Vol. 481 No. 6
141 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the research, if any, he is undertaking into the problem of early school leavers with no qualifications; whether he is assessing the Summer Bridge programme operated in Chicago in that context; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16764/97]
No specific research is being undertaken at present on the issue of early school leaving, although my Department's strategy to prevent and address this issue is underpinned by a wealth of previous educational research, reports, reviews and pilot programmes. In addition, programme providers participate actively in exchange programmes overseas and in the dissemination of good practice under such initiatives as CEDEFOP, ARION, Wider Horizons, Youthstart etc.
Recent research and reports informing policies in this area include the National Economic and Social Forum report on Youth Unemployment and Early School Leaving, the ongoing ESRI annual school leaver surveys, which are partfunded by my Department, the report of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy Working Group on Educational Disadvantage, and "Educational Disadvantage in Ireland", a report commissioned by my Department and prepared by the Combat Poverty Agency and the Educational Research Centre, published in 1995.
I have not undertaken a specific assessment of the Summer Bridge programme in Chicago, but Youthreach centres in Ireland operate exchange programmes with similar initiatives in the USA, and the learning from this is disseminated via inservice fora. The Chicago Summer Bridge programme is designed to promote the participation of minority groups in education, with a particular focus on science, engineering and maths disciplines.
I recently announced that, as part of the Mid-Term Review of EU Structural Fund investment, an additional £2.96 million will be provided over 1998 and 1999 for a new initiative focused on structured pilot projects in urban and rural disadvantaged areas which test models for the development of an integrated area-based co-ordination of services to cater for young people aged 8-15 at risk of early school leaving. A working group has been established to progress the initiative, with a view to implementation at the beginning of 1998. The initiative will include a specific research strand.
