Exploring Strategies to Strengthen Re-Engagement Through Second Chance Education for Early School Leavers

This survey is a qualitative analysis of written interviews of teachers (n= 367) working in Second Chance Schools, an educational institution consisting of structures operating inside and outside detention facilities in Greece. In particular, it examines teachers' proposals for reforms that will increase the socio-economic integration prospects of second-chance learners, who make up a population of former early school leaver and prisoners. This research provides a focused assessment of the inclusive teaching and learning offered by school second education. The results highlight the need for reforms in the structure and operation of second-chance structures that operate inside and outside detention centers, enhancing the training-labor market connection and creating a competitive working profile, and also the need of establishing equivalent to second-chance structures at all levels of education from primary to upper secondary to ensure a seamless educational path to entry into higher and vocational education institutions.

Age and Social Background as Predictors of Dropout in Second Chance Education in Germany

Second chance education (SCE) has been established to offer adults the opportunity to catch up on higher qualifications, for instance the eligibility to study. SCE often suffers from high dropout rates, but little is known about the reasons. This article investigates whether dropout rates depend on family background and age, and if so, why. Data from 3278 students at an institution of SCE in Germany who entered this institution between 2000 and 2016 are analysed using logistic path modelling. The results show that the higher dropout probability of socially disadvantaged students can be traced back completely to poorer academic performance in SCE, partly associated with an unfavourable previous school career. Older students are – irrespective of their family background and despite a better academic performance – more likely to drop out than younger students. If SCE aims to reduce these dropout risks, strategies should vary for different groups of students.

Immigration Background and Differences in School-to- work Trajectories of Early School Leavers

This article focuses on the school-to-work trajectories of early school leavers in Sweden. I use sequence analysis of population-level registry data covering the first 10 years after compulsory school for 6404 early school leavers to identify four clusters of school-to-work trajectories: an exclusion trajectory characterized by not being in employment, education, or training; an education trajectory characterized by second-chance education and an increasing share of tertiary education; a precarity trajectory; and a career trajectory. Having an immigrant background or being a woman was associated with a lower likelihood of being in the career trajectory than having a non-immigrant background or being a man. Differences in the likelihood of being in the education trajectory between persons with immigrant and non-immigrant background could however be fully explained by parents’ education, if education level was measured relative to their country of origin. This highlights the importance of pre-migration factors for post-migration outcomes

Inklusive Bildung für Erwachsene?! Eine Betrachtung der Handlungspraxis von Leitungs- und Lehrkräften im Zweiten Bildungsweg

Bildung stellt eine zentrale Ressource dar, die für die Teilhabe in vielen Bereichen der Gesell­schaft von großer Bedeutung ist. Die Behindertenrechtskonvention fordert deshalb die gleichberechtigte Teilhabe für behinderte Menschen am Bildungssystem. Diese Forderung bezieht sich ausdrücklich auch auf die Erwachsenenbildung und damit auch auf den Zweiten Bildungsweg. Jedoch ist über den gemeinsamen Unterricht von behinderten und nichtbehinderten Kursteil­nehmenden im Zweiten Bildungsweg nur wenig bekannt. Dies ist umso erstaunlicher, da es gerade der Zweite Bildungsweg ist, der denjenigen behinderten Menschen eine zweite Chance zum Bildungserwerb eröffnen kann, die durch das Raster eines nicht, bzw. noch nicht vollständig inklusiven Schulsystems gefallen sind. Im folgenden Beitrag werden erste Befunde einer Untersuchung zur Handlungspraxis von Leitungs- und Lehrkräften im Zweiten Bildungsweg präsentiert. Hierbei soll die Frage diskutiert werden, welche Potenziale der Zweite Bildungsweg für eine Inklusive Erwachsenenbildung bietet. Grundlage hierfür bildet ein qualitativer Datensatz aus Gruppendiskussionen und Einzelinterviews.Abstract Education embodies an essential resource for the participation in many parts of the society. Therefore, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities calls for equal participation for disabled people in the education system. This demand explicitly refers to adult education and thus also to second chance education. However, little is known about joint teaching of disabled and non-disabled students in second chance education. Even so second chance education can provide a great opportunity of educational acquisition for disabled people who have fallen through the cracks of a school system, which is still not fully inclusive. The following article describes the first results of a research on the practice of action of headmasters and teachers in the second chance education. The main focus is thereby, which potentials the second chance education offers for an inclusive adult education. The basis for this research is a qualitative data set consisting of group discussions and individual interviews.

The right to a second chance: lessons learned from the experience of early school leavers who returned to education

Based on a holistic perspective of education that articulates school pedagogy and social pedagogy, the main goal of this paper is to identify effective ways to ensure the right to education to vulnerable and marginalised young people who have dropped out of school. The research leading to this paper was part of a European research project which investigated how young people’s responses to conflict can provide opportunities for positive social engagement. This specific study explored early school leaving and school re-engagement from the point of view of a group of 20 Portuguese young early school leavers who later returned to school through Second Chance Education. Through a qualitative approach using individual in-depth interviews, participant observation and focus group, the study sought to offer a comprehensive reading of early school leaving and school re-engagement by addressing the diversity of motivations, experiences, factors and consequences associated with them, as well as the role that educational policies and school factors can play in it. The study’s findings revealed that, for many socially and economically vulnerable youngsters, mainstream schools are places of individual failure and interpersonal conflict where they don’t feel welcomed and from which they stop expecting positive outcomes. This favours a progressive disengagement from education that reinforces social marginalisation. However, the findings also showed that by engaging in second chance education projects, youngsters develop greater commitment to education and identify relevant positive changes in terms of personal and skills’ development, behavioural adjustment and establishment of life goals. According to the participants’ experiences, the holistic and individualised socio-pedagogical approach of such projects is particularly apt to respond to their needs. Community-based educational approaches, practical and participatory learning environments, and the emotional investment and support from teachers and staff are shown to be the most effective socio-educational features when trying to re-engage vulnerable young people in education.