Re-engaging young people in learning : what schools can learn from a community-based program for 'at risk' students

Schools and school teachers often find themselves caught in the middle of competing agendas of implementing and teaching the mandated curriculum and responding to the life needs of young people. The majority of the school timetable is geared towards servicing the academic curriculum and examination regimes, with very little time available to provide the sorts of experiences that engage and are relevant to young people. With increasing demands on schools and teachers it seems there is little time to consider, let alone implement, strategies to better engage students in learning. This article argues that it is not only possible to cater for the types of curriculum that young people find engaging, but that it is necessary in a climate of increased disengagement from schooling, particularly by those students who may have experienced socio-economic disadvantages or had unsuccessful experiences at school. The concern is that if schools don't re-engage students in learning in the middle years in particular they may be at risk of leaving school early or of not completing Year 12, with poor labour market outcomes and other harmful consequences. Drawing on research undertaken at the Youth Development Centre (YDC), we examine how student re-engagement in learning at school is achieved through a partnership program between a community youth agency and local schools.