Session Information
05 SES 14 A, Symposium: Tackling Inequalities Through Educational Diversity
Symposium
Contribution
The Spanish Second Chance Schools are alternative educational organisations to the formal system, managed by third sector entities. They are aimed at unemployed young people (aged 15-29) who have dropped out of compulsory education. Their offer is based on an innovative pedagogical model, which combines: flexible itineraries, personalised teaching, vocational guidance and training, work experience in collaboration with companies and attention to the educational and employment needs of vulnerable groups (Meo and Tarabini, 2020). These institutions distinguish themselves from other similar initiatives (especially within formal education) by their "non-compensatory" approach to the educational problems of vulnerable groups (Mills et al., 2017). In contrast to the disciplinary and content simplification approach, these institutions are committed to connecting with young people's interests and dignifying non-academic knowledge. Second Chance Schools seek to redefine the very concept of 'success' and pay special attention to the subjective dimensions of learning: recognition, sense of belonging to the institution and emotional attachment to the program (Tarabini, Jacovkis and Montes, 2021). One element that highlights the relevance of Second Chance Schools as a practice of interest is its prominent role in the fight against Early School Leaving (ESL). ESL was identified by experts and stakeholders as one of the main challenges of the Spanish education system, both because of its high prevalence (well above the European average) and because of its concentration among the most vulnerable students. The inflexibility of the formal curriculum and the lack of alternatives to the single, academic-centred pathway were pointed out on several occasions as one of the factors explaining the high ESL in Spain. In this sense, Second Chance Schools offer enormous potential to overcome the problem, as they are filling a gap that the formal system has been unwilling or unable to address -without losing the connections and guaranteeing permeability-. From this scenario, the main objective of this contribution is to explore the role of Second Chance Schools as a mechanism for educational reconnection, identifying both the 'good practices' that characterise their organisational-pedagogical model and the main limitations or barriers that must be overcome. Likewise, although this contribution focuses on the role of Second Chance Schools in the Spanish context, the comparative dimension with other European initiatives that highlight the need to articulate formal and non-formal education serves as a central element to better understand how to address the increasingly complex socio-educational inequalities.
References
Meo, A., & Tarabini, A. (2020). Teachers’ identities in second chance schools: A comparative analysis of Buenos Aires and Barcelona. Teaching and Teacher Education, 88, 102963. Mills, M., te Riele, K., McGregor, G., & Baroutsis, A. (2017). Teaching in alternative and flexible education settings. Teaching Education, 28(1), 8-11. Tarabini, A., Jacovkis, J. y Montes, A. (2021). El model d’escoles de noves oportunitats: una peça clau del sistema educatiu per a garantir l’èxit escolar. Red española de escuelas de segunda oportunidad
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