Tackle is the collection of tools necessary to complete a task as well as the verb to mean the determined effort to deal with a complex problem. The TACKLE project does both of these:
It provides a digital toolbox for schools to tackle Early School Leaving and disadvantage through guidance. The digital tools will support schools in evaluating their services and work to assure that, despite the additional pressures on schools within the Covid-19 crisis, they are prepared to tackle disadvantage and early school leaving. The pathways to education, training or access to the labor market by young people who are finishing school and young people in school who are at risk of Early Leaving, must be accompanied with quality guidance services because many connections have been broken because of the current Covid-19 crisis.
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According to Eurostat, the proportion of early leavers from education and training in the EU in 2019 ranged from 3.0 % in Croatia to 17.3 % in Spain . In the TACKLE partnership countries great progress has been made in reducing Early School Leaving and meeting the 2020 benchmark goal. In 2010 the proportion of early leavers in Spain, Italy and Greece was 28.6%,18.2%, and 13.5% respectively compared with 17.3%, 13.5% and 4.1% in 2019. A 2010 Cedefop report by its ESL ambassadors altered that marginalized and vulnerable learners especially are more at risk for disengaging and dropping out and that actions are needed to support students and schools so that the progress made prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in the early leaving from education and training should be sustained and strengthened. As a result of the Covid-19 crisis in Europe, the need for guidance services, monitoring and support in schools for their students is even more urgent. According to a June 2020 study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, the challenges for guidance in times of Coronavirus have been and will be to continue to offer support and follow-up with students and their families despite the conditions and the needed digitalized of guidance and the increase of access to guidance resources overall.
Objective
The objective of this project is to develop digital evaluation tools for Secondary schools to self-evaluate their academic and career guidance program, to develop an academic and career guidance plan to tackle new challenges and offer an online training module for teachers, guidance practitioners to work with the TACKLE Toolbox and to support teachers in their role to support students, with digital tools and resources, in this unprecedented time.
Activities
- 1 online school guidance diagnostic Checklist
- 1 Guidance Action Plan and Resources creator
- 1 Training Module for teachers, guidance practitioners and other educators
- 3 contexts – Spain, Italy, Greece
- 5 partner organisations
- 75 schools participating in the Pilot Action of the Toolbox
- 65 teachers and guidance practitioners trained in the Pilot of the TACKLE Training Module
- 45 participants in the multiplier event of the project
- A total of at least 200 education professionals participating in the project activities to develop the intellectual outputs
Methodologies
The methodologies that will be used to develop these tools and achieve the planned results are participatory – involving the professionals on the groups in secondary schools as well as the broader school -business community through focus groups or an expert review and validation process.
Impact
The desired impact of the TACKLE project is for the schools using the TACKLE toolbox to provide career education and guidance activities that support transitions to further education, training and work from Secondary Schools and to tackle Early School Leaving with a coherent and school community-wide guidance action plan implemented by trained professionals. The current coronavirus crisis makes more urgent the need to ensure that schools and educators continue and strengthen their academic and professional guidance plans and resources in support of the transitions, decision-making and pathways of their students, but the need for these tools does not end with the pandemic. The TACKLE toolbox will relevant for schools to employ beyond the pandemic and to strategically implement guidance actions, be guiding schools, that tackle the complexities and supporting their students on their education and training pathways.
