Pedro Aramendi Jauregui

Los procesos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes en riesgo de exclusión educativa

The existing operational problems in Compulsory Secondary Education require in-depth reflection about the different curricular and organisational aspects in place in this stage. This research aims to evaluate students’ perceptions of the operation of the Initial Professional Qualification Programmes and compare it with their previous experience in Compulsory Secondary Education. The study was performed as a census; the questionnaire was sent to all students (N = 1045 students) from the 89 groups of students of the Initial Professional Qualification Programmes in Gipuzkoa. The response rate was 73.97%, with 773 students participating in the study. The results show that the students’ scores regarding knowledge acquired in the Initial Professional Qualification Programmes are higher than those for their previous experience in Compulsory Secondary Education. Similarly, the students’ evaluation of the teaching processes performed by the teachers on the Initial Professional Qualification Programmes is more satisfactory than their experience with Compulsory Secondary Education teachers. Some of the research results are very striking. The teachers on the Initial Professional Qualification Programmes manage to promote enthusiasm and interest in the work among students attending these schools. It seems strange that teachers who, in most cases, come from vocational training and do not have any specific training in educational science, can awaken students’ interest in their work and improve their levels of satisfaction in the case of students who have systematically failed in Compulsory Secondary Education