This phase of the project analyses and organises the social factors and underlying causes of academic underachievement and dropout. Through a review of scientific literature, policy data, and secondary sources, it aims to create a strong foundation for understanding these challenges. A distinctive approach contrasts scientific findings with perspectives from end-users, fostering collaborative knowledge creation. The outcomes will provide a comprehensive and reliable overview of the social determinants of underachievement and identify evidence-based, successful policies across Europe.

This phase focuses on studying high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) across Europe to enhance its positive impact on later education. It will establish quality indicators by analysing proven-effective programmes and conduct a Europe-wide survey to assess ECEC quality levels. Additionally, the survey tool will serve as a resource for ECEC centres, enabling them to reflect on and improve their practices.

This phase uses a mixed-methods approach to study learning environments in schools and communities that have successfully reduced underachievement and dropout rates, focusing on foundational skills, including digital skills, essential for lifelong success. By examining factors involving children, families, and schools, it aims to deepen understanding of the conditions needed for all children to succeed. This research will generate insights to guide policies and practices that improve learning outcomes and reduce dropout rates. A rigorous integration of quantitative and qualitative data across multiple European countries will enable comprehensive, multilevel analysis and cross-referencing to validate and expand findings.

A quasi-experimental study will be developed to assess how effectively the elements of “successful learning environments” can be applied to different educational settings. Based on prior findings, this study will structure key facilitators into targeted actions to ensure they can be consistently and systematically implemented elsewhere. This approach aims to evaluate the impact and adaptability of these proven strategies in new contexts.

This phase aims to explore the experiences and challenges of vulnerable yet successful students across SCIREARLY countries, focusing on their learning journey within school and other influential areas like family and community. The study examines how learning environments, guidance, and personal motivation interact to support academic success and well-being, providing new insights into the factors that help these students thrive.

The main objective of this phase is to integrate novel scientific knowledge for developing successful policy approaches and practices based on scientific evidence that can be scalable and replicable by other countries at local, regional or national level. The development of high-quality resources, tools and policy solutions will involve relevant educational stakeholders with a twofold aim: allowing co-creation and enhancing the societal impact of the project during and beyond the project through the development of SCIREARLY Impact Platform.