A brief description of the research study “The Genesis of School Success (Failure) and Social Placement of Less Successful Children” (Research program “Competitiveness of Slovenia 2001 – 2006”)
Project title: The Genesis of School Success (Failure) and Social Placement of Less Successful Children (Research program “Competitiveness of Slovenia 2001 – 2006”)
Principal researcher: Dr. Marjeta Mencin Čeplak
Research team: Dr. Mirjana Nastran Ule, Dr. Albert Mrgole, Jana Ilić Ratkai
Period: 2003 - 2005
Project goals: The goal of this research was to explore the genesis of schools failure, i.e. provide as many answers as possible to the question of what causes school failure (the elements of hidden curricula, the role of the symbolic meanings of education in social self-placement of children with regard to school success, the analysis of early school leaving and various forms of absentism, compensation strategies for mitigating the effects of school failure).
Methodology: Qualitative research method was used – most data were gathered through group interviews with secondary school students (focus groups), individual interviews with the participants in the program entitled “Project-based learning for young people (early school leavers),” and written reports by secondary school students. An exception was a questionnaire-based survey among the teachers and 3rd and 4th class students of one general secondary school. The goal was to gather personal stories and individual experience with a view to identifying as many as possible factors involved in failure at school.
Results: The analysis of the data confirmed the starting hypothesis that young people assume responsibility for their failure at school regardless of the educational program they attend and that explanations such as “insufficient studying” and “insufficient effort” are a symptom of deep discomfort caused by the experience of repeated failure; dissatisfaction with school order, organization of lectures or teachers was assessed as a factor causing displeasure, rather than a reason for failure. Generally, participants were of the opinion that continual, linear education was the only acceptable choice, while a decision to leave school early or to switch to another (technical) school was generally assessed as a difficult one, because early school leaving is perceived as a defeat (particularly students of general secondary schools thought so). Macro and micro social factors have their specific place in every story. Biographical data gathered in this research enabled researchers to make an outline of the etiology of school failure, which was the first attempt in Slovenia to give a systematic overview of the school failure from the development perspective. One result of this research study is a ‘situational catalogue’ outlining potential obstacles and critical or risk situations in the process of schooling, from the primary level to an early school living during secondary school.
Project related publications: currently in the concluding stage