The percentage of early schools leavers in the Valencian Community is 21.4%. It is higher than the Spanish average (20%) and much higher than the Spanish reduction target (15%) for 2020 and the average of the EU in 2025 (11%).

Such an amount of early schools leavers and failure is due to socio-economic factors, the design of the educative system, the characteristics of educative centres and school dynamics. 

The project “Abjoves” (Early schools leavers in Spain and an analysis of decisions, motivations and educative strategies of young people) was carried out from 2013 to 2016. It was led by Professor Aina Tarabini (Univesitat Autònoma de Barcelona) in collaboration with six universities, including the Universitat de València. This research has permitted to delve into different factors that affect children to leave school. These are linked to social inequalities, the growing precarious conditions in the labour market, designing a new educative system, new policies of educative inclusion and new school dynamics. Thanks to the works carried out in this project, several proposals and a debate between the actors involved in this social problem is taking place to face it efficiently.

In this sense, the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology of the Universitat de Valencia has organised the 3rd Conference on Teaching in Secondary Schools: facing early leavers and the role of the centres. It will go in depth on what is being made to sort the problem and what could be made. The conference will take place on April, 20. The meeting takes place in the assembly hall of the Faculty of Social Sciences. Professor Tarabini will talk about what educative centres can contribute to prevent students from leaving schools. There will be also an exhibition and a debate counting with different experiences of people who are dealing with this problem in secondary schools in the Valencian Community.