Chance Schools Research Articles

CIES Bibliography 2011

CIES Bibliography 2011

The second chance school

Loughshore Educational Resource Centre is a religiously integrated, co‐educational, special needs and secondary school situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Loughshore works with a wide clientele of pupils across the spectrum of need and ability from the metropolitan area of Belfast. It plays a vital role as an educational base for a multiplicity of out‐of‐school children. The centre works in the backdrop of an emerging peace in the region as well as the significantly high levels of deprivation experienced across Northern Ireland’s capital. With places at the centre at a premium, a strict admission criterion exists. The centre aims to give a ‘second chance’ to its pupils, who are at risk of social exclusion, focusing on academic, personal and social development, providing skills which can be used to gain employment or continue to further education.

Adult student assessment in second chance schools in Greece: teachers’ views

The present study aims at presenting the views of second chance school (SCS) teachers, seconded from formal education schools. Firstly, on the positive outcomes resulting from project and portfolio assessment and student self evaluation in SCSs, secondly, the difficulties experienced during the assessment process and, thirdly, the combined use of descriptive and numerical assessment in SCSs. Two hundred and seventeen teachers, working in SCSs in Greece, filled in questionnaires with 21 close‐ended questions, and provided relevant information. Data elaboration and statistical analysis were performed. Factor analysis was used to pinpoint the main factors that influence the attitude of teachers towards assessment in SCSs. The results of the survey showed, among others, that teachers, in principle, express a positive attitude towards the above‐mentioned forms of assessment, but they find it difficult to cope firstly, with the students’ poor understanding of assessment purposes, criteria and description terminology; secondly, with the lack of an officially organized plan/list of proposed projects and forms of different assessment techniques; and thirdly, with student stigmatization caused by numerical grades. In the discussion section suggestions have been put forward to enhance adult students’ understanding, to boost teachers’ official support during assessment procedures and, finally, to reform assessment methods implemented in formal education, so that assessment becomes more stimulating, credible, integrated and fair for all students, adult and non‐adult ones.

Collaborative school innovation project as a pivot for teachers' professional development: the case of Acharnes' Second Chance School in Greece

A collaborative school innovation project is explored as a pivot for the professional development of the teachers involved. The Second Chance School (SCS) of Acharnes in Greece constitutes such a collaborative innovative project, regarding the underlying theory of multiliteracies, its decentralised character, respect for student individuality, and collaborative orientation. The programme is examined both regarding its role in the development of innovation in school and in terms of teachers' development, empowerment and active involvement. Thanks to the educational and supportive role of the scientific advisers, not only did the teachers get actively involved supporting the development of innovation, but they were also able to deal successfully with thorny issues, including school‐based curriculum development, the production of learning material, alternative teaching and assessment methods, and combining research and teaching (through action research and student and teacher portfolios). Despite the difficulties faced (variety of stakeholders, time limits, demand for tangible results, research versus teaching), it seems that teachers learned to value implicit theory, adult education theory was enriched with practical knowledge, and new theory was produced on gaining teacher support for top‐down innovations.

The Multiliteracies Challenge in the Field of Adult Education: The case of the Greek Second Chance Schools

The Multiliteracies Challenge in the Field of Adult Education: The case of the Greek Second Chance Schools

Second chance schools spread across Europe

Second chance schools spread across Europe

Human Diversity and Academic Excellence: Learning from Experience

Since 1963, A Better Chance has helped send youth of color who would otherwise not have opportunities to do so to independent, mostly boarding, schools. One third of program participants are from families that receive public assistance or live at or below the poverty line. However, each year about 99% of A Better Chance graduating seniors immediately enter college, with 88% enrolling in colleges classified as competitive, highly competitive, or very competitive. This article describes the application, assessment, and acceptance processes these students undergo in pursuit of their educational goals, along with anecdotal vignettes describing successful A Better Chance Scholars. As the oldest and only national academic talent search agency for students of color in the country, A Better Chance has been working some 36 years in pursuit of its mission: to significantly increase the number of well-educated people of color who can assume positions of leadership in U.S. society. It is safe to say that, directly or indirectly, A Better Chance's work has been the catalyst for integrating most of the selective, predominantly White independent preparatory schools in this country. Its years of experience with students, families, schools and colleges, recruiters, researchers, donors, alumni, volunteers, corporations, foundations, and friends have established a powerful body of learning and expertise. Although A Better Chance staff do not pretend to have all the answers, or even know all the questions related to successful independent schooling for African American and other students of color, the program's unique efforts have uncovered a significant number of both. Clearly, the independent school community-which includes students, families, teachers, and admissions personnel-needs to understand what can and must be done to promote academic success for all children. Examining practices shown to be successful in encouraging academic success, especially among nontraditional student populations at these institutions, can provide useful information. Such information can help answer two particularly vital questions, both of which will be addressed in this article: (1) What are some of the factors that promote African American students' academic and social success at participating A Better Chance schools? (2) With regard to diversity and academic excellence, what lessons can be learned from the A Better Chance experience? A BETTER CHANCE: HISTORY AND LEGACY A Better Chance was founded at Dartmouth College in 1963. Dartmouth, along with several other colleges, wanted to recruit greater numbers of African American students. The colleges developed a program called Project ABC: A Better Chance, through which high-potential African American high school boys could be identified and given the opportunity to participate in a summer of intensive academic work designed to prepare them for college and raise the probability that they would matriculate. A separate but similar program, the Independent Schools Talent Search (ISTS), was being developed at the same time by the headmasters of some of the country's elite male boarding schools. The objective of this latter program was also to increase minority enrollment at these institutions, which in 1963 meant primarily African American enrollments. ISTS and Project ABC eventually merged, and a new plan was developed through which 48 ninthand lOth-grade boys were recruited to complete their secondary education at one of the 25 founding independent schools.l These students' matriculation at the founding institutions was contingent upon their successful completion of the Project ABC summer program at Dartmouth. With funding from federal government antipoverty programs and two primary private sources, the merger of these two efforts was eventually completed, and A Better Chance was born. In the years immediately following the first wave of A Better Chance Scholars, several changes were made to the fledgling program. …