Out-of-school compensation for educational disadvantage?

The role and assessment of extracurricular institutions in terms of school performance and advancement

Abstract

In our study, we map and compare the operation and activities of the most common out-of-school institutions compensating for educational disadvantage – ‘tanodas’ and settlement houses – and examine how these are evaluated by social and special education professionals. We also analyse the role of these extracurricular institutions in relation to the school achievements of disadvantaged students and their longterm social integration. Based on our results, it can be said that according to the social and developmental professionals who are actively involved in disadvantage compensation, school success can be most facilitated by enhancing the motivation of students and increasing the competencies and skills of their parents. In addition, several methods have been positively assessed by the professionals (such as the development of social and emotional competencies) that schools have traditionally been unable to focus on properly, but which are among the most common tools used by extracurricular institutions to compensate educational disadvantage. However, our research has also shown that inter-institutional cooperation is weak, although the success of disadvantage compensation depends to a large extent on an efficient division of labour and resources.