new Transitions Vol 12. N^o. 1, 2008

In January 2008 the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ) put out a call for papers under the topic, From Disengaged to Re-engaged - Young People's Right to Education and Training.  Simultaneously we we also invited young people to submit their ideas via the 'Re-engage This!' multimedia competition.  The outcome of these initiatives is this special, public edition of new Transitions.

This edition of new Transitions - the Re-engagement edition - features some excellent writing and art from an eclectic group of people in the youth sector - youth workers, young people, academics and program coordinators.  The papers below range from workers opinions based on years of practice to detailed discussion of programs that are working today to maintain or re-engage young people in education.

We hope you enjoy reading the May 2008 edition of new Transitions - The Re-engagement Edition...

Contents

• Is Disenfranchised a more appropriate term than Disengaged?
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  In this paper Dr Bob Grandin argues that the failure of a significant group of young people to engage with the process of education is the logical outcome of a 1-size fits all approach to education that disenfranchises young people from the process of learning.
  
  
• Are alternative schools the answer?
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  In this paper Kitty te Riele examines the contributions that 'non-traditional' schools can make to our efforts to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to gain an education.
  
  
• From the field: An interview with a coordinator of a flexi-school.
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  Barbara Eccles is the coordinator of the Sunshine Coast Flexi school.  In this interview she shares her views on what needs to be done to ensure all young people get a fair go in education.
  
  
• Understanding the true meaning of flexibility in working with young people in ‘flexi’-schools.
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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.
  
  
• Issues for newly arrived young people from language backgrounds other than English.
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  Adele Rice, principle of Milpera School,  discusses the particular issues facing young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.  Milpera is a state secondary school which provides English language, an intensive and settlement services to prepare newly arrived immigrant and refugee students for participation in secondary schools around the Brisbane area.
  
  
• Too many cracks in the wall.
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  In this paper, John Crozier examines the factors underlying young people's disengagement from education and training.
  
  
• The kaleidoscope effect: How to best combat the ever changing face of youth disengagement.
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  David Burck suggests that to give young people the best chance of re-engaging successfully in education we need to re-double our efforts to develop and put in practice coordinated case management models.
  
  
• How do we really engage young adults in education?
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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 reduce truancy in New Zealand.
  
  
• Light the fire, spark it up, get naked.
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  Pauline Haber ("a young person who's for young people") contends that we need to strip our syllabus 'naked' in order to 'light young people's fire' and 'spark them up' to re-engage in education.
  
  
• Seeking brighter futures.
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  Susanne Koen and Phillipa Duigan discuss the Innovative Community Action Networks (ICAN) in South Australia.  ICANs have  been working with schools and local community partners to develop innovative and flexible ways to engage and retain young people who have dropped out of learning pathways.
  
  
• Young carers in education: Students with family caring responsibilities.
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  Michael Ireland writes here about the specific issues and needs of young carers in education.
  
  
• From disengaged to re-engaged: The alternative schooling option.
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  Peter Roguszka describes the approach of Port School, a small independent school in Fremantle, Western Australia, that specialises in working with disengaged teenagers having difficulties in 'mainstream' schooling.
  
  
• Micro savings: Independent students and economic disadvantage as a barrier to participation in education
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  In this article Renee Mills discusses a micro savings program that has helped to address one of the most significant barriers for independent young people who want to engage in education - a low income.
  
  
• New school Ties: Because schools can't do it alone.
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  In this paper, Rosalyn Black proposes that the education systems be rebuilt around deep, collaborative networks that bring together schools and other sectors to address the systemic and structural barriers to educational engagement and success.
  
  
• The role peers play in successful re-engagement.
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  Sharlene Chadwick outlines the value of peer-support programs in improving mental well-being of young people in schools and reducing the rates of disengagement.
  
  
• Caring for kids.
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  Here, Ilena Young describes the "Caring for Kids" program that was designed to attract young women back into education by considering the barriers faced by young parenting or pregnant women.
  
  
• Tapping into the potential of the Australian teenage male.
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  In this opinion piece, Wendy Pope argues that we need to build more opportunities to capture the "untapped manual dexterity, the active problem solving, the divergent thinking, the persistence and the energy" of young men that have disengaged from education.

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