Youth Research News Vol 9 No 4; December 1999

In this issue:

• New Projects
• Important Notice to Members
• Publications
• Current Project Updates
• Conferences
• Around the Centre
• YRC New Postal Address

NEW PROJECTS:

SPIRT Grant

A 3-year SPIRT grant has been allocated to the Centre under the Strategic Partnerships with Industry: Research and Training (SPIRT) scheme, on The Effectiveness of Student Welfare Professional Development. This is related to the development of strategies for whole school student welfare, health promotion and suicide prevention. A collaborative study between the YRC and the Catholic Education Office, the research will involve a three year longitudinal study of participating schools. Teachers from the schools are enrolled in the Post Graduate Diploma in Student Welfare offered within our Faculty; the aim of the project is to determine the impact of this type of professional development in the area of whole school change, health promotion and suicide prevention.

Contact for this project is Johanna Wyn.

NCVER Successful VET Outcomes

A further NCVER-funded study of VET participants will be carried out at the YRC next year. This project is titled Successful Longer-term Career Outcomes for VET Participants. The purpose of this project is to use the data set of our Life-Patterns Project to identify VET graduates, now in their mid-twenties, who have developed successful careers on completion of their studies. The centrepiece of the project will be an interview program with about 200 of these successful VET graduates to find out what they see as the most important factors contributing to effective career transition, and the main barriers to be overcome.

Contact for this project is Peter Dwyer.

Out of Education

The YRC is currently undertaking a research project for the Victorian Full Service Schools Program entitled Out of education.

This project will focus on a target group of `at risk' 16 and 17 year olds who are not in education, training or employment. The research will test the current anecdotal evidence about what these young people are doing and how they are supporting themselves. The aim of the project is to research the views, activities and aspirations of these young people with a view to making better provision for them with regard to education and training. Consultations will be conducted with young people, agency personnel, some educational personnel (both TAFE and schools) and Centrelink.

The research report will include a series of case studies of the young people as well as identification of the key issues for them, and recommendations for policy and program development by stakeholders.

The research will be conducted in 6 areas both rural and metropolitan around Victoria and will be completed by June 2000.

Contact for this project is Helen Stokes.

Strategies for Engaging `At Risk' Youth in Education to Year 12

The Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs has commissioned the Australian Centre for Equity through Education and the Youth Research Centre to undertake a national research project called Strategies for Engaging `At Risk' Youth in Education to Year 12 as part of the Full Service Schools Programme.

The research will identify the perspectives of 15-18 year olds on:

“the social and cultural influences on their attitudes towards education and employment; the reasons for changes in their connectedness with family, school and community; the reasons for disaffection and disengagement with school/education system for 15-18 year olds generally and specifically for the Full Service Schools (FSS) target group; and what they see as their future”.

The ACEE and YRC will interview 30 young people (15-18 years and designated `at risk') in each of 60 sites throughout Australia. Half of these sites would be Full Service School Program schools/clusters and the other half not Program sites. Of the 30 young people to be interviewed at each site, 20 would be in school and 10 out of school. The researchers at the YRC will be Helen Stokes, Roger Holdsworth, John Stafford and Debra Tyler. Dev Mukherjee and Joan Brown will be the researchers at ACEE.

IMPORTANT NOTICES TO MEMBERS:

The cost of offering services to YRC members has been increasing steadily, and the Centre has (in effect) been subsidising these services for some time. In addition, and as with most services, membership to the Youth Research Centre will attract the Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST).

We are therefore forced to increase membership rates to cover increased administrative costs, and also to absorb GST costs.

This will happen in two stages From January 1, 2000 the first increase will come into place. That is, any organisational or individual renewals or new memberships taken out until 30/6/99 will increase to $55 and $35 respectively. Student and unemployed rates will not increase in this round.

The second round of price increases will take effect from July 1, 2000. The rates will then be $60, $40 and $15 for organisations, individual and student/unemployed members respectively.

For the present moment there will be no increases to the cost of publications, however that will need to be looked at in due course.

FINAL REMINDER TO MAILING LIST:

The deadline for all those on the mailing list to advise us of their email address in order to receive the YRC newsletter electronically has been extended until February 2000.

As we mentioned in the last newsletter, if you do not want the newsletter electronically but still wish to receive it, you have the option of either becoming a paid member, or paying the $10 fee (this fee is basically to cover the cost of printing and distribution). if we do not hear from you by February, we will assume you no longer wish to receive the newsletter - and you will deleted from our mailing list!

PUBLICATIONS:

Working Paper 20

Evaluation of the Behaviour Management Program at the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre

Bob Semmens, Sandy Cook and Cherry Grimwade

The project aimed to: increase the range of skills for management of client behaviours in a fair, respectful and rewarding environment; encourage clients to become accountable and responsible for their actions; change client relationships to authority and society; and maximise young people's abilities to transfer positive learning to the community. This last aim could not be a part of the evaluation which was limited to one year within the institution.

The evaluation focussed on identifying the expectations that clients, staff and management had for the project; assessing the impact the project had on clients, staff, management and the environment in the unit; and formulating recommendations which would contribute to the development of unit management techniques at Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre.

The significance of the MJJC project lay in its difference from most treatment and other types of intervention programs with young offenders. The MJJC project focussed on increasing staff skills at least as much as it focussed on behaviours of the young offenders. The report concluded that the unit became a more humane environment for both staff and young men but that the program should be monitored on a continuing basis and resourced appropriately as the changes do require a lot more interaction and negotiation with the young men and there was evidence that staff were feeling the pressure.

It was also recommended that an action-research model be implemented so that all participants could be involved in on-going evaluation of the program.

This Working Paper will be available early in the new year. A free copy will be sent to all financial members.

Further copies will be available from the YRC at $10 per copy plus $3 for postage and handling

Connect 119 & 120

Issues 119 and 120 of Connect are now available. Connect is a bi-monthly journal supporting student participation through documentation and resource development. Issue 119 carried reports on a number of the Student Action Teams (see elsewhere in this newsletter), on a Junior School Council network Student Forum (as part of the Civics and Citizenship Education project) around local community involvement, and some reflections from SRCs and JSCs.

Issue 120 is the 20th anniversary issue of Connect and provides a 'hinge' that looks back over 20 years of development of programs, projects and ideas; and forward 20 years to further growth. A report on the recent Victorian Statewide Student Leadership Conference in Ballarat, as well as specific program descriptions and some reflections on the 'state of student participation' are included.

Copies of Connect are available from the Youth Research Centre for $4 each - or subscriptions ($20 pa individual; $30 pa organisational) are available from 12 Brooke Street, Northcote Vic 3070.

Survey into Rural and Remote Education

The survey was conducted by the Youth Research Centre at the University of Melbourne for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC). It is one component of the National Inquiry into Rural and Remote School Education being conducted by Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti. The Inquiry will report to Federal Parliament towards the middle of next year.

Over 3,000 teachers, parents and students responded to the survey from all around the country. More than half of the respondents were rural and remote students.

“This research confirms evidence we have already collected through public hearings about many issues including the lack of access to computers and the cost of internet access”, said Mr Sidoti. “The overwhelming response reflects concern about the state of education in rural and remote areas.”

One of the findings noted that the substantial variation in experiences heard from different parts of the country underlines how a diversity of rural education strategies is needed.

While many people confirmed the benefits of living in smaller communities they also face specific disadvantages in educating their children.

Other key findings in the survey were

• the majority of families receiving Assistance for Isolated Children reported that the full education cost is not covered;
• few if any special needs teachers are working in distance education to assist students with disabilities;
• between 20% (Victoria) and 38% (SA) of students reported they could not study the subjects of their choice at school;
• in WA and Tasmania only about one-third of students responding hoped to go on to university compared with almost one-half in NSW;
• there is a lack of accessible professional development for teachers in rural areas.

The survey responses include strategies and ideas for improving educational provision, access and quality which are included in a section of the report.

The report can be accessed on the HREOC website at www.hreoc.gov.au/news-info/rural

A limited number of hard copies of the report are available from the Youth Research centre for people who do not have web access.

There is a postage and handling charge of $5.00 or copies can be collected no charge from the YRC.

CURRENT PROJECT UPDATES:

Student Action Teams

The YRC is providing an evaluation of the Victorian Department of Education's Student Action Teams project in 1999-2000. This project involves 20 schools across Victoria in which small teams of students develop and implement action strategies around community safety issues.

On 29th November, students and teachers from 15 of the schools met in Melbourne to report and reflect on their work in 1999. The team from the Centre (Roger Holdsworth, Helen Stokes and John Stafford) conducted a program in which the school teams constructed a display about their work, investigated others' projects and then reflected on what helps or hinders such an approach.

This day provided valuable data from participants that will be included in the on-going evaluation of and support for the school teams. The evaluation will continue in 2000, with the production of the “How To” Manual around StudentAction Teams.

A special thanks to Tennis Victoria for providing prize passes for the tennis and Red Rooster for providing burger voucher to participating students.

Civics and Citizenship

The 25 Victorian schools that received grants from the Victorian Department of Education, within the Discovering Democracy project, are about two-thirds of the way through their program. Supported by a team from the Centre (Debra Tyler, Helen Stokes, Shirley Carson and Roger Holdsworth), the schools form a large action research project to investigate ways in which Civics and Citizenship Education programs and resources can be used and developed in primary and secondary schools.

A Professional Development Day for program teachers on November 22nd enabled participants to hear about each others' progress and to do some preliminary analysis of facilitating and blocking forces within their schools. This work will provide the basis for an extensive report in mid 2000: a useful book of case studies that will enable other schools to build upon what this group has learnt.

Part-time New Apprenticeships in Schools

During 1998 and 1999, the Centre has been advising the Northern Industry Education Board in Shepparton on the conduct of its New Apprenticeship Pilot Program. Roger Holdsworth and John Stafford have interviewed project participants (teachers, students, parents, employers) and have written several papers for the Board. The final report to the project has emphasised issues of sustainability and addressed options for the Board to pursue after this pilot phase.

William Buckland Foundation Lighthouse Schools

The Education Foundation, with support from the William Buckland Foundation, is conducting a 3-year project in five Victorian Government secondary colleges, to develop effective middle schooling approaches. The Youth Research Centre will be working alongside this group to monitor changes within school structures, with educational programs and within student outcomes. Johanna Wyn will have particular responsibility for this work, and will visit each school on several occasions each year to collect data and interview staff, students and others.

Review of ACT Alternative Programs

The Centre is assisting the ACT Department of Education to review two alternative high school programs which are based in year 11 - 12 Colleges. Roger Holdsworth and Andy Moffat have been interviewing teachers, students, parents, school administration and community agencies. Discussion papers will be written for the schools and a final report submitted to the Department early in 2000.

The Western Research Network on Education & Training (WRNET)

The YRC Director, Johanna Wyn, has spent most of the second half of the year at the University of Vancouver. Among other tasks, she is fulfilling her role as an academic partner to the Western Research Network on Education & Training (WRNET) at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. This is a five year project exploring the links between education and work: what are the results and outcomes of Canadian education programs and policies, and what factors make a difference to those results. The Network is funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in order to increase the linkages among academic researchers in different disciplines, institutions and countries, and between researchers in universities and those who use and do research in policy settings.

WRNET academic participants - primarily from the fields of education and economics - are based at five western Canadian universities, and at universities in Australia, Germany and the UK. They work closely with policy makers in governments, and with employers and educators in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Overall, WRNET research projects, which range from case studies of specific training programs, to policy studies, to analyses of large scale data sets, ask three broad questions: what educational outcomes matter to whom; how can these outcomes best be measured; how do different social processes affect outcomes in different contexts?

The results of education vary depending on the education and training program, the characteristics of individual learners, and the social context within which educational programs are developed and delivered. WRNET research assumes that context is key for understanding how to determine, measure and interpret educational outcomes. To understand how and why the outcomes of various educational programs differ, we need to study the role of individual characteristics (in students, teachers and employers) and the role of social and economic structures.

WRNET is organised into four distinct groups: the economists, the policy group, and two case studies groups each of which carries out research studies. For example, the economics group is doing research on returns to education in the US and Canada. The BC case studies group is looking at the introduction of applied academics into BC high schools and life skills into training initiatives while the Manitoba group is looking at longer-term outcomes for displaced workers and First Nations (aboriginal) adults. The policy group is looking at how politicians develop their understandings about what kind of programs best develop skills for the workplace and at the gendered effects of policy.

WRNET newsletters, working papers, conference papers and various research projects are posted on the web at http://www.educ.ubc.ca/wrnet. For more information, or if you would like to join the snail mail or electronic mailing lists, email: deanna.mcleod@ubc.ca

CONFERENCES:

ANZCIES Conference

The Australian and New Zealand Comparative and International Education Society (ANZCIES) held its 27th annual conference Culture, Crisis and Education: Comparative Perspectives for the New Millennium from 2-5 December at University College, the University of Melbourne. The conference was organised by Fiona Clyne and Roger R Woock, Senior Associate at the Youth Research Centre. The Faculty of Education at the university and the Youth Research Centre were sponsors.

The conference was judged by participants to be highly successful with registrants from Canada, the USA, New Zealand and Australia. The key note address was given by Professor Fazal Rizvi, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) at RMIT University. Professor Rizvi was a visiting fellow at the Youth Research Centre earlier this year. Papers presented at the conference dealt with issues affecting education in some 20 different countries. The proceedings of the conference including about three quarters of the papers discussed were provided to conference attendees on their registration. A copy of the proceedings has been lodged with the Youth Research Centre and the university library.

AROUND THE CENTRE:

Carlo Raffo:

For the first three weeks of November, Carlo Raffo from the University of Manchester was a visitor at the YRC. Carlo is the director of the Post 16 Studies Unit in the School of Education. His main research areas include youth transition, social exclusion, social capital theory, inter-agency collaboration, mentoring entrepreneurship in the post-industrial city. There are clear parallels between his work and the Centres'. During his visit he presented papers at ACER and VIEP seminars, on Mentoring Disenfranchised Young People, and held discussions with the Department of Education.

Bob Semmens:

Bob Semmens recently returned from the UK and the USA, where he spent more than two months. As reported in our last newsletter, he gave two papers, Transitioning to Citizenship? at the Correctional Education Association Conference in Philidelphia. He then stayed on at St Josephs University collecting data on students who drop out or become excluded from school.

In September he gave a paper on At Risk Students, Full-Service Schooling and Democratic Citizenship at the British Education Research Association Conference at the University of Sussex, Brighton, England. Bob then went to Sheffield to collect more data on students who leave school early, and discovered there is now a `social exclusion' unit within the Department of Education in the UK. This is an attempt to find solutions for problematic students through intervention combining the resources and strategies of several government departments, because student problems are rarely restricted to the school setting.

Bob also visited the Leicester University where there is a Citizenship Studies Unit which is engaged in assisting schools to develop citizenship curriculum with similar goals to the Australian citizenship curriculum, but not on a national scale.

Bob also took some recreation leave, visiting Glasgow and the Highlands of Scotland, before a ten day break in and around Assissi in Italy. Since returning to work he has among other things presented a paper titled `The track record of Education in Corrections', at the International Forum on Education in Penal Systems.

Debra Tyler:

Debra is currently on a four month visit to India. She will, among other things be doing research for her PhD thesis. Debra will be back in March 2000!

Changes in the Centre:

As of next year, there will be a change concerning when membership renewal letters are sent to members. At present there is a reminder letter sent the month memberships fall due and a final reminder is sent the following month. As of January 2000 however, the first reminder will be sent one month prior to when memberships fall due. The final reminder will be sent the following month.

Also please note the change in postal details to the Youth Research Centre; this also applies to the whole university.

Best Wishes to all our members & friends for the Festive Season and a Safe & Happy 2000 - from all the Staff at the YRC

Please note: this office will be closed from 24 December 1999 until 3 January 2000, and will reopen again on 4 January 2000!