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Early School Leaving: Definition, Causes, and Consequences: History
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Contributor: Nikolaos Bitsakos

Early School Leaving (ESL), or Early Leaving from Education and Training (ELET), remains a critical challenge across Europe and globally, with profound implications encompassing economic disadvantages, social exclusion, and reduced life opportunities for individuals. This entry analyzes the authoritative definition of the phenomenon, explores the multifaceted causes that drive it, and outlines the severe professional, social, and psychological consequences of failing to attain a minimal credential. ESL is widely understood not as an abrupt event but as a complex, cumulative, long-term process of school disengagement that is influenced by a myriad of interconnected risk factors originating in childhood and early adolescence. Understanding the interplay between individual, family, and institutional factors is crucial for designing effective, coordinated policy responses.

  • early school leaving
  • early leaving from education and training
  • vocational education and training
At the European Union (EU) level, the concept of ELET is officially defined as the percentage of the population aged 18 to 24 years old who have completed at most a lower secondary education, International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011 levels 0, 1, or 2, and who were not involved in any further education or training during the four weeks preceding the labor force survey [1][2][3]. The EU adopted the term ELET to more clearly include those young people who have dropped out of vocational training tracks [4]. The concept of “school dropout” is typically defined as leaving education without obtaining a minimal credential, most often an upper secondary education diploma [5].
ELET is considered a major social concern and its prevention is a strategic objective and a top policy priority throughout the EU [1][3]. In 2024, the average ELET rate in the EU was 9.3%, equating to approximately 3.1 million young people [6]. There is significant variation in this rate among the Member States [7]. For instance, despite impressive advancements, Spain’s ESL rate, which was 13% in 2024, remains among the highest among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and EU nations [3][8].
Numerous other educational and social issues are closely related to the ESL phenomenon. A related term, underachievement, is the failure to meet predetermined achievement objectives for a particular age group. This can manifest as negative behaviors like learning difficulties, chronic absenteeism, low motivation, and grade repetition [2]. ESL is often the culmination of a long process of disengagement and disassociation from education that frequently begins in the early school years [9].
Another commonly used metric related to ESL is the status of being NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) [10][11]. Young people who have low educational attainment face a high risk of being NEET. The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan includes an objective to decrease the NEET rate to below 9% by 2030 [6][12].
These influences operate at multiple levels—individual, family, socioeconomic, institutional, and structural—and their combined effects shape students’ engagement, achievement, and educational trajectories.

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/encyclopedia5040205

References

  1. Cedefop. Stemming the Tide: Tackling Early Leaving from Vocational Education and Training in Times of Crises: Synthesis Report of Cedefop/ReferNet Survey; Publications Office of the European Union: Luxembourg, 2023; Available online: http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/757603 (accessed on 28 September 2025).
  2. García-Cid, A.; Khalfaoui, A.; Fernández-Villardón, A.; Fresno Anabo, I.; Gutiérrez-Fernández, N.; Santiago-Garabieta, M.; Sharipova, D.; Villardón-Gallego, L.; García-Carrión, R. Addressing underachievement and early school leaving in Europe: The role of institutional factors. Educ. Rev. 2025, 1–21.
  3. Eurostat. Early Leavers from Education and Training—Statistics Explained. European Commission. 2024. Available online: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Early_leavers_from_education_and_training (accessed on 28 September 2025).
  4. European Commission; Donlevy, V.; Day, L.; Andriescu, M. Assessment of the Implementation of the 2011 Council Recommendation on Policies to Reduce Early School Leaving: Final Report; Publications Office of the European Union: Luxembourg, 2019; Available online: https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/88044 (accessed on 28 September 2025).
  5. De Witte, K.; Cabus, S.; Thyssen, G.; Groot, W.; van Den Brink, H.M. A critical review of the literature on school dropout. Educ. Res. Rev. 2013, 10, 13–28.
  6. European Commission. Education & Training Monitor 2024—Early School Leaving; Publications Office of the EU: Luxembourg, 2024.
  7. Brown, C.; Douthwaite, A.; Costas Batlle, I.; Savvides, N. A multi-stakeholder analysis of the risks to early school leaving: Comparing young peoples’ and educators’ perspectives on five categories of risk. J. Youth Stud. 2022, 27, 414–438.
  8. OECD. Proposal for an Action Plan to Reduce Early School Leaving in Spain; OECD Publishing: Paris, France, 2023.
  9. Psyridou, M.; Prezja, F.; Torppa, M.; Lerkkanen, M.K.; Poikkeus, A.M.; Vasalampi, K. Machine learning predicts upper secondary education dropout as early as the end of primary school. Sci. Rep. 2024, 14, 14425.
  10. Gariépy, G.; Danna, S.M.; Hawke, L.; Henderson, J.; Iyer, S.N. The mental health of young people who are not in education, employment, or training: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 2022, 57, 1107–1121.
  11. Warburton, M.; Wood, M.L.; Sohal, K.; Wright, J.; Mon-Williams, M.; Atkinson, A.L. Risk of not being in employment, education or training (NEET) in late adolescence is signalled by school readiness measures at 4–5 years. BMC Public Health 2024, 24, 1375.
  12. Busse, R.; Maué, E. When do prevocational programs ease the transition to vocational education and training? Empir. Res. Vocat. Educ. Train. 2025, 18, 1–35.
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