LET'S BE SCHOOLED!

"<< Background >>This project was launched to address the high rate of early school leaving (ESL) among students with special educational needs. It directly aligns with the European Union's target of reducing the dropout rate to below 10%, as the dropout rate in Turkey is 18% and in Lithuania 14% among partner institutions.The primary motivation is a significant gap in established knowledge and international literature on the relationship between ESL and special education. Teachers, the project's direct target group, recognized the need for an organized and structured methodology to address ESL in their pre-service work. This project aims to address this need by developing a holistic guidance report with modules for students, teachers, families, and schools.The goal is to bridge the knowledge gap in this area by pooling best practices from different countries to develop sustainable and scalable solutions through international collaboration.<< Objectives >>The most concrete goal of the project is to develop a holistic and comprehensive guide for preventing early school leaving for students with special educational needs. This topic is addressed in four main modules:1. Challenges and recommendations for individual students.2. The role of the teacher and recommendations.3. The role of the family and recommendations.4. Ways to make school more attractive.This guide is intended to serve as a guide for other institutions facing similar challenges by bringing together experiences, best practices, and educational materials from partner countries.Our goal: To reduce early school leaving in partner institutions. To strengthen students' sense of belonging to school. To ensure that participants specialize in methods and techniques for preventing early school leaving. To develop teachers' professional and language skills. To raise awareness among families. To support students' participation and retention in society. To create a transnational culture of cooperation by sharing partner countries' methods for combating early school leaving.<< Implementation >>Within the framework of our project, mobility activities were planned based on themes determined by the expertise of each institution. The primary objectives of these mobilities were to observe important details on-site, gain practical experience, and promote knowledge exchange among participants. During this process, interviews were conducted with various special education professionals, families were contacted, and various educational institutions were visited. Subthemes identified in the project application were compared and developed through brainstorming sessions during the mobilities. In addition, cultural activities were included after the activities to observe how education is influenced by cultural elements. Similarities and differences in educational approaches in the partner countries were evaluated and analyzed. All this information and observations were incorporated into the development of the guide. The guide was developed through individual interviews and regularly updated through ongoing communication until the end of the project to ensure its completeness.<< Results >>In our project, we developed a guide that examines early school leaving in special education and makes recommendations. We also produced two brochures, ""An Effective Communication Guide: For People with Special Needs and Those Who Work or Live With Them"" and ""A Guide with Tips for Families Spending Quality Time at Home,"" which can help families, teachers, and individuals prevent early school leaving. The participants made positive progress in this area, as evidenced by the evaluations we conducted at the end of the mobility period. Throughout the project, they collaborated with partner institutions, schools, universities, and local organizations. This collaboration contributed to raising local awareness of both special education and the prevention of early school leaving. Project progress was also shared via the social media account @letsbeschooled.erasmusproject, and news items published on the project website and the institutions' websites further supported this awareness. We also contacted individuals and institutions interested in the issue, particularly through social media."