Abstract:

In the proposed paper, andragogic, educational, and social cultural aspects of second chance education in schools are discussed. The research study is a reaction to the fact that there is a lack of empirical knowledge about the quality of education in the framework of second chance programmes in primary and secondary schools in Slovakia, as well as about the existing lack of opportunities to receive pre-service or in-service teacher training in the field of second chance education. Most teachers providing second chance education in primary and secondary schools have completed undergraduate teacher training programmes, which have prepared them for teaching children and youth, but not adults with primary or no education who are involved in second chance education. In the presented research study, a quantitative research design was applied and a valid and reliable author constructed questionnaire examining teacher trainees’ subjective perception of their preparedness for teaching vocational subjects within second chance programmes was used. The investigation was carried out in public and private universities in Slovakia providing vocational subject teacher training programmes and the sample was divided into students involved in Bachelor’s programmes and students involved in Master’s programmes. The findings show that – according to the participants – universities do not offer sufficient training in the field of second chance education, which is a challenge for higher education institutions providing pre-service and in-service teacher training programmes.

Keywords:

Second chance education, pre-service teachers, vocational subject teachers, teacher training.