Selected ESL factors: basis for prevention activities

Critical media literacy helps understand how media construct messages, influence and educate audiences and impose messages and values. Five core questions verifying the understanding of these issues can be used as a tool for developing the critical thinking of students at risk of ESL so as to become empowered and active in transforming their educational and learning environment.

The socio-emotional well-being, learning behaviour and motivation of ESL students can be supported by including regular physical activity in prevention and compensation ESL programmes. School-community collaboration, extracurricular sport activities, organised sport events and expressive practices are possible forms of such activities.

Career guidance (with appropriate methods, contents, early provision, the actors involved) can overcome two important (individual) ESL risk factors – the lack of relevance of schooling and the lack of educational/career aspirations. The systematic development of career management skills helps potential ESLrs perceive their schooling as a meaningful part of their lifelong personal, social and career development.

Students with learning difficulties are at a greater risk for ESL than their peers since they are disproportionately more likely to experience other risk factors for ESL at the individual, family, school, community and/or system levels. Multiple and individualised approaches should be used by the system and educators to reduce the influence of these factors.

Research emphasises the positive impact of an authoritative parenting style on school achievements, school engagement and also directly on ESL. Parents’ behaviour that is accepting, warm and encouraging yet also firm and with clear expectations has the most favourable impact on a child’s/adolescent’s development and also acts as an ESL preventive factor. Other parenting styles (authoritarian, permissive and uninvolved) have been examined less.

Mental health problems (e.g. anxiety, depression) are some of the risk factors for ESL and, by focusing on mental health prevention and intervention programmes in the school environment, we can reduce the many negative consequences poor mental health has on both the individual and community levels.

Evidence from international large-scale assessment studies shows that more complex professional collaboration between teachers and teacher-student relations is associated with an improvement in student achievement, even when considering differences in students’ backgrounds. It may also be important that teachers who collaborate more with their colleagues generally report more positive teacher-student relations.

A teacher’s teaching style (authoritative, authoritarian and permissive) affects students’ experience in school. It can provoke functional or non-functional perceptions of learning, self-efficacy and schoolwork, thus an appropriate teaching style can help prevent early school leaving.

Externalising behaviours (e.g. deviant, disruptive, oppositional behaviour) are consistently shown to be risk factors for ESL. Civic competence (via participation in extracurricular activities) as well as social competence constitute protective factors. Peers also play a role. Supporting students’ social and emotional adjustment early on is warranted.