Re-engaging with learning: early school leavers and VET

Considerable research has been carried out over the past few years concerning early school leavers, and young people 'at risk' of leaving school after the age of compulsory schooling is reached, but before Year 12. These young people have found the secondary school environment unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons. Going back into a school environment is unappealing to most of these students so many choose to enter TAFE. TAFE has traditionally been an adult learning environment and the surge in young students has required some re-thinking in order to accommodate their needs. Over the last three years it has become apparent that these students do not just fit into existing classes and the programs the young people enrolled in do not meet their learning needs and require review. A research project was undertaken at Box Hill Institute to investigate why these young people were leaving school and choosing TAFE, what they wanted from TAFE and what needed to be done to meet those expectations for successful outcomes. The findings of this study concurred with those of research previously undertaken in Australia and overseas. It highlighted a range of reasons for these students leaving school and coming to TAFE, including literacy and numeracy issues, low self-esteem, disconnection from peers and teachers, feeling that teachers did not respect them, teaching methods, hostile school environment, limited curriculum options and restrictive time tables that hindered their choices.