Tania Lawrie's presentation 'Responding to school refusal' can be downloaded here. This presentation was part of a panel discussion titled 'Creating an inclusive, flexible and responsive schooling system'.

Tania works at Community Connections.

A model of service delivery as articulated by Deception Bay Community Youth Programs

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Nicole Wright outlines a comprehensive model of service delivery for working with young people at risk in flexible learning settings.  The model was developed by the Deception Bay Community Youth Program, a youth service situated 40 minutes to the North of Brisbane.

Back to new Transitions - Re-Engagement Edition

By Dr Geoff Plimmer
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In this article Dr Geoff Plimmer outlines how a particular model of teaching emotional coping and social skills (Socio-Emotional Learning) has helped to improve academic achievement and reduceng truancy and cutting anti-social behaviour in New Zealand.

Back to new Transitions - Re-Engagement Edition

This discussion paper has been written to get people talking more about schools and education.  What would you like to see happen in Queensland schools?  Are schools 'working'?

 Download: What are Schools for 282.31 Kb

To ask if Queensland schools are ‘working’, we have to be clear what our schools are for in the first place.  Schools serve a wide range of needs in Queensland.

During 2006, the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland noticed an increase in the number of organisations and youth workers contacting it to raise concerns about the level of support available for young people who were not involved in education or work.

In response, YANQ undertook this small research project to investigate these concerns and to assess the level and nature of support that is available for young people who are disengaged from education and work. The research focused specifically on young people aged between 12 to 18.

STEPS For The Future is a computer game created by James Cook University students working in partnership with Region 22 National Disability Coordination Officer (NDCO). The game was created to provide an engaging format to convey positive messages to young people experiencing disability or other barriers to achieving their study and employment goals.

During 2005 and 2006 the Queensland Government's Department of Education announced plans to amend the Education (General Provisions) Act (1989).  This Act governs education in Queensland and how it is delivered to young people.

Paper presented at the YANQ Conference, 2005

This paper () by Derek Bland and Bill Atweh outlines the SARUA project and its potential as a model to address educational disadvantage as well as the theoretical and methodological frameworks for SARUA, and the benefits and related issues of the SARUA model.

By Malcolm King.
First Posted at On Line Opinion , Friday, 2 November 2007

Do you want to study at a university or TAFE next year?  To paraphrase former American President John F. Kennedy, then ask not what you can do for your university, but what your university can do for you.

In this article I have listed 10 'must ask' questions, which will help prospective tertiary students decide which university, or TAFE is right for them.

Education Queensland has developed three Queensland Academies that are the first of their kind in Australia:

1. Queensland Academy for Creative Industries 
2. Queensland Academy for Health Sciences
3. The Queensland Academy for Health Sciences

Carlo Magno, currently an Assistant Professor at the Counseling and Educational Psychology Department at De La Salle University-Manila , the Philippines, has prepared a report on the relationship between teaching and learning and attempts to explain the learning process.

by Chris Bonnor

Australian agencies have developed a number of ways to help refugee and newly arrived young people of post-compulsory school age whose levels of education and types of experience do not match what Australian education and training frameworks associate with specific ages.

How Young People are Faring 2008 provides information on how successfully our education and training system is working to meet the needs of young Australians as they make the transition from school to further study and work. It provides up-to-date analysis of the effectiveness of transitions, including information on who is doing well and who is not doing so well in negotiating the various post-school pathways.

The report has been published by the The Foundation for Young Australians in alliance with the Education Foundation .

The Key Centre for Women's Health in Society has released a report entitled Making it Real:  Sexual Health Communication for Young People Living with Disadvantage.

The report is based on research that gathered evidence on how young people access, interpret and implement sexual health messages, and which evaluated of a range of current interventions.

By Ruth McCausland.
First Posted Monday, 30 June 2008 at On Line Opinion.

On the first anniversary of the Northern Territory intervention, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin announced a $17.6 million trial aimed at improving school attendance by making parents' welfare payments conditional on their children's adequate school attendance. Starting next year, parents in Hermannsburg, Katherine, the Katherine town camps, Wallace Rockhole, Wadeye and the Tiwi Islands whose children are not enrolled in or do not regularly attend school may have their welfare payments suspended until they do so.

By Naomi Godden, First Posted Tuesday, 27 May 2008 at On Line Opinion.

Remote, rural and regional Australians experience human rights concerns accessing quality education. Rural participation, retention and achievement in education are far below urban Australia. Yet education is the pathway to opportunity and productivity for disadvantaged people and communities. The recent Federal budget provided some positive steps towards addressing education concerns in rural Australia, but much more is needed.

The Education Revolution that Australia was promised in the leadup to the last Federal election has been a hot topic at On Line Opinion.  In February alone, 13 articles were published.  Many of them discuss ideas that are relevant to YANQ's own Re-engagement Project.  Follow the links below to read the articles.

Whose education revolution is it?

By Linda Graham. First Posted at On Line Opinion Monday, 19 November 2007

In our great "classless" society the public school system is fast becoming a repository for second-class citizens. Thanks to the Coalition's long-cherished 'principle' of "school choice", we now have a two-tier schooling system: one for those who can exercise choice and one for those who can't.

The June 2007 edition of the 'Boys in Schools Bulletin' (v.10, n.2, 26-28) contains two articles from the 2006 Department of Education, Science and Training report, 'Motivation and engagement of boys: Evidence-based teaching practices'. The report, written and researched by a group of academics from the University of Western Sydney in 2004-2005, examined the evidence-based teaching practices that were effective in improving the motivation, engagement and academic and social outcomes of boys, "particularly those at risk of disengaging from school-based learning activities".

Introduction

The Moreton Pacific Island Education Reference group was established in February 2007, and is comprised of government, community, school and university representatives. Its mission is to support Pacific Island students to achieve their full potential at school. The first step in realizing this goal is the development of a Framework for Action based on three elements: engagement, partnership and aspiration. The Framework will also incorporate good practice strategies designed to guide principals to respond appropriately to issues of particular relevance to their own school.

The Council for the Australian Federation comprises the Premiers and Chief Ministers of all States and Territories. This report includes a new statement on the future of schooling in Australia, and a twelve-point action plan to which all states and territories have agreed.

This 2003 study from The UK's National Foundation for Educational Research evaluates the effectiveness of six Alternative Education Initiatives (AEIs).  Effectiveness was measured by success in returning pupils to mainstream education, educational attainment, post-16 outcomes and reducing anti-social behaviour, including offending.

This report examines how families help shape the choices young people make after they leave or finish school. It's the fifth report in their series of reports on the challenges faced by Learning for Life students in making successful post-school transitions.

By Rosalyn Black, the Education Foundation.  Source: Australian Policy Online.

There is a widespread consensus that all people should have access to the greatest possible economic and social opportunities in life. A quality school education is recognised as intrinsic to this aim, but it is not yet a universal experience in Australia. Too many young people are disengaged and under-performing at school in a way that has negative outcomes for them and for society.