Socrates - Action 6 Observation and  Innovation

COMBATING FAILURE IN EDUCATION

The White Paper on education and training  "Teaching and learning: Towards the Learning Society" sets out five general objectives for an action in the field of education and training. The third of these objectives namely "Combating exclusion – giving a second chance through education ", intends to stress the need to promote, through example, the experiences undertaken in certain Member States to combat exclusion and to develop a sense of belonging. This involves supporting activities aimed at offering a second chance through education.

The Commission has launched different initiatives in this field, in particular by encouraging the exchange of good practices and by mobilising the various players concerned within the European Union.

A European Pilot Project on Second Chance Schools was launched by the Commission in 1997 .

School failure has also been a priority theme under SOCRATES programme for the period 1995-1999. A number of studies have been launched by the Commission on this subject under Action III.3.1 of the SOCRATES programme in order to support this objective. These studies and initiatives are of great interest to stakeholders in the field, and information on them is available to the general public.

The information network "Eurydice" is responsible for producing documents and in-depth comparative analyses on themes of interest to education policy. Further information on studies on this subject produced by EURYDICE is also available.