrüche verringern. In den Niederlanden wird in diesem Zusammenhang durch entsprechende Maßnahmen versucht, den Übergang von der vorbereitenden berufsbildenden Schule zur Berufsschule zu erleichtern, um den Anteil der Schulabbrüche zu verringern. Potenzielle Schulabbrecher werden während der Sommerferien durch Maßnahmen begleitet und absolvieren ein Aufnahmeverfahren; gleichzeitig wird zur Verbesserung der Kommunikation zwischen der vorbereitenden berufsbildenden Schule und der Berufsschule eine Akte mit ausführlichen Informationen über den Schüler weitergegeben. Ebenso erhalten die Schüler im Rahmen eines begrenzten behördlichen Experiments die Möglichkeit, Unterrichtsstunden ihrer vertrauten Lehrer in der vorbereitenden berufsbildenden Schule zu besuchen. Bei Verwendung von regionalen Grenzen als Instrument und unter Berücksichtigung der Unterschiede innerhalb der zugrundeliegenden Schülerschaften in einem quasi-experimentellen Aufbau geht aus den Ergebnissen erstens hervor, dass diese Übergangsmaßnahmen nicht zu einem Rückgang der Schulabbrüche unter den einheimischen niederländischen Schülern geführt haben. Zweitens zeigt sich, dass der Anteil der Schulabbrüche unter Schülern aus ethnischen Minderheiten ein Jahr nach Inkrafttreten der Übergangsmaßnahmen gestiegen ist.
Cabus S. J. ¿Se reduce el fracaso escolar con un mayor compromiso de los estudiantes? Ejemplo de dos regiones con mayor abandono escolar en los Países Bajos, Regional Studies. Una forma de motivar más a los estudiantes para reducir el fracaso escolar sería potenciar su compromiso con la escuela, sus compañeros y profesores. En este contexto en los Países Bajos se han introducido medidas que facilitan la transición de la escuela preprofesional a la escuela profesional con el objetivo de disminuir el fracaso escolar. Durante las vacaciones de verano se hace un seguimiento de los estudiantes que podrían fracasar, se les somete a un proceso de admisión y se mejora la comunicación entre las escuelas preprofesional y profesional enviando archivos con información detallada de los estudiantes. Asimismo mediante un pequeño experimento gubernamental se brindará la posibilidad a los estudiantes de asistir a clases de sus profesores preferidos en su escuela preprofesional. Utilizando el método de fronteras regionales y teniendo en cuenta las diferencias en la población general de estudiantes en este proyecto casi experimental, los resultados indican, por una parte, que las medidas de transición no reducen el fracaso escolar entre los estudiantes holandeses autóctonos. Por otra parte, se observa que cada vez más estudiantes de minorías étnicas abandonan los estudios un año después de introducirse las medidas de transición.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Lukas Kauer, Kristof De Witte, Wim Groot, Henriette Maassen van den Brink, and Top Institute for Evidence Based Education Research (TIER) seminar participants for useful comments and discussions. The author is also grateful to the anonymous referees. The author acknowledges financial support of the Netherlands Institute for City Innovation Studies (NICIS). The usual caveat applies.
Notes
1. In this paper high school and secondary education are synonyms. The higher secondary level is equal to the European definition with respect to ISCED-3.
2. For an extensive overview of dropout prevention programmes in the EU-27 member states, see European Commission (2011a), a recent policy document.
3. In line with the definition of the European Commission, a school dropout is defined as a youngster below the age of twenty-four without a higher secondary school-leaving certificate, and not enrolled in education or training.
4. In total four different levels of senior vocational education and training exist in the Netherlands, namely: assistant training; basic vocational training; intermediate vocational training; and specialist training.
5. For an extensive overview, see http://www.aanvalopdeschooluitval.nl/.
6. Students choose their vocational school, learning pathway and study subjects in the school year previous to the start of the first year of vocational education.
7. For more information on the intervention, see Ministry of Education: Aanval op Schooluitval.nl. This dropout prevention measure involves a small government experiment called VM2 with a start date of 1 August 2008. The experiment streamlined pre-vocational and vocational education and training in one location. In total twenty schools were selected for the VM2 experiment, mainly with locations in Amsterdam or Rotterdam (see http://www.rijksoverheid.nl).
8. The Adult and Vocational Education Act (Wet Educatie en Beroepsonderwijs, WEB) brought first harmony in VET in 1996. One major implication of the WEB was the opening up of new large regional training centres (RTCs). The RTCs replaced about four hundred small vocational schools with forty large centres which were delegated autonomy and responsibility (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2006).
9. In total there are four major dropout regions in the Netherlands: Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague.
10. ISCED = International Standard Classification of Education.
11. See http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/.
12. Throughout, the notation for a difference-in-differences-in-differences identification strategy is abbreviated as DiDiD.
13. Among other national policy effects, the effect of the 2007 increased compulsory education age is captured by the interaction effect (C*T) (see the fourth section).
14. According the 1969 Compulsory Education Age Law, students start primary education compulsorily on their fifth birthday. If the student reaches the age of five one month or more after the start of a new school year, they can only enrol in primary education the next school year.
15. The poverty measure (APCG) indicates that a student lives in what is called a poverty area. The area may be denoted by low income, received benefits or unemployment status.
16. After successfully finishing a pre-vocational pathway, one may choose between two types of vocational learning pathways: work based or school based. The work-based pathway (BBL) is most comparable with learning a craft by on-the-job training. It implies one or two days in school and three to four days (60% or more) on on-the-job training. The student then receives an employment contract. The school-based pathway (BOL) stands for education in school combined with an internship (for example, for a period of six months). There is no employment contract. Both pathways lead to the same vocational certificate, and students (or employers) may want to switch during their course of study between both pathways (Borghans et al., 1999).