Abstract:

The second chance schools objective is to provide the high school graduation certificate to individuals over 18 years old. Nonetheless, the innovation characterizing these schools is not only to provide adult students with the knowledge necessary to obtain the graduation certificate but also tries to contribute to the trainees’ personal and social development. What has been observed, based on researches, is that individuals that drop out of compulsory education usually end up to become economically and socially excluded due to their difficulty in finding a well-paid job; the lack of money has therefore an impact on their social life. Thus, one of the SCS community objectives is to reinforce the trainees’ self-esteem with insights and abilities that will assist their social integration. For the above reasons, the job of counselor psychologist is selected in which the objective of counseling is to support the school system, to intervene into individuals or groups that find it difficult to attend, the school members social skills reinforcement and the promotion of mental health. The achievement of the above objectives is realized through individual and group counseling between the school trainees and trainers. Adequate information and sensitization to all the school community individuals is concurrently provided on issues regarding mental health as well as the supporting centers which are subject to the broader area aiming at the prevention of social exclusion. Second chance schools, by definition, promote life-long learning and conduce to knowledge construction as well as the provision of cognitive support to students. Thus, their role is redefined while teaching practices and methodologies are examined again.