Pascale Esch

After my graduation in developmental psychology from the University of Strasbourg in 2009, I gained experience as a psychologist for “Kannerhaus Jean”, a day care center for children aged 6 to 12 and suffering from psychological or behavioural disorders. This practical work experience framed my interest in the reciprocal relation between children’s cognitive or emotional disabilities and their educational attainment.

I substantiated this interest by pursuing a PhD in medical sciences, granted under the AFR scheme of the “Fonds National de la Recherche” Luxembourg. The collaborative research project between the Luxembourg Institute of Health, the Ministry for Education and the University of Liège was dedicated to analyzing psycho-social risk factors related to school dropout in Luxembourg. Research was based on 200 individual interviews with early school leavers on the one hand and matched controls on the other. Developing a supportive network of educational professionals during my PhD has made me a regular advisor to the “Centre de Psychologie et d’Orientation Scolaires” regarding the prevention of school dropout. More precisely, the collaboration with the CPOS resulted in the development of a pilot project called “Plateforme d’Accrochage Scolaire” aiming at detecting students at risk to drop out and at providing appropriate support.

In 2015, I started working as a research scientist at the Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET), a research and transfer center focused on the elaboration and use of assessment and measurement instruments for the educational field. I am part of the team responsible for organizing Luxembourg's school monitoring called "Épreuves standardisées" (ÉpStan). When fully implemented in 2018, the ÉpStan assess at the beginning of each learning cycle of students' compulsory education (i.e. at the beginning of grade levels 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) students' academic competencies, learning motivation and attitude towards school. Each year, the entire student population of each grade level participates in the ÉpStan. For further information, please visit our homepage www.epstan.lu.

• Esch P., Bocquet V., Pull C., Couffignal S., Graas M., Lair ML., Lehnert T., Fond-Harmant L., Ansseau M. Psychosocial risk and protective factors of secondary school dropout in Luxembourg: the protocol of an exploratory case-control study. BMC Public Health, 2011, 11:555.
• Esch P., Bocquet V., Pull C., Demogeot C., Lehnert T., Graas M., Fond-Harmant L., Ansseau M. Santé mentale et éducation au Luxembourg : Etude des facteurs de risque psychosociaux associés au décrochage scolaire. In « Prévention et promotion de la santé mentale : une alliance transfrontalière innovante. », sous la direction de Laurence Fond-Harmant. Editions L’Harmattan, Logiques sociales, 2014.
• Esch P., Bocquet V., Pull C., Couffignal S., Graas M., Lehnert T., Fond-Harmant L., Ansseau M. The downward spiral of mental disorders and educational attainment: a systematic review on early school leaving. BMC Psychiatry, 2014, 14:237.