How young people are faring 2008

One of the purposes of this blog is to make available a range of resources to participants in the Pathways Project. The Dusseldorp Skills Forum provides an important source of information about young people in Australia through its regular report titled How young people are faring, the 2008 report states that:

Low SES school leavers are far less likely to undertake study and training in their first year (45 per cent as against 68 per cent for high SES school leavers). University entry sharply divides school leavers along SES lines — 13.3 per cent for low SES school leavers compared to 52.6 per cent for high SES leavers. Marginal attachment to the labour force (unemployment, part-time work and not in the labour force) is also much higher among low SES students and falls as SES rises. That such striking disparities remain despite continuous economic growth over the past decade suggests that in terms of accessing education and training, Australia remains socially divided. (p.20)

Two concerns about schooling

'Across the world, policymakers, teachers and education scholars express two concerns about schooling:

(1) Too many children and young people fail in school, leave early, or are bored and disengaged. Schools could do more to successfully educate all children and young people.

(2) Schools are a 19th century invention and the modifications made to its basic form are still inadequate to prepare children and young people for citizenship, family life and work in the 21st century.'

This is a quote from Pat Thomson's introduction to her review of the literature on whole school change. The review was written for Creative Partnerships (Arts Council, England) which fosters innovative, long-term partnerships between schools and creative professionals, to inspire young people, teachers and creative professionals to challenge how they work and experiment with new ideas.

Welcome to the Pathways Project blog

Since 2003, the Glebe Youth Service has responded to requests from young people not in school to provide a means by which they could complete Year 10. For a range of complex reasons, traditional pathways have not worked for these young people. Difficulties associated with securing ongoing funding to meet their needs have provided the impetus for members of the education steering group of the Glebe Community Development Program to create the Pathways Project.

This blog has been created to facilitate communication between organisations willing to support the long-term goals of the Project.

The first meeting of the Pathways Project will be held on May 15. Details can be obtained by contacting glebecdp@bigpond.net.au

Participants will have the opportunity to hear from community-based workers, and to learn about existing local programs, as well as related programs operating elsewhere in Australia and overseas that have been established to meet the needs of young people not well served by traditional educational pathways.

There have been numerous changes to funding at the federal and state level, and possible new and established sources of support will be explored. A goal of the meeting will be to prepare a plan of action to address the unmet educational and training needs of local youth.