This study investigates the change in students' cognitive engagement as a result of participation in a Flexible Learning Programme. Using an understanding of engagement as both a process and a relationship between the students and their school, we sought to determine whether students' perception of competency, willingness to engage, and…

This paper invokes the voices of young people who had been separated from mainstream schooling because they were positioned as "disengaged" and "at risk of failing". The authors argue that streaming students out of schooling needs serious questioning as an escalating number of young people are framed as non-performers within a…

This paper tackles what is arguably one of the most pressing and intractable educational issues confronting western democracies--the disengagement and disconnection from schooling of alarming numbers of young people. The paper looks at the policy response in Victoria, Australia, and through ethnographic interviews with a small number of young…

This research investigates the oft-criticised segment of the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia--private, for-profit registered training organisations (RTOs)--with the aim of gaining a clearer understanding of the approaches they adopt in training 15 to 19-year-olds who have left school early. Through a nationwide survey…

In recent times, governments have introduced new policies and programs to address the needs of early school leavers. One such initiative is the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL), which aims to provide a vocationally-oriented alternative to the academic senior school certificate. Since the implementation of VCAL in the Technical and…

A study examined the range of full-time courses for youths between the ages of 15 and 19 that are offered under Australia's Technical and Further Education (TAFE) system. Two reports resulted from the study. The first report reviewed the TAFE transition education program and formulated 20 recommendations concerning development of the Participation…

This study presents survey data for 1971-72 on young Australian people aged 15-24 who leave school. Members of the armed forces, diplomatic personnel, the institutionalized, and those reported as permanently unable to work are not included. Data are collated on slightly less than 110,000 dropouts, and do not represent the detail sought by many…

These proceedings document some of the work and the stories of literacy teachers who work with youth outside the school system and help to paint the educational and policy context of their work. "Professionalism and Passion: A Report on Teachers Working with the Literacy Needs of Unemployed Youth" (Beverley Campbell) introduces the…

Contrasting employment, education, and training developments occurred during the 1980s in Britain and Australia. High school completion rates in Great Britain and Australia have been low in comparison to the United States, but the work pattern changed when the market for unskilled youth labor collapsed in the 1980s. Australia increased proportions…

A study examined experiences of early leavers in the United States (US) and Australia in the first two years beyond high school. Data were from these comparable longitudinal surveys: US data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988; Australian data from the 1975 cohort of the Youth in Transition surveys. Findings indicated similar…

Early school leaving is an issue internationally. In Australia, nearly one in three young people is at risk of not completing secondary education, a situation that affects long-term employment prospects and earning capacity. Not all leave early for the same reason, and their reasons are not necessarily negative ones. Six "types" of early…

The experiences of early school leavers in a New South Wales Central Coast community during the year after they left school were examined to identify ways of easing their transition into the community and the work force. Data were collected through interviews with community service providers, representatives of educational agencies, refuge…