The problem of children leaving school before graduation has become one of the major issues in education in the last decade. No nation in Europe would cover up the statistical analysis on young children abandoning school, neither would the European authorities. In continental Europe, this concern seems to be rather new, in comparison with the evolution of the school system and the Anglo-Saxon positions. Indeed, while most of the figures about education in Europe show a crescent of the level of education of the population between the sixties and today, the concern about dropping out has been carrying on regardless: while the figures about school attendance were far worst in the sixties, the concerns about the question emerged only in the mid-eighties.

Many researchers have already assessed this fact. However, either they undermine the question, or they answer it through the context. This paper proposes to raise the question seriously by underlining the constructed aspect of the problem of dropout rates and questioning the European political discourse on the subject. In other words, this research proposes to understand the European political perception of dropping out of school. Through this analysis, it will try, in addition, to underline the vision that European politicians develop on education itself.

Politicians are not the first or the only group at stake in the construction of the problem. As the constructivists such as Kingdon, Spektor or Kitsuse have shown, the process of problem’s construction is rather slow, complex and involve many actors. The concept of ‘arena’, ‘natural history’ and ‘entrepreneur de cause’ developed by the constructivist will put the role of politician into perspective. However, as representative of the general interest, the position of politicians is particularly important. We will then propose to focus on their perception and follow their discourses on the subject by analyzing all the European parliamentary discussing it.

While looking at the political argument defining the question of dropping out, one can also look after the political position on the role of school itself. Indeed, the arguments defining a social problem can also be analysed as defining the ‘normal situation’. When politicians argue for a political intervention against dropout, they develop a conception on the role of school and education in their society. Based on this understanding, the paper will try to underline the political vision on education and school in Europe through the analysis of the discourse on dropping out.

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