How to create trauma-sensitive environments and offer a second opportunity to early school leavers?

We tried to answer these questions through the concepts of positive psychology and resilience: these will create the framework of a training package for educators working in these complex realities.

Analysing the main developments and needs in Italy, Ireland, Romania, Malta, Austria, a common concern emerged, as regards early school- leavers’ approach to education. Firstly, we should pay special attention to their individual needs, considering the multiculturality of European schools.

However, identifying innovative solutions is a necessary step for the same educators. Indeed, there is often scarce attention to the psychological and emotional impact that these situations may have on teachers. Facing stressful working environments may result in the phenomenon of professional burnout.

Thus, how to address the issue of early school leaving, while ensuring students’ and educators’ well-being? We are developing a training package aimed at offering a wide range of practices, including activities and exercises, detailed information for each topic/ training area, case studies. Inspired by the principles of positive psychology, the training package will include several methods to help early school leavers enhance their self-confidence, while strengthening their resilience and well-being, their social and emotional competences.

The training programme will be structured around five modules, meant to guide the educator in the education path. From the development of emotional safety, the training will move to the strengthening of communicative, creative and collaborative skills; it will focus on the process of social and emotional learning, and will finally lead the student to the definition of his / her goals and to the discovery of personal qualities.

The last module will be dedicated to a series of mechanisms able to support the educators, considering the continuous reciprocal influence at the basis of each learning experience.

All these topics were dealt with during the workshop “Train the Trainers” (Palermo, 10-13 February 2020), within the project THRIVE – Training Hope, wellbeing and Resilience in Vulnerable Early School Leavers, which was launched in October 2019 together with 5 other European partners. The training package is probably the most significant output of the project and will be soon followed by the piloting phase in each partner country.