Teachers' views on the selection and training methods in Second Chance Schools

Abstract

The innovative institution of Second Chance Schools is a relatively modern educational intervention that aims at the social and economic inclusion of adults. Greece does not have a long tradition in non-formal education for adults. Until the 1980s, adult education and training activities in Greece were embryonic, sporadic and without a central plan. The teachers of the Second Chance Schools play a fundamental role in the achievement of the above goals. Second Chance Schools are schools that aim to offer a second chance to adults who did not complete the three-year attendance in the high school in order to acquire knowledge, skills and an equivalent diploma that will allow them to get more easily included in economic and social life. In most European countries, Second Chance schools offer evening courses and education lasts two years. The curriculum is based on the principles of multiliteracies, according to which literacy is not only the ability to read, but the ability to control our lives and our environment and to deal with our problems in a rational way (European Commission, 1997)[1]. Based on the above, the aim of the present research is to record, highlight and analyze the attitudes and views of teachers of all specialties of the Second Chance Schools regarding the institution of educational assessment, while at a later stage the aspiration is to investigate the proposals of the teachers in Second Chance Schools regarding the improvement of the evaluation process. This publication presents the teachers’ views who serve in the Second Chance Schools on their selection method.

Methodologically, the research was based on the processing of primary data collected through the completion of questionnaires, which were sent electronically.

The reference population of the research consists of the total of teaching staff – hourly paid and seconded teachers – of Second Chance schools in Greece.

Keywords: Second Chance School, Learning Theories, Adult Educators, Educational Assessment.