Despite complex reasons for disengagement and exclusion from conventional schooling, all children have a right to education that is of a high quality. Disenfranchised young people require alternatives for re-engaging in education. This necessitates a rethinking of what it means to be an educator in alternative education settings and how to relate to young people who have experienced exclusion and failure in conventional school settings. Relational ways of being an educator are vital to support the creation of lifelong learners, not merely school completers. Flexible learning programmes offer a model of re-engagement in which relational ways of being an educator are prioritised. This article explores key aspects of trauma-informed practice and relational pedagogy in a network of flexi schools in Australia. Relational pedagogy can redress the impact of trauma and social exclusion experienced by young people. In flexi schools educator identities are challenged and changed by a willingness to explore and understand the impact of trauma on young people's development and capacity to learn. A commitment to trauma-informed practice and relational pedagogy requires educator identities to be co-constructed and negotiated in relationship with young people and colleagues. These shifts in educators' sense of identity in the flexi schools context are explored.
IntroductionDifferent ways of being an educator are required in order to re-engage young people facing multiple complexities in their lives (Morgan, Brown, Heck, Pendergast, and Kanasa 2013). This article highlights the importance of trauma-informed practice and relational pedagogy in flexible learning contexts as strategies for re-engagement. These ways of working with young people require shifts in an educator's sense of identity and development in practice. Three focal points related to teacher professional identity (TPI) evident in the literature will be explored: the emotional dimension of TPI including the notion of a teacher as carer; the impact of reform agendas on TPI and the influence of context on TPI (Lasky 2005;Noddings 1992;Smyth 2007). These focal points address a particular gap in the literature related to TPI in alternative education contexts specifically developed to enfranchise young people. They are aligned
Rural worksite wellness programs have shown great potential in their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Such programs need not be too aggressive, tedious, and costly to generate a favorable return for employers and funders. However, employers should be encouraged to experiment with different levels of wellness program intensities until a more favorable outcome can be realized.
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