Re-engaging ‘youth at risk’ of disengaging from schooling through rugby league club partnership: unpacking the pedagogic practices of the Titans Learning Centre

Abstract

The youth learning re-engagement program known as the Titans Learning Centre (or TLC) is an approved alternative schooling program, developed in partnership with state education and a local National Rugby League (NRL) club, the 'Titans'. Students typically in Grade Three or Four complete a 10 week program, interacting with professional A grade NRL players on a weekly basis during classroom learning time and lunch time 'handball' sessions. The project sought to understand the pedagogic practices of the TLC, using Bernstein's social construction of pedagogic discourse, with its underlying instructional and regulative discourses, particularly the contribution by the players to what and how the students were learning. The ethical consent of recruiting children to the study was achieved via acceptance of a position in the program for classroom observations, with further consent sought for accessing students' school performance data, student and parent surveys and interviews. Using case study methodology, Productive Pedagogies classroom audits (n = 26) were adapted for classroom observation. Interviews with relevant program stakeholders were conducted, including players (n = 12), NRL game development staff (n = 1) and teachers and teacher aides (n = 4). The findings revealed the pedagogic approaches of teachers and NRL players emphasised making regulative discourses visible to these young learners, developing supportive classroom environments and building students' sense of connectedness to learning. The players articulated a genuine sense of contribution to the lives of the young learners and saw themselves as role models. The use of high profile athletes in youth re-engagement programs has been questioned in recent times, particularly their effectiveness in terms of student learning outcomes over time. However, we conclude that the depth of involvement in pedagogic action connected to student learning indeed enabled the NRL players to be considered role models for youth re-engagement in learning. ARTICLE HISTORY

The recontextualisation of youth wellbeing in Australian schools

“…The phenomenon of high profile athletes/players as community role models within in-curricular programs has received extensive attention in the literature (cf. Armor and Duncombe, 2012) and our research illustrated that a consistent message was shared by these players to the students in their weekly visitspersist, acknowledge set-backs, show empathy and respect those around you (Whatman and Main, 2016). Analysis of anecdotal data collected by the TLC teachers, and by the research team (also including player interviews and parent correspondence), indicated that even the briefest of meetings with a high profile community member who had taken the time to show an interest in the TLC participants' learning journey made a positive and lasting impression on them.…”

Pedagogical Approaches of a Targeted Social and Emotional Skilling Program to Re-Engage Young Adolescents in Schooling

“…This is surprising as research shows that effective social and emotional learning (SEL) programs can have immediate and long-lasting positive effects on students, and the timing of the programs' delivery is also important [4]. Within the classroom, SEL programs are typically characterized by approaches that support self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, social awareness, and self-awareness [6][7][8].…”

Youth Sport: A Frontier in Education

“…Jeffs and Smith (2005) feel that a key task of youth workers is to create favorable learning environments including social and experiential facets. Although there are numbers of studies on different aspects of youth sports clubs such as Light et al (2013) on why children join and stay in clubs, Whatman and Main (2018) on re-engaging youth at risk and Shaikh and Forneris (2018) on influence of coaches, there is limited research focussing on the experiences of the key stakeholders in this learning environment. Stewart and Jordan (2017) advocate that studies are needed regarding learning opportunities in informal contexts.…”