ICT as a strategy for social inclusion. Analysis of a second educational opportunity track

Abstract

After more than ten years of global economic crisis and after the lockdowns that citizens suffered due to the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, we find ourselves in a complex situation with devastating effects in the health, socioeconomic, cultural, and educational sectors. Within this framework, second chance educational experiences take place. These are local resources that design more flexible and diversified activities, offering adapted options and opportunities to cover key competences, and they are completed with practical training in workplaces. This study’s objectives focus on describing the existence of alternative programs to the formal educational system, identifying the social, educational, and labor vulnerability of its beneficiaries, as well as analyzing the results of a pilot experiment focused on the Information and Communications Technology (hereinafter ICT) track at the “Second Chance Inclusive School of Vélez-Málaga” (Spain). To this end, an ad hoc questionnaire has been designed and administered to 38 students from ages 16 to 29. Sociodemographic data, the contents of the educational track itself as well as other job skills associated with adequate job performance have been taken into account in the preparation the questionnaire. The results of the ICT track show high evaluations in terms of the learning level achieved both in the technical skills that were worked on and in those supplementary to development in the workplace. 95% of the students who started the training finished it successfully. In conclusion, we emphasize the importance of this type of initiative as an alternative to formal educational systems. Due to the success obtained in this pilot experiment, these initiatives should be continued, but they require institutional commitment to become a sustainable and established resource over time.