Improvement in education has been one of the strategies of the government of Chile to reduce economic inequality. To that end, it recently established a system of Second Opportunity Centers that enroll out-of-school youth who have not completed high school. The system is modeled on so-called alternative schools operating in Europe and the United States. This study reports results on the first survey of students. Questionnaires were completed by a representative sample of 1112 students, drawn from 18 of the Ministry of Education’s 134 Centers. Most of the respondents expressed satisfaction with their program, but there were significant differences between boys and girls, and across centers. Differences are explained by program activities in which students are engaged. Male students were more likely to have dropped out of regular high school because of academic difficulties; they are more likely to be engaged in the centers’ sports activities. Girls were more likely to have left their school because of a family situation. They are more engaged in the centers’ academic activities. The findings suggest how the centers’ program could be made more effective in retaining students to graduation.

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哪些因素可以预测智利替代中学的辍学率？

改善教育一直是智利政府减少经济不平等的战略之一。为此，它最近建立了一个第二机会中心系统，招收高中未毕业的失学青年。该系统以在欧洲和美国运营的所谓替代学校为蓝本。本研究报告了对学生的第一次调查的结果。问卷由来自教育部 134 个中心的 18 个中心的 1112 名学生的代表性样本完成。大多数受访者对他们的计划表示满意，但男孩和女孩之间以及不同中心之间存在显着差异。学生参与的计划活动解释了差异。由于学业困难，男学生更有可能从普通高中辍学；他们更有可能参与中心的体育活动。由于家庭情况，女孩更有可能离开学校。他们更多地参与中心的学术活动。调查结果表明，中心的计划如何才能更有效地留住学生毕业。