Learner+Needs

= What learners need... =

When considering the best way to meet the needs of at-risk learners, it is important to consider their background and reasons why they are ‘at-risk’. There are a variety of factors (as listed in appendix 1) that can lead to learners not completing secondary schooling (Hammond, Linton, Smink, & Drew, 2007). DeJong et.al. (2006) suggest that the range of factors that lead to students requiring an alternative to mainstream education include:
 * alienation from the mainstream school environment due to long-term nonattendance and truancy
 * social and family issues such as parenting style, poor connections to parents/caregivers, a history of residing in alternative care, homelessness, family dysfunction and violence, poor personal social skills, personal behavioural difficulties, substance misuse
 * environmental issues such as poverty, child neglect and maltreatment, and poor access to community and support resources
 * engagement in criminal activity, justice involvement or periods of detention
 * mental health issues, particularly when combined with aggressive behaviour
 * unwillingness to attend mainstream school due to past experiences such as peer relation issues
 * inability to access the curriculum due to extremely poor literacy and numeracy.

The literature seems to agree that the difference between students who fit within mainstream schools and those who seek an alternative is engagement. Students who become disengaged with school are likely to display at-risk and disruptive behaviour (MInistry of Education, 2008). While all alternative education students would logically fall into this category, many more within mainstream education - namely the 18% who don’t achieve Level 1 NCEA qualifications - will likely fall into this state of disengagement as well.

So what is engagement, and how does one achieve a state of being engaged? The term ‘engagement’ measures how fully a student participates and is involved in schooling - typically characterised by a good attendance record, a sense of belonging and wellbeing, and enjoyment (Ministry of Education, 2008).

Alternative education students from New Zealand said that their tutors taught them the way they preferred to learn, and 93 percent of these students were enjoying learning in the centre (Brooking & Gardiner, 2009). This statistic suggests that most of the students were in-fact engaged. The same researchers also noted that effective pedagogy for Alternative Education students included: Some students involved in the research were not engaged and they noted that there was a lack of work and options available for them in terms of gaining credits and qualifications.
 * Small class sizes and one-to-one help meant that students had time and someone to check that they understood the work.
 * Flexibility to take more breaks and a relaxed approach
 * Tutors break concepts down into manageable chunks
 * Encouragement as students often have low self-esteem or little confidence in their abilities.
 * Offering appropriate level subjects such as numeracy and literacy.
 * Subjects and topics are offered that have high relevancy to the students life or interests.
 * Regular formative assessment to track progress.

Surely there are many kids at-risk of educational failure, disengaged or alienate from mainstream schooling who could benefit from such individualised approach to learning. However, when “...the system is being strangled, unable to pay its workers a decent wage and provide equipment and resources to meet the needs of these 21st century learners” (Schoone, 2010, p8), only the worst offenders are given any alternative. In other words, Alternative education tends to be the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, rather than providing support and encouragement for students to become re-engaged in learning. Research from the UK supports the NZ examples cited above, suggesting quality providers were flexible in delivery, ensured regular success of participants, focused on respectful relationships, tailored curricula, and strong pastoral support (Kendall, Kinder, Halsey, Fletcher-Morgan, White & Brown, 2003).



References