Study on school leavers and retention rates in Bremen and Bremerhaven 2013/14

As part of the federal ‘Lernen vor Ort’ programme, the local authorities of Bremen and Bremerhaven established an education monitoring scheme to provide the public with comprehensive information and to generate insights for policy-making. Against this backdrop, a comprehensive survey of general education and vocational schools in both municipalities examined the transition from general education to vocational training. The ITB was tasked with analysing the data collected. The following questions, amongst others, were addressed:

• How should the measures for vocational preparation and guidance be assessed from the pupils’ perspective?
• How well are pupils prepared for the course of study at a vocational school or for apprenticeship training through lessons in lower secondary education (Sek I), the transition system, etc., from both subject-specific and cross-curricular perspectives?
• Can factors be identified that have a particularly adverse effect on a successful transition to vocational training? Is there a group of pupils in whom these adverse factors occur particularly frequently?
• In their view, how well are pupils supported by vocational schools in developing their subject-specific and cross-curricular competences, taking into account their current level?

The school leavers’ and retention study conducted generated policy-relevant insights which have been incorporated into the planning and quality development of career-oriented measures and into the planning of provision.

By conducting the studies simultaneously in Bremen and Bremerhaven, a basis for comparison between the two municipalities in Bremen was established.