Outcomes from Flexible Learning Options for disenfranchised youth: what counts?

Riele, Kitty te; Wilson, Kimberley; Wallace, Valda; McGinty, Sue; Lewthwaite, Brian

doi:10.1080/13603116.2016.1168878

Cited by 20 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Document analysis is important to this paper because “documents can be important in triangulation” (Punch, 2014, p. 158) which offered the author the opportunity to triangulate the intent of the FLO enrolment strategy, with research, her personal experience and practice perspective. Document analysis is inclusive of grey literature (reports and government documents) for “this kind of literature can be of particular importance for public policy” (Te Riele et al ., 2017, p. 120) and is supported internationally by Pisa (2014). These methods were chosen because they offer the author ethical access to pertinent data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible education in Australia

Hardwick-Franco

2018

HESWBL

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to explore the extent to which the South Australian flexible learning option (FLO) secondary school enrolment strategy supports some of the most vulnerable and disengaged students to simultaneously engage in secondary- and higher-education, skills and work-based learning; second, to explore the degree to which this FLO enrolment strategy addresses the United Nations (UN) principles of responsible management education and 17 sustainable development goals. Design/methodology/approach The approach includes a practice perspective, field-notes and documents analysis. Findings This paper finds the flexibility inherent in the FLO enrolment strategy goes some way to addressing inequity in education outcomes amongst those who traditionally disengage from education and work-based learning. Findings also highlight ways in which the FLO enrolment strategy addresses some of the UN principals and 17 goals. Research limitations/implications This paper supports the work of HESWBL by calling for future research into the long-term benefits of flexible education strategies that support HESWBL, through exploring the benefits to young people, from their perspective, with a view to providing accountability. Social implications The paper offers an example of a way a practice perspective can explore an education strategy that addresses “wicked problems” (Rittel and Webber, 1973). Currently, “wicked problems” that pervade member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development include intergenerational poverty, under-education and unemployment. Originality/value This paper is valuable because it explores from a practice perspective, how a secondary education enrolment strategy supports vulnerable students engage in their secondary schooling, while simultaneously supporting students achieve higher education, skills and work-based learning.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible education in Australia

Hardwick-Franco

2018

HESWBL

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“…Flexible learning practitioners define participant achievement in holistic terms, recognising that a young person's future pathways are a function of much more than test scores and high school completion. An examination of 'grey literature' (i.e., practice-based and evaluation reports, often of a single program) by Te Riele et al (2016) provides a detailed overview of what counts and is valued by participants and practitioners in the flexible learning space. That paper reviewed a range of FLOs' articulated objectives, as well as the evidence types utilised to indicate success in nominated areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of so-called 'soft' (i.e., psychosocial) outcomes is frequently cited in the literature (Brooking et al 2008;Davies et al 2011;O'Donovan et al 2015;Te Riele et al 2016). Although an increasing number of tools have been made available to educators to facilitate assessment of subjective wellbeing and other 'soft' indicators (Zepke and Leach 2010;Wilson-Ahlstrom et al 2014), quantitative techniques for meaningful personal and inter-personal comparison remain a matter of theoretical debate (Kristoffersen 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many circumstances, enrolment data and preliminary testing provide baselines against which progress may be assessed at subsequent intervals. Myconos (2014) and Te Riele et al (2016), among others, underscore the difficulties FLO practitioners face in the measurement and communication of complex qualitative outcomes, especially given the substantial human and financial resources required to do so. Thomson (2014) suggests that in alternative educational contexts, educators may assess achievement as the extent to which a young person undergoes personal growth through participation in a program.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For young people considered 'academically at-risk, ' Martin (2013) proposes 'personal best' approaches. In FLOs, the framing of success as 'distance travelled' (Dewson et al 2000;Evans et al 2009;Te Riele et al 2016) (i.e., the progress a young person makes relative to his or her own starting point), is necessarily cognizant of the significant barriers to self-actualisation faced by disadvantaged young people .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distance travelled: outcomes and evidence in flexible learning options

et al. 2017

Self Cite

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Flexible learning options (FLOs) provide individualised learning pathways for disengaged young people with strong emphasis on inclusivity and wellbeing support. Amidst a rapid expansion of Australia's flexible learning sector, service providers are under increasing pressure to substantiate participant outcomes. This paper stems from a national study of the value of FLOs to young people and the broader Australian community. The study enumerates the outcomes valued by flexible learning practitioners, as well as the various evidence forms they cite to substantiate participant outcomes. Framing success as 'distance travelled' (i.e., an individual's progress relative to his or her own starting point), practitioners demonstrate critical awareness of the social and structural mechanisms by which young people are marginalised from mainstream schooling. Holistic assessment practices also reveal practitioners' efforts to expand the terms of reference by which educational outcomes may be validated in alternative education settings.

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