Alternative schooling programs for at risk youth three case studies

KEY WORDS at risk youth alternative schooling alternative education programs national reporting system productive pedagogies literacy critical literacy 4 resources model critical reali

ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLING PROGRAMS

Cheryl Livock

BA, Grad Dip Adult Ed and Training,

MEd

This thesis is submitted in fulfilment of

the requirements for the degree

of Doctor of Philosophy

School of Cultural and Language Studies

Queensland University of Technology

July 2009

KEY WORDS

at risk youth alternative schooling alternative education programs national reporting system productive pedagogies

literacy critical literacy

4 resources model critical realism case study

ABSTRACT

This thesis develops a critical realist explanatory critique of alternative schooling

programs for youth at risk taking place at three case study sites Throughout the

thesis the author pursues the question, ―Are alternative provisions of schooling

working academically and socially for youth at risk?‖ The academic lens targets

literacy learning and associated pedagogies Social outcomes are posited as positive

social behaviours and continued engagement in learning

A four phased analysis, drawing on critical realism, interpretive and subject specific

theories is used to elicit explanations for the research question An overall framework

is a critical realist methodology as set out by Danermark, Ekstrom, Jakobsen and

Karlsson (2002, p 129) Consequently phase one describes the phenomena of

alternative schooling programs taking place at three case study sites This is reported

first as staff narratives that are resolved into imaginable historical causal components

of ―generative events‖, ―prior schooling structures‖, ―models of alternative

schooling‖, ―purpose‖, ―individual agency‖, and ―relations with linked community

organisations‖ Then transcendental questions are posed about each component using

retroduction to uncover structures, underlying mechanisms and powers, and

individual agency

In the second phase the researcher uses modified grounded theory methodology to

theoretically redescribe causal categories related to a ―needed different teaching and

administrative approach‖ that emerged from the previous critique A transcendental

question is then applied to this redescription

The research phenomena are again theoretically redescribed in the third phase, this

time using three theoretically based constructs associated with literacy and literacy

pedagogies; the NRS, the 4 Resources Model, and Productive Pedagogies This

redescription is again questioned in terms of its core or ―necessary‖ components

The fourth phase makes an explanatory critique by comparing and critiquing all

previous explanations, recontextualising them in a wider macro reality of alternative

schooling Through this critical realist explanatory critiquing process, a response

emerges not only to whether alternative provisions of schooling are working, but also

how they are working, and how they are not working, with realistically based

implications for future improvement

TABLE OF CONTENTS

KEY WORDS i

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF FIGURES vii

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 BACKGROUND and RESEARCH QUESTION 1

1.2 YOUTH AT RISK 2

1.2.1 Case Study Term – Youth At Risk 4

1.3 ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLING - SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY WITHIN CURRENT RESEARCH 5

1.3.1 Case Study Term - Alternative Schooling Provision 6

1.4 LITERACY CRISIS – PUBLIC PERCEPTION 7

1.4.1 Case Study Term – Literacy 10

1.5 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CRITICAL REALISM 11

1.5.1 Case Study Terms - Empowerment/ Agency 12

1.6 RESEARCH QUESTION REVIEWED 13

1.6.1 Scope, Limitations and Ethical Considerations 13

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 15

2.1 YOUTH AT RISK 15

2.1.1 Historical definitions of ―Risk‖, ―Risk Society‖ 15

2.1.2 Youth ―At Risk‖ – Perceived ―Risky‖ Groups of Young People 17

2.1.3 Educational and Social Impact of Risk Factors 27

2.2 ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLING – A RESPONSE TO EDUCATIONAL FAILURE 28

2.2.1 Educational Failure - Historical Construction of a Class or Individual‘s Problem 28

2.2.2 Educational Failure - a Training Problem of Government Institutions 30

2.2.3 Educational Failure - Input of the New Right 31

2.3 SOLUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL FAILURE FOR YOUTH AT RISK 34

2.3.1 Institutional - School Reform 34

2.3.2 Establishing Alternative Schools / Education Sites 35

2.4 A PERCEIVED LITERACY CRISIS 41

2.4.1 Origins of a Perceived Literacy Crisis 41

2.5 LITERACY EDUCATION 44

2.5.1 Definitions of Literacy 44

2.5.2 Models of Literacy linked to Interventionist Programs 49

2.5.3 Theoretical Literacy ―Models‖ Framing this Study 57

2.6 LITERATURE REVIEWED 64

3 CRITICAL REALISM: META-THEORY 66

3.1 A SOMEWHAT INTERPRETIVE FRAMEWORK 66

3.2 CRITICAL REALIST EPISTEMOLOGY 66

3.3 CRITICAL REALIST ONTOLOGY 68

3.4 BHASKAR‘S TRANSFORMATIONAL MODEL – The Connection Between Social Structures and Individual Agency 72

4 RESEARCH DESIGN, METHODOLOGY AND METHODS 78

4.1 CASE STUDY DESIGN 78

4.1.1 Case Study Design within a Critical Realist Framework 78

4.1.2 Purposeful Sampling 79

4.1.3 Sampling Criteria 80

4.2 METHODS – DATA COLLECTION 83

4.2.1 Research Implements 83

4.2.2 Research Timetable 85

4.3 METHODS – DATA ANALYSIS 91

4.3.1 Stages of a Critical Realist Explanatory Research 92

5 CASE STUDY 1: FLEXI SCHOOL 95

5.1 STAGE 1: FLEXI SCHOOL, PARTICIPANT STAFF DESCRIPTIONS 95

5.2 HISTORY 95

5.2.1 Flexi School Model 95

5.2.2 Flexi School - Purpose 96

5.2.3 Flexi School – Background and Location 97

5.3 PEOPLE 99

5.3.1 Flexi School - Teaching Staff 99

5.3.2 Flexi School – Students 103

5.4 PROGRAMS 104

5.4.1 Flexi School – Student Programs 104

5.4.2 Flexi School – Resources and Teaching Strategies 105

5.4.3 Flexi School – Outcomes: Most Effective and Suggested Improvements 107

6 CASE STUDY 2: ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION CENTRE 110

6.1 STAGE 1: ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION CENTRE, PARTICIPANT STAFF DESCRIPTIONS 110

6.2 HISTORY 110

6.2.1 Alternative Education Centre Model 110

6.2.2 Alternative Education Centre - Purpose 111

6.2.3 Alternative Education Centre – Background and Location 112

6.3 PEOPLE 114

6.3.1 Alternative Education Centre - Teaching Staff 114

6.3.2 Alternative Education Centre – Students 117

6.4 PROGRAMS 118

6.4.1 Alternative Education Centre – Student Programs 118

6.4.2 Alternative Education Centre – Resources and Teaching Strategies 121

6.4.3 Alternative Education Centre – Outcomes: Most Effective and Suggested Improvements 122

7 CASE STUDY 3: SUBURBAN TAFE, YOUTH AT RISK PROGRAM 124

7.1 STAGE 1: SUBURBAN TAFE YOUTH AT RISK PROGRAM, PARTICIPANT STAFF DESCRIPTIONS 124

7.2 HISTORY 124

7.2.1 Suburban TAFE, Youth At Risk Program – Model 124

7.2.2 Suburban TAFE, Youth At Risk Program – Purpose 125

7.2.3 Suburban TAFE, Youth At Risk Program – Background and Location 126

7.3 PEOPLE 127

7.3.1 Suburban TAFE, Youth At Risk Program – Teaching Staff 127

7.3.2 Suburban TAFE, Youth At Risk Program – Students 129

7.4 PROGRAMS 132

7.4.1 Suburban TAFE, Youth At Risk Program – Student Programs 132

7.4.2 Suburban TAFE, Youth At Risk Program – Resources and Teaching Strategies 134

7.4.3 Suburban TAFE, Youth At Risk Program – Outcomes: Most Effective and Suggested Improvements 136

8 CRITICAL REALIST ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDY NARRATIVES 141

8.1 STAGE 2: ANALYTICAL RESOLUTION and STAGE 4: RETRODUCTION 141

8.1.1 Flexi School – Resolution and Retroduction 142

8.1.2 Alternative Education Centre – Resolution and Retroduction 149

8.1.3 Suburban Tafe, Youth At Risk Program – Resolution and Retroduction 156

8.1.4 Reviewing Three Case Study Alternative ‗Schools‘ – Resolution and Retroduction 164

8.1.5 Conclusion – To Review of Historical Transcendental Question 169

9 PARTICIPANT PERSPECTIVE ANALYSIS THROUGH CODING 170

9.1 STAGE 3: THEORETICAL REDESCRIPTION and STAGE 4: RETRODUCTION 170

9.2 TWO LENSES: CODING – INTERROGATED BY TRANSCENDENTAL CRITICAL REALIST QUESTIONING 171

9.2.1 First Lens: Coding Categories – Academic and Social Coding ALL Student and Staff Narratives 172

9.2.2 Second Lens: Critical Realist Retroduction – Reframing Academic and Social Categories 195

10 CASE STUDY LITERACY PRACTICES AND PEDAGOGIES 198

10.1 STAGE 3: THEORETICAL REDESCRIPTION and STAGE 4: RETRODUCTION 198

10.2 TWO LITERACY LENSES – THREE THEORETICALLY BASED MODELS 198

10.3 ANALYSIS OF LITERACY PRODUCTIONS AND PEDAGOGIC PRACTICES AT CASE STUDY SITES 200

10.3.1 Rural Flexi School - Literacy Experiences of Students: John 14; Nicole, 16 200

10.3.2 Alternative Education Centre - Literacy Experiences of students: Matt 13; Alf, 14 216

10.3.3 Suburban TAFE Youth at Risk Program - Literacy Experiences of students: Shaniah 17; John, 17 230

10.4 CRITICAL REALIST RETRODUCTION – TRANSCENDENTAL QUESTION: REGARDING LITERACY PRODUCTIONS, PRACTICES AND PEDAGOGIES 246

10.4.1 Necessary Academic Outcomes: NRS Literacy Levels, Social/Critical Literacy, Productive Pedagogies 247

10.4.2 Necessary Social Outcomes: Students‟ social practices and continued engagement in learning 248

10.5 NECESSARY RELATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS: FACILITATING LITERACY LEARNING and ENGAGEMENT 250

11 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 253

11.1 STAGE 5: COMPARING THEORIES/ABSTRACTIONS and STAGE 6: CONCRETIZATION and CONTEXTUALIZATION 253

11.2 ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLING – A RESPONSE TO WHOSE EDUCATIONAL FAILURE? 253

11.2.1 Interaction of Society and the Individual – The Effect of Schooling Structures and Mechanisms on Individual Agency of Staff and Parents in continuing alternative schooling and/or an alternative approach 254

11.3 YOUTH AT RISK – AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH NEEDED 258

11.3.1 Necessary Categories Derived from Coding – What was Alternative about Alternative Schooling, as experienced by students and staff? 259

11.4.1 Literacy Practices and Pedagogies – the Essential Components 263

11.5 FINAL DISCUSSION and RECOMMENDATIONS 268

11.5.1 Findings Summarized 268

11.5.2 Recommendations - Essential ‗Academic‘ Components 270

11.5.3 Recommendations - Essential ‗Social‘ Components 271

11.5.4 Recommended Theoretical Stance 273

REFERENCE LIST 275

APPENDICES 291

Appendix 1: Interview - Program Coordinator 292

Appendix 2: Interview - Individual Student 293

Appendix 3: Interview – Student‘s Teacher 295

Appendix 4: Teacher Questionnaire - Site Literacy Practices 297

Appendix 5: Research Information Sheet 298

Appendix 6: Research Consent Form – Students 300

Appendix 7: Research Consent Form – Parents/Carers 301

Appendix 8: Research Consent Form – Staff 302

Appendix 9: Heuristics On Categories Of Productive Pedagogies 303

Appendix 10: Critical Reading / Critical Literacy Theoretical Background 304

Appendix 11: 4228.0 Aspects of Literacy: Assessed Literacy Skills 305

Appendix 12: The National Reporting System (NRS), Australia Literacy – Reading and Writing Indicators, Levels 1-5 321

Appendix 13: Alternative Schooling Sites‘ Characteristics 323

Appendix 14: Stratified: Social Structures and Mechanisms; Individuals‘ Agency and Power (Chapter 8) 324

Appendix 15: ―Different‖ Teaching and Administrative Approaches At Alternative Schooling Sites (Chapter 9) 327

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Newmann and Associates: "Standards for Authentic Achievement" 54

Figure 2.2 New Basics Project, Productive Pedagogies aligned with Newmann et al.‘s Authentic Achievement: Instruction 55

Figure 2.3 The National Reporting System (NRS), Australia – reading and writing (simplified) 60

Figure 3.1 Bhaskar's Transformational Model of the Society/Person Connection (1979) 73

Figure 3.2 Bhaskar "on the Society/Person Connection" (1979) 74

Figure 4.1 Visits to case study sites - 2004/2007 85

Figure 4.2 Critical Realist stages in explanatory research 93

Figure 5.1 Flexi School exterior 99

Figure 5.2 Flexi School classroom 106

Figure 6.1 Alternative Education Centre classrooms and reception area 112

Figure 6.2 Alternative Education Centre - verandah morning tea area, radio room, art room, kitchen 113

Figure 7.1 Suburban TAFE - computer classroom, campus grounds, literacy classroom 127

Figure 9.1 Pedagogic differences 174

Figure 9.2 Social support 177

Figure 9.3 Literacy experience 179

Figure 9.4 Positive administrative approaches 182

Figure 9.5 Reasons for continued disengagement and solutions 186

Figure 9.6 Administrative approaches 190

Figure 11.1 Theory: the "Get" and "Give principles 274

LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Language and Pedagogical Composite Assessment Model 63

Table 4.1 Research Timetable – Data Collection and Analysis 86

Table 9.1 Suburban TAFE: Literacy „Theme Work‟ 180

Table 9.2 Suburban TAFE: Literacy „Fundraising Committee‟ 181

Table 10.1 Composite Literacy Assessment Model (abbreviated), Flexi School Student-John 204

Table 10.2 Composite Assessment Model (abbreviated), Flexi School Student-Nicole 212

Table 10.3 Composite Assessment Model (abbreviated), AEC Student-Alf 219

Table 10.4 Composite Assessment Model (abbreviated), AEC Student-Matt 226

Table 10.5 Composite Literacy Assessment Model (abbreviated),Suburban TAFE Student-Shaniah 234

Table 10.6 Composite Literacy Assessment Model (abbreviated), Suburban TAFE Student-John 237

Table 11.1 Necessary Components for Successful Alternative Schooling - Implemented/Not Implemented 269

Table 11.2 Recommendations: Essential Academic Components of a "Different" Approach 271

Table 11.3 Recommendations: Essential Social Components of a “Different” Approach - for Individuals 272

Table 11.4 Recommendations: Essential Social Components of a “Different” Approach - for Social Institutions 273

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ACER Australian Council for Educational Research

CGEA Certificate in General Education for Adults

DEEWR Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations

[Australian Government]

DET Department of Employment and Training [Queensland, Australia]

ETRF Education and Training Reforms for the Future

NCVER Australia‘s National Centre for Vocational Education Research

TAFE Technical and Further Education College

STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP

The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or

diploma at any other higher education institution To the best of my knowledge and

belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another

person except where due reference is made

Signed: ………

Cheryl Livock

Date: ………

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many thanks to those who participated in this study, both students and teachers, who

gave generously of their time Thanks also to Queensland University of

Technology‘s Faculty of Education whose scholarship gave some assistance with

living expenses

I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of my two supervisors:

Associate Professor Annah Healy as primary supervisor in helping frame the entire

thesis and particularly important was her input into the construction of the interview

questions and guiding the editing process; and Dr Phil Crane as associate supervisor

for his ongoing encouragement, constant critiquing of the writing process, and

thought provoking guidance on the subject of at risk youth Also at the initial stages

of the research a debt of gratitude goes Adjunct Professor Bill Corcoran who assisted

in discussions revolving around alternative schools, offering practical knowledge

about specific alternative schools in Queensland

Additionally worthy of grateful mention was the ongoing assistance of library and

technical personnel with the everlasting intricacies of Endnote And finally many

thanks to the collegial group of PhD students inhabiting the bowels of E Block, their

good humour and enduring support made the journey bearable

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Today, 10 000 Queenslanders aged 15 to 17 years are not in school, not in work and not in training This is simply not good enough and we have to try harder (Anna Bligh, Matt Foley, & Peter Beattie, 2002, p.3)

The above statement was made by the then Queensland ministers for Education; for Employment, Training and Youth; and the Premier and Minister for Trade, as they were on the cusp of introducing reformative legislation addressing education and training in Queensland, Australia A key focus of this legislation was youth ―at risk‖,

that is youth at risk of disengaging from school, work and training This concern reflected a phenomenon developing over the latter decades of the twentieth century and now on into the twenty first century This is the burgeoning problem of youth at risk of becoming disengaged from community life For many of these young people,

a barrier to participation in education, work and community life has been low levels

of literacy and numeracy attainment Governments and educators have therefore sought to reengage these young people by providing alternative literacy programs at reformed or alternative education venues In a globalized world, the problem has to

be recognized as extending across the globe Raising literacy levels has been seen as part of the solution for reengaging at risk youth across the globe

For example, for over two decades in the United Kingdom, literacy levels allied with

a national curriculum have been on the national education agenda In the Australian federal arena, literacy has also been on the national agenda For instance in 2004 the then Australian Prime Minister, John Howard announced a package of federal funding for education sites specifically tied to literacy level attainments and the implementation of a national curriculum Indeed there has been such a worldwide concern for literacy levels that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Statistics Canada have been conducting a series of International Adult Literacy Surveys in 23 countries or regions around the world over the past 15 years (Statistics Canada, 2003)

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

Drawing on these issues this study will investigate three intertwining issues of youth

at risk, alternative education provisions and literacy It will ask the question:

What alternative provisions of schooling are working for youth at

risk? What provisions are working academically? What provisions

are working socially?

What counts as effective social provisions will be viewed through the lens of

administrative and social practices that succeed in keeping at risk students engaged

in learning What counts as effective academic provisions will be viewed through the

lens of literacy productions and pedagogies The literacy productions include: at risk

students‘ literacy levels, and students‘ literacy repertoires of practice, while successful pedagogies are those which develop and maintain at risk students‘

engagement in literacy learning, and improve literacy acquisition and productions The study will also seek to establish whether and to what extent these social and academic practices are evident across a range of alternative schooling models

―Youth at risk‖ has also been a topic of concern, as illustrated in the introductory

quote, not only in Australia but globally Although widely used, ―literacy‖ has also

been a contested term Te Riele comments on this, when she says:

Youth ―at risk‖ is the currently favoured label used in Australian policy for youth

whose educational outcomes are considered too low, with an emphasis on the

risk of not completing senior secondary education Although some research has

identified factors contributing to this risk as stemming from complex interactions

between individual and family circumstances as well as characteristics of schools

and society, policy identification of youth ―at risk‖ has tended to simplistically

focus on personal attributes of young people (2006b)

Te Riele goes on to question whether identifying a particular sector of young people

as being ―at risk‖ is further marginalising them and removing the focus from

systemic problems Various authors in government reports, academic journals and the media (Bessant, 2002b; Cieslik and Pollock, 2002; Department of Education (Tasmania), 2003, Sept.; Dugger and Dugger, 1998, Apr/May; Flannery, Kopkowski, and Rosales, 2008, Jan.; Singh and Taylor, 2007) have identified these systemic

problems as schooling‘s response to a changing global social, economic and

employment landscape linked to a technological revolution that has had equivalent disruptive societal effects as the industrial revolution centuries earlier In this context Bessant postulated how "'Youth at risk' [have become] … 'miners' canaries' of our

society in crisis" (2002b, p 34) In a Youth At Risk Issues Paper, Tasmanian state education department defined these ―canaries‖ as, ―Youth at risk – those who are at risk of disengaging from education, training and/or employment‖ (Department of

Education (Tasmania), 2003, Sept., p 9) This paper then identified a continuum of risk: ―low risk; moderate risk; high risk or disengaged,‖ and that ―[t]he ability to

identify who is at risk and at what level of risk they are at is critical in enabling the

most appropriate types and range of services from a variety of providers‖ (ibid.)

In 1989 public horror and consternation was expressed in Australia wide radio talk back programs and in the media generally (Fopp, 2008), when youth experiencing the highest levels of risk were first brought to public attention by the Burdekin report Our Homeless Children, a seminal report on youth homelessness in Australia (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission & Burdekin, 1989) A figure of 20,000 to 25,000 children and young people were then mooted to be homeless every night, 15-19,000 being young people aged 12-24 years (The National Youth Commission, 2008) A public outcry has again been reactivated in early 2008, when

a second nation wide independent inquiry Australia‟s Homeless Youth (ibid.) was

published This time homeless youth aged 12-24 years have increased to 36,000 Concerned service providers and media commentators have voiced concern about this expanding highly at risk group of young Australians (ABC News, 2008; Andrews, 2008; Anglicare Australia, 2008, April 8; Fopp, 2008; Lowcock, 2008) Lincoln Hopper, CEO of one such provider, Mission Australia declaring that youth homelessness was a serious blight on Australian society, further commented:

When the number of homeless teenagers doubles in 20 years – despite us

achieving record levels of prosperity in that time – then something is seriously

wrong (Andrews, 2008)

One key solution offered by Australia‟s Homeless Youth report itself, as well as other

previous governmental reports (Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies, 2004; Brooks, Milne, Paterson, Johansson, & Hart, 1997; Crane et al., 1996) was to provide

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

youth, at all three levels of risk, necessary support to maintain or re-engage in their education, and assist with successful transitions into employment

1.2.1 Case Study Term – Youth At Risk

For the purpose of this study ―youth at risk‖ are defined as young people with social,

economic or learning barriers that prevent them from being engaged in education, and put them at risk of lacking the literacy needed to be effectively engaged in lifelong learning and community life Participation in community life includes the ability to be gainfully employed, and be empowered to take part in civic life

This study will investigate how alternative schooling has or has not provided necessary support for youth at risk at all three levels of risk; from those at risk of educational disengagement, to those who have become homeless, suffered abuse, and have experienced health or drug problems The age range for youth at risk participating in this study is between 10 and 18 years This is the period of adolescence generally defined in education, medicine and psychology as a period of maturation between puberty and maturity (Greene & Naughton, 2006; Oxford Dictionary, 2006; Pinquart & Silbereisen, 2005, Nov.; te Riele, 2006a) However, it also needs to be noted that the cohort of young people at three of the case study sites and also at alternative education sites in general are usually in the same range 14 to

18 years, the same age range targeted by Australian federal funded programs for at risk adolescents, including ―Youth Pathways‖, and ―Job Placement, Employment and

Training f‖ program (Commonwealth of Australia, 2008; Department of Education

Employment and Workplace Relations (Australian Government), 2007)

The definition ―youth at risk‖ is very similar to the ones espoused by the two

education authorities auspicing alternative sites where the study is taking place Education Queensland is the state department providing distance education materials for some alternative sites, as well as overseeing state run schools Education

Queensland‘s definition for at risk students is that,

―Students at educational risk‖ are those students whose experience of schooling,

together with other factors in their lives, makes them vulnerable to not

completing twelve years of schooling or equivalent qualification, or not

achieving to their potential, the essential knowledge and skills for effective

participation in work, relationships and families, and as active citizens in the

community (The State of Queensland (Department of Education), 2000, p 3)

Similarly, the Queensland state government department which oversees Technical and Further Education [TAFE], defines at risk adolescents as those facing long-term unemployment, as well as being unable to engage with their communities, who are

"at risk of becoming disconnected from our society at risk of dropping out of school, training and work, and face increasing difficulty in finding employment in the future" (Department of Employment and Training, 2002 pp 8, 30)

Thus these two governmental providers focus on two aspects of being at risk: at risk

of not continuing in education, and at risk of becoming unemployed A third issue addressed is that this group is at risk of being disengaged from community life The

ramifications of being academically and socially ―at risk‖ will be explored by the

study

WITHIN CURRENT RESEARCH

The provision at alternative education sites of literacy programs for youth at risk is a relatively new area globally (Blyth & Milner, 1996; Grunsell, 1980; Gupta & Coxhead, 1990; Hayden, 1997; Reid, 1986; Sabatino & Mauser, 1978; Smink, 1997; Zionts, 1996) but particularly in Australia (Currie, 2000, April; Evans, 1994; Grundy, 1994; Gupta & Coxhead, 1990; Long, 1998; Raha & Walker, 1996) Consequently the study aims to break new ground in the understanding of the alternative or non mainstream schooling provision of literacy education for at risk youth, as addressed in the Australian context Are there effective pedagogic practices applicable expressly for at risk students' literacy acquisition, which are site specific

or are they generic across alternative sites? Does the organizational structure and practices of non mainstream educational provision, impact on pedagogy? If so is there a resultant effect on literacy acquisition? These are aspects of non mainstream literacy provision that the study seeks to illuminate

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

Additionally, this study is significant in that it focuses on non mainstream literacy provision, whereas previous studies have most commonly examined effective literacy provision in the context of mainstream schooling (Brodie & Berridge, 1996; 2001; Netolicky, 1997; Newmann & Associates, 1996; 2001-2002; Van Kraayenoord

& Farrell, 1998) There have been some studies which looked at alternative education sites, but these have tended to focus only on behavioural and other social issues and their impact on student engagement, rather than specifically addressing the impact of literacy pedagogies, as well as needed social support, on at risk student engagement (Brannock, Taylor, & Hart, 2002; Murik, 1997; Nayton, 1995; Raha & Walker, 1996; Vickers, 1993)

The majority of studies of alternative education centres have also been typically of a short duration lasting only weeks or months In contrast, this study‘s data collection

was over a period of twelve months, with an additional extended reporting to sites and feedback period of two years Consequently the information gathered has been subject to an extensive period of reappraisal by participants The theoretical underpinning of a critical realist explanatory analysis has worked towards revealing, hitherto unnoticed, enabling or disempowering social structures present in alternative education These are social structures at the local or micro level, and also those at the wider macro level It is intended therefore that this study should provide a substantial contribution to informing educational policy, as well as providing practical assistance

to educators, about a significant issue in education circles today

For the purposes of this study, alternative schooling provision will be defined as non mainstream school/education sites providing education programs for young people who have either been excluded from mainstream schooling or who have dropped out

of school Some young people attending these sites are below the compulsory age for leaving school, while others are above

Impacting on student attendance in Australia is a payment called ―Youth Allowance‖

which the Australian federal government pays to all Australian youths or their parents A requirement of receiving this payment is that the youth, aged 15 to 24

(Centrelink, Sept 2002b), are involved in some form of training or work For the majority of young people living at home and still engaged in mainstream schooling, this allowance is used to pay for educational expenses However, for adolescents living out of home or in low socio-economic homes, this allowance is of vital importance for daily survival It may be used to pay for basic accommodation and living expenses (Australian Centre for Equity through Education & The Australian Youth Research Centre, 2001, Feb., p 12) Therefore although at risk students attending alternative sites may be of post compulsory school age, the necessity to

receive the ―Youth Allowance‖, makes attendance quasi compulsory Also the

alternative sites themselves require national recognition as a training provider for the

students‘ attendance to be recognised

As a corollary to this government funding introduced in 1998, alternative education sites have been changing both in their structure, and how they deliver and assess literacy education The study elicits the views of both adolescents and staff about the effectiveness and impact on literacy learning of these diverse and evolving alternative learning environments, and the impact of government policy

Impacting and contextualising the issues of at risk youth and alternative schooling is the perception of a literacy crisis A public perception of a literacy crisis has in recent times caused some considerable debate in the Australian context: in academia, the popular press, and politics This is a debate that has extended over the past several decades

During the 1990s claims and counter claims about a literacy crisis had reverberated across Australian news print pages and air waves The popular program 60 Minutes

in late 1997 aired a programme supporting the "literacy is in crisis" view (Sawyer & Watson, 1997) This program featured statistics from the Australian Council for Educational Research's (ACER) comparative literacy survey, which were quoted by the then federal Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training, Dr David Kemp (Marks & Ainley, 1997) Kemp used these statistics to support the claim

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

"[literacy] systems that have been used over the last 20 years or so haven't worked for a significant number of young people" (Astley & Astley, 2004a, 2004b) He further stated, "Parents are being deceived when they're told that 96% of students are reading at an appropriate level" (Kitson, 1999, Feb 6) However, writers from the University of Western Sydney claimed that Kemp‘s views were deceiving (Sawyer &

Watson, 1997) These writers claimed Kemp had wrongly pre-empted ACER's 1997 findings when stating basic literacy standards had declined since 1975 They claimed ACER in fact had found no significant statistical variation in basic literacy standards Sawyer and Watson said the result of Kemp's pre-emptive interpretation was legislation passed in December 1996, "bringing radical funding changes, to the detriment of state schools" (Sawyer & Watson, 1997, p 459)

Highly emotive reactions to Kemp's construction of a literacy crisis were later expressed by Australians across political perspectives The Australian Education Union produced a media release titled Kemp's Literacy Sham Exposed (Burrow, 2000) The Australian Democrat senator, Lyn Allison, with a portfolio for Schools and Training gave a speech to the federal senate titled A Matter of Public Importance

- Schools Funding She criticised Mr Kemp's initiatives saying, "It is easy to then point to a literacy crisis and pretend that you are actually doing a lot about it Educational disadvantage is not solely a function of poor literacy but has many causes, particularly socioeconomic" (Allison, 2000) Concurring with these sentiments, that educational and economic disadvantage were brought about by factors other than lack of literacy, was an article "Literacy, history and blaming the

victim" in the Green Left Weekly (Tomlinson, 1999, March 10 )

One by-product of the literacy crisis debate has been the tying of individual welfare payments and educational funding to remedial literacy programs, for the unemployed, and as a corollary for at risk adolescents and the educational institutions they attend For example in 1999, The Age newspaper had run headlines "PM Tells Jobless to Study" with an accompanying article "Learn to Read or Lose Dole" (Kitson, 1999, Feb 6) 1999 was the year when the Australian Prime Minster decided

to tie a welfare payment for the unemployed to participation in remedial literacy programs At that time, Melbourne academic Barbara Kamler, interviewed on the national broadcaster, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commented that, "In

recent years literacy has persistently been represented in terms of deficit and crisis simplistic cause and effect narratives of crisis and blame" (Kitson, 1999, Feb 6) Kamler questioned whether literacy was in crisis She referred to statistics from an Australian Bureau of Statistics, Report 4224.0 Education and training in Australia (Long, Carpenter, & Hayden, 1999, Sept.), which revealed generational literacy was improving rather than deteriorating and that each generation has improved literacy skills than the one before it She further questioned the link between unemployment and low literacy levels by pointing to the International Adult Literacy Survey (Oblinger, 2003) results that showed OECD countries, which had higher literacy levels than Australia, were still experiencing growing unemployment, while the United States with lower literacy levels had falling unemployment

Governmental apologists, in a comprehensive chronology detailing all substantial Australian Commonwealth literacy research and policy initiatives between 1975 and

2000, took a different view (Harrington & McDonald, 1999, Dec 7) This view supported the idea that literacy was in crisis and low literacy levels were linked to unemployment and lesser life chances In fact these apologists quoted the same Report 4224.0 to substantiate their claims about unemployment:

Labour force participation rates for people with high literacy skills were between

86 per cent to 89 per cent compared to 56 per cent to 60 per cent for those with

low level literacy skills Unemployment rates for people with poor literacy were

four times that of people with high levels of literacy {}

Literacy as a focus of public and media concern has continued throughout the new millennium In 2004, a prime ministerial candidate Mark Latham put forward a three year literacy program as a key component of his policy platform Melbourne newspaper, The Age then queried whether the newly proposed three year literacy program, costing $27.5 million a year was addressing the right issues in education (Davidson, 2004) Then as recently as February, 2008 well known education columnist Christopher Bantick, in the Australian newspaper, questioned the newly

elected prime minister‘s ―education revolution‖, refocussing public attention onto

literacy standards:

While Kevin Rudd makes much of his so-called education revolution, which is

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

the much harder question: will the federal Government be insistent that schools

lift their literacy standards? (Bantick, 2008, Feb 27)

It is evident from these debates and views that the perception of a literacy crisis has,

in recent times, caused some considerable debate in the Australian context Often linked to this debate has been the issue of young people with low literacy levels who fail to complete their schooling, become unemployed and are at risk of social disengagement

1.4.1 Case Study Term – Literacy

In this study literacy for at risk youth will be viewed through three different lenses: the literacy levels they attain; the breadth of literacy practices they display, their repertoires of critical literacy practices; and the literacy pedagogies involved A comprehensive discussion of these terms occurs in Chapter Two

The study acknowledges that defining literacy education is a complex task The definition this study accepts is the one given by Australia‘s National Centre for

Vocational Education Research {} NCVER claims this to be one of the most widely accepted definition of literacy in Australia:

Literacy involves the integration of listening, speaking, reading, writing and

critical thinking; it incorporates numeracy It includes the cultural knowledge

which enables a speaker, a writer or reader to recognise and use language

appropriate to different situations For an advanced technological society such

as Australia, the goal is an active literacy which allows people to use language to

enhance their capacity to think, create and question, in order to participate

effectively in society (Falk, 2001, p 10)

In other words literacy is a multi mediated social and cultural practice (Emmitt, Komesaroff, & Pollock, 2007) In light of this understanding the implications for youth at risk could be that their personal social and cultural contexts need to be recognised and supported, in order that these young people become fully literate in our technological society This is another facet of academic and social provisions for youth at risk that this study investigates

1.5 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CRITICAL REALISM

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the layered (Bhaskar & Danermark, 2006; Brown, 2009) reality for youth at risk involved in alternative schooling provisions

Critical Realism was chosen both as a philosophical framework and a methodology

As a philosophical framework, critical realism views social reality as the Empirical, the Actual, and the Real The Empirical is what human beings experience The Actual is what is possible to happen or does happen, which may or may not be experienced The Real comprises the social and natural objects of the world existing independent of human experience These objects are themselves comprised of structures and mechanisms, which may or may not be observed or understood (Bhaskar, 1979a; Danermark et al., 2002; Sayer, 2004) The critical aspect of critical realism is the endeavour to empower individuals by revealing and then exposing the power of hitherto unobserved underlying structures and mechanisms which may act

as barriers in their lives

As a methodology, critical realism is qualitative, interpretive, critical and real It is qualitative in that it does not compare case study results with those of a control group For example, the study will not count the number of times students at the alternative schools reached a certain literacy benchmark compared to those at a neighbouring high school, as would be the case in a quantitative study Critical realism is interpretive in that it does gather and triangulate discursive and artefactual data from various sources, using academic theory to interpret this data For example case study students, their teacher and centre coordinator were all interviewed about

the same phenomena: the student‘s literacy learning experience Work samples and

administrative data were collected, and classroom observations were also made of the same phenomena Visits were made to the same sites over a period of one year, with an extended two year feedback period All this data will then be interpreted through a critical realist methodological framework using i] critical realist transcendental questioning; ii] a modified form of grounded theory; and iii] subject specific literacy analysis In this way a thick description (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996) necessary for interpretivism, will be provided, as well as an academic analysis (Sayer, 2004) Finally, as a critical and realist methodology, data interpreted will be linked back to the real structures and mechanisms that underlie the societal and

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

individual realities of the alternative schooling phenomena Then the power of these underlying, interconnecting, and interacting structures and mechanisms will be critiqued

Thus by employing critical realism as both a philosophical and methodological framework, this study aims to report both the level and type of at risk youth literacy learning experiences, and also to provide a critical analysis of the phenomena of alternative schooling provision, focussing on the areas of literacy and social practices

As described, integral to critical realism are the concepts of ―empowerment‖ and

―agency‖ Critical realism also assesses normative issues: what should at risk youth

be empowered to do? Those espousing a liberal form of democracy may see citizenship and the ability to fully participate in the liberal democratic process, as the goal of empowerment Another related question concerns whether at risk students are empowered to have the same rights and life opportunities as teenagers in the non at risk category? Those advocating market place economies may define empowerment

in terms of consumerism One US Senator stated recently, "Financial literacy can empower consumers of all ages and is particularly important for young people who are making financial decisions at earlier ages than ever before" (Fitzgerald, 2004, March 30) This senator conceived empowerment as the ability to "create effective budgets, enhance strategic investment decisions and achieve both short- and long-term financial goals, such as the accumulation of savings" (Fitzgerald, 2004, March 30) Finally, literacy educators may conceive of empowerment as individuals enabled

to think critically and analytically as a result of acquired higher order literacy skills These skills would also enable the empowered individual to confidently use all forms

of literacy, written, oral, visual, in a multiplicity of contexts (Street, 1995b; 1996) A more in depth discussion of power and agency will be explored in Chapter Three, Research Theory

1.6 RESEARCH QUESTION REVIEWED

What alternative provisions of schooling are working for youth at

risk? What provisions are working academically? What provisions

are working socially?

To reiterate, the pivotal research issues under investigation are: literacy, youth at risk, and alternative schooling provisions Therefore in the context of alternative schooling, students’ repertoires of literacy practices and teachers’ literacy

pedagogic practices will be investigated to discover, ―What provisions are working

academically?” for youth at risk The study will determine which literacy practices

increase participating students‘ literacy levels; which practices develop and maintain

the engagement of at risk youth in literacy learning; which practices are authentic or

useful in the ―real‖ world, acknowledging these students' experiences and world

view; and which practices are critical, teaching critical and cultural appraisal of texts, producing empowerment and giving greater life chances

To discover ―What provisions are working socia lly?” the study will investigate what

social practices are engaging youth at risk attending alternative case study sites

These are practices or provisions which not only support at risk students in their academic engagement, but which also result in positive behavioural and affective practices for this at risk cohort Social provisions include administrative and policy practices of educational organisations, of alternative schools themselves and linked educational bodies

1.6.1 Scope, Limitations and Ethical Considerations

In investigating these issues this study acknowledges certain limitations and ethical considerations, which impacted the scope of the study There is a multiplicity of forms or models of alternative schooling existent in Australia; however, as there was only one researcher logistics of travel, time and funding limited the researcher to only four models, three main case study sites and a pilot site, in the south east area of Queensland A comparative alternative school in Texas, USA was originally going to

be included in the study, but as the study progressed it became apparent inclusion of this site lay outside of the capacity of the study The exclusion of this site is further

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

To ensure confidentiality of youth at risk participating in the study no photographs were made of any students and all students chose a pseudonym Within the thesis students were either referred to by their chosen pseudonym or as ―Student 1‖,

―Student 2‖ and so on This was also the practice for teaching staff at each alternative

schooling site Additionally, although photographs were included of insides of classroom and some building exteriors, care was taken not to include identifying signs of alternative schools In this way the study sought to maintain the confidentiality of both participating students and staff

Informed consent of both the students and their parents was gained by the researcher first talking with students at the alternative school, and verbally explaining what the study was about If students were willing to participate they and their parents were provided with an information sheet (Appendix 5) and consent forms (Appendices 6-7) For some students who were classified by the Australian government as

―independents‖, who lived independently from their parents, no parental permission

was sought The same process was utilized for informing and gaining the consent of staff (Appendix 8) For sites attached to larger educational organisations, informed consent was first gained from those linked organisations through a similar process but also including organisational processes and documentation

In this way while maintaining all due ethical considerations, this study has endeavoured to thoroughly investigate issues of literacy, and social engagement relating to the provision of alternative schooling for youth at risk

Finally the research received ethical clearance from both the state department of education, Education Queensland, and also from the Queensland University of Technology‘s ethics committee

Chapter 2 - Literature Review

The literature review will expand on the three foci of this study: youth at risk; literacy; and alternative schooling provisions These three areas will be reviewed: historically, in their present context, and how they will impact this study A sub theme that weaves its way across the three areas of concern is social support: the social support needed for youth at risk in the community generally; the social support needed to be provided specifically by alternative schools; and the social support needed for their literacy engagement and acquisition

Additionally just as a debate has arisen over the nature of a perceived literacy crisis,

so there has been some discussion about the definition of literacy As the perceived literacy crisis impacts on this study from the point of view of literacy program funding, tied to acceptable curriculum design and delivery, reaching standards, and obligatory student participation; so the definition of literacy affects the very core of literacy provision and practices This chapter therefore will also encompass an in depth review of literature addressing the changing definitions of literacy, and extant literacy models This will inform the choice of literacy models with which to assess what literacy practices and pedagogies are most effective for at risk students participating in the study

2.1.1 Historical definitions of “ Risk ” , “ Risk Society ”

The term ―youth at risk‖ can be placed in the context of the concepts of ―risk‖ and a

―risk society‖ ―Risk‖ had its origins in the Renaissance French word risqué and

Italian riscare These words had both the connotation of facing possible danger, or

of chancing / daring to do something, often to gamble (Wyld & Partridge, 1968, p.1255) Thus ―risk‖ had both positive and negative connotations Initially from the

eighteenth to early twentieth centuries, ―risk‖ held more of an optimistic connotation

During this Modern Era ―risk‖ was a positive force for European explorers and

industrialists to risk or dare to build an empire When risk became associated with

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

the insurance industry in the nineteenth century, it involved certainty: measurable risk factors to insure industry and industrial productions However, certainty and optimism gave way to uncertainty and pessimism as the Post-modern Era developed

Of this present period Bessant, Hil and Watts (2003, p.11) comment, ―Risk now

embodies an anxiety that social order and personal well-being alike are under threat‖

Of the several authors they quote, Sennett (1999, p.81) offers the view that previous

calculatable certainties are now uncertain: ―risk taking is something other than the

sunny reckoning of the possibilities contained in the present The mathematics of risk

offers no assurances.‖

Thus as western society passed from modernity to post-modernity, the word ―risk‖ swapped its aura of optimism to one of pessimism Whereas Mark Twain‘s Tom

Sawyer was seen as a 19th century young person risking youthful adventures, in

today‘s context he might be seen as a youth at risk

The ―risk society‖ spoken about by Beck (1992b) characterized this ―new modern‖

era or ―late modernity‖ (Tait, 2004), our present era which commenced in the 1960s,

when modernity was first pronounced dead (O' Farrell, 1999) A particular watershed year epitomising this new epoch of risk was 1968, which saw worldwide commotions: a general strike and student riots in Paris; communist states invading Czechoslovakia and halting its progression towards democracy; in the United States student protests against the Vietnam war, the assassination of Martin Luther King, the rise of the Black Panthers and the burning of some north American cities The Tet offensive in Vietnam also occurred in 1968, when the U.S Embassy in Saigon previously thought to be invulnerable was taken over (Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002)

1968 was the year that startled the democratic western world out of its complacent, conservative acceptance of the Enlightenment project The civil foment of that year attacked the internal structure of society itself, unlike previous uncivilized acts of The Third Reich and World War II, seen as aberrations, temporary triumphs of irrationality (Stirk, 2000) attacking the external fabric of the nation state At this time Foucault and many of the French structuralists abandoned structuralism and became post-structuralists Other academics (Denzin, 1994; Giddens, 1991, as cited

in Tait, 2004; Habermas, 1975; Hargreaves, 1972) became sceptical that ―reason‖

could produce the truth to solve society‘s problems Solutions to social problems

became a contested area So by the 1970s the idea of a ―risk society‖ became

established, with a cadre of writers from academia, policy making, as well as the insurance, management and medical industries acknowledging the ―riskiness‖ of

society throughout the 1970s and 1980s (Banfield, 1970; Herbert, Swanson, & Reddy, 1979; Kozol, 1986; National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983; Pack, 1977; Rugman, 1976; Silberman, 1970; Slee, 1988; Slovic, Fischhoff, & Lichtenstein, 1979; Willis, 1986) Many of these writers spoke of the effects of the

―risky‖ or ―crisis‖ prone late-modern society on education

Along with a crisis riven ―risk society‖, the concept of a ―moral panic‖ was

popularised by Cohen in the early 1970s (1972) This concept entailed a functionalist

perspective which Bessant describes as ―the ideas of social consensus and adherence

to dominant social values‖ and where ―proper and effective socialisation is essential for creating and maintaining social consensus‖ (1997, p.29) So when certain groups

or ideas do not conform to the consensus of mainstream social values a ―moral

panic‖ erupts, often exacerbated by media reporting (Simpson, 1997) However,

Cohen and other writers, Simpson and Bessant for example, have critiqued the morality and theoretical basis for moral panics constructed around groups such as

―the destitute, the immoral, youth and the undeserving poor‖ (Bessant, 1997, p.33) Presenting a paper at ―the European Conference of Educational Research‖,

Ecclestone and Field characterized this conceptualisation of a ―risk society‖ and

―moral panic‖ as part of a ―broader culture of fear‖ due to a ―political, social and individual preoccupation with risk‖ (2001, p.40) They go on to state:

Fear of risk also leads to an increasing range of attributes and situations that

politicians and agencies define as ‗risky‘, and in parallel, to new images of

people as ‗victims‘ of fate or individual inadequacy (Ecclestone & Field, 2001,

p.40)

2.1.2 Youth “ At Risk ” – Perceived “ Risky ” Groups of Young People

Apart from academic writings, also impacting on the way this study conceives the ―at

risk‖ nature of its adolescent participants are a plethora of governmental documents

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

body of formal literature informing the research, these community and governmentally generated documents have been included in the literature review chapter, because their extensive nature makes these documents form an influential and definitive category of literature Such documents include discussion papers, research reports, journal articles, and conference reports They along with academic literature describe how certain groups of young people are categorised as being ―at

risk‖ both globally and in the Australian context

YOUTH OR ADOLESCENCE – A RISKY PHASE OF LIFE

―Youth‖ or ―adolescence‖ is one group in the post-modern society that has been

construed as being ―at risk‖, and around which moral panics have often been

constructed This has been a group perceived as being in danger of failing to become adequately socialized, and hence a danger to itself and society

The word ―adolescence‖ [from the Latin adolescere meaning ―to grow‖ or ―come to

maturity‖ (Oxford Dictionary, 2006)] has had a historical association with risk, since

the publication of Stanley Hall‘s book Adolescence in 1904 Educator and

psychologist, Hall postulated that ―adolescence‖ was a time of sturm und drang of

―storm and stress‖, characterized by conflict with parents, mood disruptions, and

risky behaviour Without the proper adult guidance and pedagogic practices Hall believed adolescents would remain in this savage evolutionary stage and not transit successfully to mature adulthood

Drawing on this concept of youthful ―risk‖ it could therefore be postulated that all

young people between the ages of 10 and 18 are ―at risk‖, as they belong to the age

range commonly attributed in education, medicine, and psychology (Greene & Naughton, 2006; Pinquart & Silbereisen, 2005, Nov.; Shanahan, Erickson, & Bauer,

2005, Dec.; te Riele, 2006a; Wigfield, Lutz, & Wagner, 2005, Dec.) to adolescence Attributing this as an age of risk is what some academics such as Bessant, Davies, and Kelly (Bessant et al., 2003; Davies, 1998; Kelly, 2000, 2007) argue against; that this is constructing a climate of ―fear‖, ―panic‖ and ―crisis‖ particularly directed

towards youth Nevertheless much recent governmental documentation and government sponsored research reports define youth as being at risk, if they display a

range of behaviours, some of which in previous generations prior to the watershed year of 1968, were not considered risky at all; for example leaving school at age 15

YOUTH AT RISK – YOUTH LEAVING SCHOOL EARLY

However as we leave the age of pen and paper behind and enter the computer age and the knowledge economy, although some question ―whose knowledge‖ and ―what knowledge‖ (Castells, 1998; Muller, 2000) much emphasis has been placed on citizens becoming ―knowledge workers‖ (Castells, 1996; Gee, Hull, & Lankshear,

1996; Watson, Kearns, Grant, & Cameron, 2000), and it has become essentialized for young people to continue in school till grade 12 Government statistical analyses have been definitive that those who leave school early reduce their life chances (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003a, 2003b, 2008; Australian National Training Authority, 2006; Sawyer & Watson, 1997) These findings have not only been made

by Australian research but also by international investigations (Adams & Wu, 2002; Statistics Canada, 1997; Willms, 2001) All these reports concur that those who leave school early become at risk of long term unemployment, at risk of poverty, at risk of homelessness and at risk of a range of health related issues (Anglicare Research and Planning Unit, 2004, Feb.; Bray, 2003; Brooks et al., 1997; Business Council of Australia, 2007; Taylor & Fraser, 2003; The Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia (SSABSA), 1999)

Of these Australian reports the seminal Under-Age School Leaving (Brooks et al., 1997) gave an overview spanning the 1980s and 1990s of just who were these at risk young people in Australia, and surveyed the effectiveness of a myriad of existent interventionist and alternative schooling strategies existent in 1996 At that time the legal school leaving age in all except one Australian states and territories was 15 Under aged school leavers were those disconnecting from school below that age, some as young as 12 when transitioning to high school The authors cited 1991

census statistics that ―65,400 left school at the age of 14 years or younger‖ and that

―this would indicate that between 1–4% of 12- to 14-year-olds are not connected to school or other formal education services‖ (ibid., p 2) Their conclusion was there

was no stereotype for underage school leavers; however, often there were

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

―correlations with at-risk experiences such as chronic truancy, school expulsions and homelessness‖ (ibid.) They also postulated that:

Lack of educational success leads to frustration and low motivation to continue

trying Many of the behavioural problems we see in students are really

overcompensations Students get in a vicious cycle which makes it very difficult

to learn (ibid., p.17)

In their report summary a series of risk factors which precipitated young people leaving school early were outlined in order of importance They were:

 continual experiences of academic failure;

 inflexible school curriculum and teaching strategies;

 alienating school environments; and

 family conflict and breakdown (ibid., p.v)

Additional ancillary risks were:

 low self-esteem;

 poor student/teacher relations;

 student disinterest in education; and

 disruptive behaviour (ibid.)

It is interesting to note that, while individual deficit risks predominate, the above lists

do also acknowledge schooling structures as possible risk factors for youth disengaging from schooling As relates to this study awareness of both individual and structural risks will be important in analysing case study data to reveal their import

on educational engagement

In the decade following this report the legal age for school leaving has been gradually raised across most Australian states to age 16 (NSW Government, 2008, Feb.) This has been in line with an OEDC emphasis on school retention till age 18 and raising skills levels (ibid.) Consequently the present concern is for young people

to be engaged till at least age 17: in school, work or further education and training; or

a combination of these three Youth not so engaged are envisaged as being at risk Thus the cohort of youth at risk of ―leaving school early‖ is now a significantly older

group than those a decade ago

Is this category of youth at risk just a political construction or a social reality, or both? How this categorising of educational risk impacts on those so categorised will

be another area of interest for this study

YOUTH AT RISK – YOUTH AT RISK OF UNEMPLOYMENT

As stated in the preceding section, another particular concern voiced in the literature for students who drop out of school early is their inability to join the full time workforce So although one industry related research foundation admitted, presently

―Australia has its best-educated workforce ever Most young people complete Year

12 or a Certificate III qualification – close to 81 percent of them according to the most recent data‖ and that ―economic growth is strong, unemployment is at historical lows‖ (Australian Industry Group & Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 2007a, p 10), this

foundation is nevertheless concerned about a significant number of young people not

in full time employment or full time study They calculated these to number 526,000

as of May 2007 Of these the Dusseldorp‘s sponsored study estimated 306,000 were

―at risk‖ because these ―disenfranchised‖ young people were either ―unemployed, or working part time but wanting more hours‖, or ―not in the labour force but wanting

to work‖ (ibid., p 11) Whether this study had a vested interest in adopting a loose

criteria to expand the number of youth at risk of unemployment, more conservative estimates based on census criteria nevertheless suggest significant numbers of

―disenfranchised‖ young people For example the most recent report on youth

homelessness, suggests 36,000 young people aged 12 to 24 are nightly without stable accommodation (The National Youth Commission, 2008) and as a corollary have diminished capacity to access employment

Australian state and federal governments have acknowledged this as a significant at risk sector of young people needing assistance to access employment, and have funded a series of work ready programs Queensland's Department of Employment and Training [DET] Annual Report 01-02 (2002) described the parameters of two such programs:

The Get Set for Work program provided intensive, specialised employment

and training assistance to 952 unemployed early school leavers, while councils

and community organisations throughout Queensland employed trainees through

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

the Youth for the Environment and Local Communities program

―Green jobs‖ for 15 to 24 year-olds created through the new Youth for the

Environment and Local Communities program will protect Queensland‘s

environment, support economic and community development, and give

unemployed young people skills and experience In its first year of operation,

the Youth for the Environment and Local Communities program enabled 630

traineeship places (2002, pp 8, 15)

This report went on to outline two further programs for at risk youth The first

"Youth Reconnected" reconnected at risk youth with TAFE programs, work experience and mentoring The second "Youth Access Program" targeted youth still

in school but at risk of not making a successful transition to the work place The Youth Access Program enabled these at risk youth to access vocational and life skills training in conjunction with on-the-job experience The latter program received $4.2 million funding for over 1,000 students during 2001 to 2002, with a further 1,100 places funded in 2003 (2002, pp 30-33) Queensland government continues to place emphasis on such programs Two of the above programs are currently still in operation with a slew of newer programs linked to Queensland‘s Education and Training Reforms for the Future (ETRF) legislation (Education Queensland & Department of Employment and Training, 2006; The State of Queensland (Department of Employment and Industrial Relations), 2007)

The seriousness of Australian Federal governments in funding similar projects for at risk youth was purportedly reflected in a total of approximately $40.65 million worth

of funding allocated to the Jobs Pathway Program [JPP] and a similar federal program the Job Placement, Employment and Training program [JPET] back at the beginning of the new millennium (Butlin, Malcolm, Lloyd, & Walpole, 2001a, p 5; The Department of Education Science and Training, 2003, p 3) These programs also both targeted adolescents at risk of unemployment but in an Australia wide context The Jobs Pathway Program Guidelines, on which the present Youth Pathways is built, described the extent and nature of its program:

JPP aims to assist those young people at risk of not making a smooth

transition … young people aged 14 to 19, and over 1,600 schools, are serviced

under the programme each year … A key feature of JPP is that participants

receive assistance that is directed to their individual needs and is delivered in

a personalised way (The Department of Education Science and Training, 2003,

 educational factors, such as early school leaving, poor attachment to school, truancy,

suspension, exclusion, low academic performance and poor literacy and numeracy;

 personal factors, such as poor social skills and relationships, low self-esteem, poor

discipline, alienation and bullying;

 social, cultural and community issues such as homelessness, family violence, a

history of criminal behaviour or institutionalisation (for example, time spent in foster homes, correctional or other juvenile facilities); and

 non participation in full-time education, training or employment (The Department of

Education Science and Training, 2003, p 6)

More recently federal emphasis on assisting this cohort of young people deemed at risk of unemployment has continued The Job Pathways Program has been replaced and expanded upon by Youth Pathways (Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations (Australian Government), 2006), with this most recent program currently receiving an additional $59.5 million five year funding till December 2008;

the program having been ―expanded by 50% from 17,000 to 25,500 full-service places‖ This federal documentation claims, ―This is the equivalent to the estimated

number of young people who leave school each year without completing year 12 (or equivalent) and who are at risk of not making a successful transition to further

education or work‖ (Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations

(Australian Government), 2006, p 8)

In the context of this study, although there were some conflicting statements in the above literature regarding numbers of youth at risk of unemployment, even the more conservative figures indicate a significant sector of at risk youth, whose general education, literacy and social needs demand attention to enable access to full time employment

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

YOUTH AT RISK – OF HOMELESSNESS, POVERTY, HEALTH ISSUES

The most recent nation wide report on Australian youth homelessness stated,

―Homelessness is the most extreme form of poverty In turn, living in poverty is one

of the structural factors that leads to becoming homeless‖ (The National Youth

Commission, 2008, p 9) The report went on to detail how young people experiencing homelessness often have coinciding mental health, drug and alcohol dependency issues that increase their level of risk

In defining homelessness in the Australian context, Australian homeless youth are

not necessarily only those ―living rough‖ as focussed on in the UK context of Blair

initiatives (The National Youth Commission, 2008, p 371) Butlin details primary, secondary and tertiary forms of homelessness recognized in Australia These categories were developed by Mackenzie and Chamberlain (Mackenzie & Chamberlain, 1995) who undertook a national census of homeless school students in

1994 They are:

 Primary homelessness - people without conventional accommodation,

 Secondary homelessness - people who move frequently from one form of accommodation to another,

 Tertiary homelessness - people who live in boarding houses on a medium to long-term basis (Butlin, Malcolm, Lloyd, & Walpole, 2001b, p 117)

Similarly to the spheres of educational and employment risk, youth at risk of or experiencing homelessness are not one homogenous group This was attested to in the above mentioned report of the National Youth Commission:

Youth homelessness does not involve a particular type of young person but a

process of events that happen in a young person’s life The ―youth homeless

career ‖ is a typology of that process for young people, tracing the main changes

that can occur following family breakdown Young adults can become homeless

when their relationship with a partner fails and they lose their accommodation

because they are forced to leave the family home Or, some young people can

become homeless due to accumulating debt and a financial crisis resulting in loss

of housing (2008, p.8, emphasis author's)

The report went on to outline three discourses associated with homelessness: the

―redistributive egalitarian discourse (RED)‖, the ―moral underclass discourse (MUD)‖ and the ―social integrationist/new labour/ third way discourse (SID)‖

(Levitas, 2005; The National Youth Commission, 2008, p 370) These were discourses that differently defined and located sources of poverty and social exclusion: the first (RED), as multifaceted, as effects rather than causes, and as situated in social structures rather than within individual deficits; the second (MUD),

as defined purely by low income, as an underclass culturally distinct from and outside of the mainstream, and as likely not to benefit from but become dependent on welfare benefits; and the third (SID), as social exclusion, as ―a breakdown of the structural, cultural and moral ties which bind the individual to society‖, as a

Durkheimian structuralist view of social integration based on need for paid work combined with moral imperatives of reciprocal duty (Levitas, 2005, pp 22-23) The

2008 report questioned the emphasis on ―social cohesion‖ to the detriment of ―social justice‖ propounded by some of these discourses (The National Youth Commission,

2008, p 370)

To avoid some of the pitfalls of these prevalent discourses, this report recommended

―bottom up‖, ―constructivist‖ approach to youth homelessness; an approach which would then be networked through a ―joining-up policy‖ (ibid., p.371) This is an

approach where local and regionally based programs could be auspiced by a

federally based ―Social Inclusion Unit‖ which would aim to network government departments and jurisdictions promoting a policy of ―joined-up government and

joined-up policy‖ for youth at risk of homelessness (ibid., p.372)

The implication for such governmental policies and public discourses has a direct bearing on youth at risk attending alternative schooling settings; for example, whether some youth at risk are ―worthier‖ than others, whether more support is

extended to some in this sector than others This is yet another issue to be investigated by this study Additionally schools need to be aware of the non homogenous nature of students living in poverty, and the complexity of their learning and social needs Education Queensland acknowledged the extent and importance of this issue in a document charting state education policy from 2000 to 2010 This document situated a quarter of Queensland school aged children as living in poverty

and admitted, ―poverty is perhaps the fundamental social issue that schools have to deal with‖ (Education Queensland, 1999a, pp 12, 14) This discussion paper

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

Australia, reporting a representative from the Australian Council of Social Services

as saying, "The rich are getting richer, and while the poor haven‘t got poorer, they have become more numerous‖ (ibid., p.12)

Part of the complexity of young people living in poverty can also be health related issues such as drug and alcohol dependency, and/or mental health issues such as depression, and suicide The above mentioned homelessness report included recommendations for programs targeting mental health issues as an integral part of helping support homeless youth Earlier in 2000 a comprehensive evaluation of the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy was conducted by Mitchell for the Australian Institute of Family Studies, commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care (Mitchell, 2000b) This evaluation resulted in

a main report and four technical reports Volume Three (Mitchell, 2000a) of this series detailed how youth at risk of suicide often have other health related risk issues such as being at risk of drug and alcohol abuse, physical and sexual abuse, and mental health problems Like the 2008 youth homelessness report these documents attested to the complexity of and underlying reasons for mental health issues in young people, but often integral to these issues was living in poverty

The main report, also as the 2008 youth homelessness report recommended networking and intersectoral collaboration as part of the solution to better coordinated and more effective programs for youth at risk of suicide It decried endemic structural problems preventing this coordinated approach:

The major barriers to the development of collaboration experienced by Strategy

projects were related to organisational structures Collaboration was generally

initiated by workers positioned on the margins of their own organisation – for

example, workers employed on short-term projects This problem has been

observed in previous investigations of intersectoral collaboration (Mitchell,

2000b, p 119; emphasis author's)

The structure of large hierarchical bureaucracies was encountered as

particularly problematic when these failed to provide local teams with sufficient

autonomy or sufficient direction, depending on which of these is required at

pa rticular points in time (ibid., p.120; emphasis author‘s)

Sadly Mitchell reported mechanisms for collaboration were often already in place but bureaucracies failed to build on them So it is disquieting to see that eight years later this area still has not been effectively addressed with yet another national report

again calling for a ―joining-up policy‖ to network government departments and

jurisdictions to address issues surrounding youth at risk of homelessness, poverty, and health issues (The National Youth Commission, 2008, p 372)

2.1.3 Educational and Social Impact of Risk Factors

The above documentation has addressed the context of ―risk‖ for youth participating

in this study; that is risk that affects both educational and social areas of schooling Historically the latter part of the twentieth century and entering the new millennium has become characterised as a ―risky‖ time of crisis and uncertainty The

developmental stage of adolescence or youth has likewise in this time frame become characterised not as a time of high spirits and youthful adventurousness but a time of danger and risk

Several discourses have developed around the concepts of ―risk‖ and ―youth at risk‖

These discourses have been discussed by academics and reflected in governmental documentation For example Kelly (2007) describes a discourse associated with adolescence and youth as a time when whole futures can be put at risk, when groups

of adolescents choosing wrong identities can endanger not only their individual futures but risk the future of their nations Thus in the present context, youth have been associated with several risk identities: youth at risk educationally and of leaving school early; youth at risk of unemployment; youth at risk of living in poverty; youth

at risk of the most severe form of poverty, homelessness; and youth at risk of a multiplicity of health problems This study will critique the reality of those identities

in the concrete context of individual ―youth at risk‖ attending alternative schoolings

sites It will also critique how discourses have moulded schooling and related organizational structures For example as Levitas (2005) detailed the imperative for work, paid full time employment, for those at risk of social exclusion in RED, MUD, SIDs discourses, and how government funding, welfare benefits, access to education and training were variously attached to concepts of worthiness associated differently with each discourse

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

Nevertheless there is still a reality of a significant sector of young people, in western

societies in general and Australian society in particular, ―who are poor, unemployed

or marginalised in some way‖ (The National Youth Commission, 2008, p 370) and

who need access to both social and educational support to enable full participation in community life Mitchell and the National Youth Commission (Mitchell, 2000b; The National Youth Commission, 2008) recommended the complexity of youth ―risk‖

issues be acknowledged in developing these programs, and that a flexible, constructivist, bottom up approach to networking these programs was an unrealised yet essential necessity

This study investigates the reality of youth at risk participating in such educational programs, specifically literacy programs delivered at alternative schooling sites, and situates them in the context of the foregoing academic and popular discourses

Literature detailing alternative schooling‘s historical development and present

formation further illuminates the context of this study

FAILURE

Alternative schooling or alternative schooling programs have often been viewed as a response to the failure of mass education to provide adequately for the above defined sector of youth at risk of a complex array of educational and social problems The following section details the historical problematizing of perceived ―risky‖ groups

and individuals in need of specialised attention, with the resultant development of intervention programs to remediate perceived failures in educational and behavioural performance

2.2.1 Educational Failure - Historical Construction of a Class or

Individual‟s Problem

One author dealing with the experience in the United Kingdom is Paterson Her Out

of Place: Public Policy and the Emergence of Truancy (1989) provides a detailed description of the evolution of schooling in Scotland and England in the 1800s Her focus is on the construction of a discourse of truancy, as a subset of the discourse of