Abstract:

Lower the level of education, higher the vulnerability on the labour market, both in finding as well as in securing employment. Romania is among the European countries characterized by high educational poverty and low importance put on lifelong learning. Even if reducing school dropout is on top of the policy agenda, not significant progresses were made. Contrary, online education and measures taken to manage Covid 19 pandemic are expected to increase school dropout and value put on returns of education. Studies addressing early school leaving in Romania are few, and almost none with respect to the factors influencing the decision of youth and adults of returning to school. The present paper aims to address the underlying factors that shape the intentions of returning to school. Socio-demographics and past educational achievements will be considered for analyse. In order to reach this objective we use statistical classification methods on the data set of a representative survey carried out in 2019 among Romanian youth aged 15-34 years old. Understanding the factors beyond intentions of returning to school could contribute to better policy designs.

Acknowledgement:
This work has been supported by the NUCLEU program, funded by Ministry of Education and Research, under the project PN 19130302

Keywords:

Intentions of returning to school, classification methods, vulnerable youth.