Abstract:

Many young people, especially those with exposure to out-of-home placement, face difficulties obtaining sought-after educational qualifications. An important explanation for low educational attainment in the child welfare population is related to poor school grades. This paper examines the early school-leaving rate in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) among child welfare clients. Although the four Nordic countries share many features, they differ when it comes to the organisation of the vocational track in upper secondary school – a track that children with poor school grades tend to choose. In Denmark and Norway the vocational track includes periods of apprenticeships, whereas this track in Finland and Sweden are school-based. Among child welfare clients being placed before their teens, the early school leaving rate (relative to the comparison group and adjusted for gender and mother’s education) is highest in Denmark and Norway and lowest in Sweden and Finland. The results in this study, suggest that vulnerable youth face more challenges in the system of apprenticeships compared to school-based vocational education. However, the high early school-leaving rate among child welfare clients that are placed in foster homes or institutions in their teens seems to be related to other factors than the organisation of the upper secondary school.

Keywords:

Upper secondary School, vocational education, apprenticeship.