‘Give me air not shelter’: critical tales of a policy case of student re-engagement from<i>beyond school</i>

Smyth, John; Robinson, Janean

doi:10.1080/02680939.2014.945965

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…To the contrary they desire education that would provide them with the opportunities to access higher education qualifications and professional and managerial jobs. This research supported views of other researchers (Smyth & Robinson, 2015) that the issue of post school youth requires not only alternative post school programmes but also attention to schooling practices within formal secondary school education.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 72%

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Resistance, Critical Agency and Initiatives of Black Post-School Youth, Facilitators and Organisers in a Black Township in South Africa

Naidoo¹

2017

JCT

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The Post-school Education and Training (PSET) policy seeks to address the education and training needs of post-school youth not in education, employment nor training (NEET). The problem of youth NEET has been researched from many perspectives. However, there is a dearth of knowledge about the responses, views and actions of post-school youth NEET living in this precarious situation. This paper analyses the resistance, critical agency and initiatives of youth; organisers; and facilitators at a youth development and organisation centre in a township in Gauteng. The study is framed by the notion of 'critical' agency (Gramsci: 1971) and Bourdieu's concept of 'strategies' that mediate structure and agency. These concepts enable a focus on critical agency that emerge within severely constraining social conditions. Data were collected through the following sources and methods: from a 'youth dialogue' amongst engaged youth; ethnographic interviews with post-school youth themselves; interviews with key individuals such as organisers, leaders and facilitators of programmes; and observations of literacy classes offered at the centre. Data analysis revealed resistant counter discourses amongst the youth to school and current PSET; acceptance of education for employment; desire for higher quality education; and clear ideas of alternative pedagogies. In addition to these counter discourses the paper highlights the critical agency of key individuals in the face of debilitating structural constraints. Implications for the post school education and training system are raised and some recommendations are made.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Contrary to common sense Smyth and Robinson (2015) note that leaving school 'often has little to do with their academic capacity' (225). Robinson et al found that the catalyst in the case of their informants was the enactment of the policy on Behaviour management in schools, specifically the uniform policy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resistance, Critical Agency and Initiatives of Black Post-School Youth, Facilitators and Organisers in a Black Township in South Africa

Naidoo¹

2017

JCT

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“…In a paper about disaffected pupils aged 9 to 16, Graham, Van Bergen and Sweller (2015) report refreshing insights into how these pupils perceive the education system and evaluate education in their lives -even though some of them resist an appreciation for traditional schooling. In another paper about a student re-engagement programme, Smyth and Robinson (2015) interview twelve pupils aged 14 to 15. They suggest that there is a 'policy deafness ' (p. 232), meaning a lack of will to listen to and involve pupils in policies that aim to increase student engagement.…”

Section: Actors' Perspectives and Pupils As Actorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pupils’ enactments of a policy for equivalence: Stories about different conditions when preparing for national tests

Löfgren

Prieto

2018

European Educational Research Journal

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This article revolves around the educational policy introduced in Swedish schools that has extended national testing to younger pupils. The policy is intended to support equal assessment and grading. With the exception of short-term preparations for the tests focused on here, the testing routines are regulated by the state. The paper aims to examine how the policy of national testing in grade six is enacted in different school contexts from a pupil’s point of view, and how this affects equivalence in school. A narrative analysis was conducted of pupils’ ( n = 150) stories about preparing for national tests in 11 schools. Three forms of enactments were distinguished according to how responsibility for test preparations was allocated in each school. In some schools, teachers invited the pupils systematically to the translation process. In other schools, pupils were given most of the responsibility for preparation and were left alone as actors vis-a-vis the policy. Finally, in schools that applied ad hoc preparations, the pupils’ position as actors became less secure and more multifaceted. This variety regarding the pupils’ test preparations in school stress that the different enactments of this policy of national testing have implications for the interpretation of equivalence in school.

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“…However, the educational contexts which do not meet the needs of these students on the other four days of the week are usually not interrogated for their complicity in educational disadvantage, and their taken-for-granted pedagogy, curriculum, mechanisms and routines are not questioned for the roles they may play in students' marginalisation (Te Riele 2007). Consequently, educational contexts may continue to operate in ways that marginalise some young people so that educational interventions continue to be required (Smyth and Robinson 2015). I agree with the contention of Te Riele (2008) that 'policy needs to change its focus … to providing "non-marginalising" education' (1).…”

Section: Educational Contextmentioning

confidence: 88%

From discrete intervention to engage marginalised students to whole-school initiative to engage all students

Callingham

2016

International Journal of Inclusive Education

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An enduring educational dilemma is that young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds do not have their needs met in conventional schooling. As a result, many have left school by Year 11. To counter this trend, some schools in disadvantaged areas introduce targeted in-school interventions before Year 11 to meet the needs of their students. Many of these interventions, which are highly successful in engaging students and supporting them to achieve, have insights to offer schools, but they remain on the margins as programmes for particular young people. However, a government secondary school in Victoria, Australia has been an exception. It was inspired to apply aspects of a successful intervention, Hands On Learning, to a whole-school initiative to enhance the engagement of all of its students. I used a case study approach to investigate the initiative's first year of implementation. Findings revealed that the majority of students did report engagement. However, economically disadvantaged students faced barriers to full participation that negatively impacted their learning experiences. The inequitable distribution of educational benefits demonstrated that whole-school adaptation of an intervention is not straightforward and unless the needs of disadvantaged students are targeted in the whole-school initiative, they are likely to experience educational disadvantage.

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‘Give me air not shelter’: critical tales of a policy case of student re-engagement frombeyond school

Cited by 19 publications

References 22 publications

Resistance, Critical Agency and Initiatives of Black Post-School Youth, Facilitators and Organisers in a Black Township in South Africa

Resistance, Critical Agency and Initiatives of Black Post-School Youth, Facilitators and Organisers in a Black Township in South Africa

Pupils’ enactments of a policy for equivalence: Stories about different conditions when preparing for national tests

From discrete intervention to engage marginalised students to whole-school initiative to engage all students

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