Publisher's Synopsis
The concept of a second chance is embedded in many social institutions: adoption of children, divorce and remarriage, rehabilitation of criminals, and the appeals process in the legal system. Such instances in the family, prison system, and the law, and many others, recognize that individuals and institutions err and a second chance is essential if a society prizes the value of fairness. One can argue, without stretching the point too far, that the United States and Israel are instances - and there are others - of societies that were literally founded upon the belief of a second chance.;The principle of this book is to apply the concept of a second chance to public schooling in democratic societies. This theme of a "second chance" is pursued through diverse disciplinary perspectives, using cross-national and cross-institutional comparisons policy direction, reseach and practice.;Authors explore the concept of a second chance and its philosophical underpinning, describe actual programs, and raise serious questions about its application to public schooling as it currently exists. A multidimensional view of schooling is presented as it has arisen in democratic societies, warts and all, and lays out serious questions about the directions that such schooling should take.;Practioners seeking instances of second-chance programs will be rewarded by concrete examples drawn from six nations. Researchers and evaluators seeking theoretical formulations and design for collecting evidence about second-chance programs can examine the conceptual complexities of inquiring and assessing second-chance efforts.
