Well Being Team Helps Young People Re-engage with Learning
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Abstract
With between 15 and 25% of young people disengaged from education or employment across Australia (ABS, 2009), an innovative research project is finding out what VET and ACE organisations are offering young people at risk that schools might not: a ‘well-being team’ approach.
Dr Annette Foley from the University of Ballarat, Victoria has recently completed a research project called 'The Value of Adult Teaching and Learning Practices,' which involved interviewing twenty young students between the ages of 16 and 21 years enrolled in alternative out of school programs.
The statistics Annette cites of current youth disengagement levels are far from encouraging. 15% of kids aged 15-19 years and 25% of young people aged 20-24 years are disengaged. By 'disengaged', Annette explains, we really mean 'at risk of disengagement'. "To be truly disengaged means we don't know who the kids are or we can't find them"," says Annette, "so the numbers would be even higher."
That's a lot of kids disengaging from the school system. So, is it failing these kids?
Annette's research project involved students enrolled at the Young Mums program located at Wendouree Community Centre, the Stepping Stones program at The aim of the project was to understand the learning practices within an Adult Continuing Education/Vocational Education and Training (ACE/VET) context. "We wanted to look at pedagogical culture," says Annette, "and see how these adult teaching and learning pedagogies might inform mainstream schools."
Read more: https://ala.asn.au/quest-online/issue4-2011/article02.php?nav=article02
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