It is important that schools work with issues of dropouts and truancy in an organised and structured manner. Collecting statistics regarding absence and presence in class is only the first step, the next step must be analysing these statistics to draw conclusions. Being aware of the general situation enables discovery of problematic behaviours at an early stage.

It has become apparent that the pupils that are most difficult to help within the traditional school structures are those who have been absent from school during a long period of time or who have dropped out completely. A number of successful projects and methods that work with these pupils have focused on using digital tools and creating education from the individual pupil’s interests and abilities.

Meaningfulness is a key to encouraging pupils to stay in, or return to, school. By focusing on every individual, working with formative assessment and taking stock of EU’s eight key competences for learning a more meaningful school environment can be created.

In the past we educated our students in order to fit into a work which involved prolonged and stable employment. They society and labour market don’t look that way today. The changes that have occurred have made society a floating arena which places more complex demands on the individual in terms of both responsibility and capacity to take decisions and make choices.

To operate in this arena, on a personal as well as professionally, students need during their training have the opportunity to practice skills that previously were considered important only for entrepreneurs. The primary goal for the project Growth is to find work that promotes opportunities for students to develop their creative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit.