The “Second Chance School” of Mytilene

Address: 44 Pittakou str, Mytilene 81100, Lesvos, Greece.

E-Mail :    mail@sde-lesvou.les.sch.gr

Internet site: www.sdem.gr

Directror: M. Aivaliotis

School’s Identity: Second Chance Schools (SCSs) are public, adult education schools. They were instituted in Greece by law in 1997, following the principles laid down by European Union authorities. All of these schools come under the General Secretariat for Adult Education (G.S.A.E.) of the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs. Trainees follow a 2 years specialized education programme, receiving a title equivalent to secondary school diploma. The Second Chance School of Mytilene has been operating since 2003 in the island of Lesvos (North-eastern Aegean Sea).

Trainees’ profile: The institution of Second Chance Schools has been developed in an effort to combat the social exclusion of adults who have not finished basic education and do not have the necessary qualifications and skills to adapt to modern vocational requirements. People who dropped out of school due to social, financial or other personal reasons are now able to complete their compulsory (9-year) education. The adult trainees of SCSs are people of diverse age, cognitive and socio-cultural backgrounds.

Our aims: One of our main aims is to help trainees regain their confidence since most of them depict low levels of self-esteem, due to long-term feelings of failure and social exclusion. Emphasis is paid to the development of various basic skills related to the literacies being taught (Greek language, Mathematics, Information Technology, English, Social education, Environmental education, Aesthetic education, Technology and the physical sciences, Orientation career and vocational counselling). The pedagogic approaches applied focus on the trainees’ personal needs, interests and abilities, through a flexible curriculum that tries to incorporate their life experiences in the production of the educational material.

Mytilene: the port