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An alternative to mainstream learning
by Tina Luton
Alternative learning programs offer students at risk of leaving school the opportunity to re-engage in education – and find themselves along the way.
Justin Hai Nguyen understands the angst and anger often experienced by teenagers. He can relate to the confusion and frustration, the inappropriate behaviours that result from feeling disconnected from school and peers, because he has been there.
“If it had not been for the school counsellor who suggested an alternative learning program, who knows how much hot water I might have got into or where I’d be now,” the former Vermont Secondary College student said.
“My bad behaviour started in Year 9,” Mr Nguyen admitted.
“I was only interested in the social aspects of school, and even that was a negative. I was hanging out with the wrong crowd, smoking and getting into trouble. I was disruptive in the classroom, disrespectful to teachers. I was branded a troublemaker and constantly being sent to the office.
“My parents were worried, the school had had enough and I was on the verge of being expelled when the counsellor suggested the Leaps and Bounds program.
“My parents were keen and the school said they were willing to give me a second chance. I really didn’t care either way; I only went because I had to, but that program turned me right around.”
There is a range of alternative learning programs available in Victoria, each one responding to different needs and most attached to a primary or secondary school. They provide options for students who are at risk of being excluded from mainstream schooling because they have disengaged or are demonstrating challenging behaviours. The ultimate goal is to integrate the students back into mainstream schools, TAFE, training or employment.
Student Development Centre – Primary
The Student Development Centre – Primary operates two units in the Eastern Metropolitan region, one in Woori Yallock and the main unit at Donvale, attached to Croydon Community School.
The centre offers programs and services to address the needs of primary-school-aged children with significant behavioural and/or social and emotional difficulties.
Students attend the centre for two days per week and their home school for the remainder of the week. Each student is provided with an individual Behaviour Improvement Program, in which specific development areas have been identified.
“We have around 90 students come through here each year. The majority stay one to three terms; some stay longer because of their needs and placement difficulties,” coordinator Geoffrey Gough explained.
“When students come to us, I tell them that it is not a punishment centre or a place for bad kids, it’s a place to help you to make improvements so that you can enjoy school. The last thing I want is for children to come here and feel like they aren’t worth anything,” he added.
The program is based on learning a core of social skills. Elements include anger management, self-esteem, bully proofing, cooperative group and independent work and friendship skills that aim to enhance students’ confidence, increase their participation and develop in them a more positive approach to learning, teachers, peers and other members of the community.
Activities include verbal and non-verbal communication, literacy, numeracy, art/craft, construction, technology, science, cooking and computers. Students engage in physical education, including indoor games and gymnastics, to help develop confidence, coordination and the ability to follow specific instructions.
“The program also aims to provide teachers, support staff and parents with a range of strategies to work effectively with students experiencing behavioural and/or social and emotional problems, and we facilitate the involvement of other agencies, such as psychologists or language specialists, if required,” Mr Gough said.
“It’s about building a better understanding between the parents and the school and about working together to meet the specific needs of the child.”
The Student Development Centre – Primary operates two units in the Eastern Metropolitan region, one in Woori Yallock and the main unit at Donvale, attached to Croydon Community School.
The centre offers programs and services to address the needs of primary-school-aged children with significant behavioural and/or social and emotional difficulties.
Students attend the centre for two days per week and their home school for the remainder of the week. Each student is provided with an individual Behaviour Improvement Program, in which specific development areas have been identified.
“We have around 90 students come through here each year. The majority stay one to three terms; some stay longer because of their needs and placement difficulties,” coordinator Geoffrey Gough explained.
“When students come to us, I tell them that it is not a punishment centre or a place for bad kids, it’s a place to help you to make improvements so that you can enjoy school. The last thing I want is for children to come here and feel like they aren’t worth anything,” he added.
The program is based on learning a core of social skills. Elements include anger management, self-esteem, bully proofing, cooperative group and independent work and friendship skills that aim to enhance students’ confidence, increase their participation and develop in them a more positive approach to learning, teachers, peers and other members of the community.
Activities include verbal and non-verbal communication, literacy, numeracy, art/craft, construction, technology, science, cooking and computers. Students engage in physical education, including indoor games and gymnastics, to help develop confidence, coordination and the ability to follow specific instructions.
“The program also aims to provide teachers, support staff and parents with a range of strategies to work effectively with students experiencing behavioural and/or social and emotional problems, and we facilitate the involvement of other agencies, such as psychologists or language specialists, if required,” Mr Gough said.
“It’s about building a better understanding between the parents and the school and about working together to meet the specific needs of the child.”
Dandenong Learning Centre: Myuna
The Dandenong Learning Centre: Myuna is attached to the Cleeland campus of Dandenong High School.
The 12-week program is conducted by a team of three teachers, a youth worker and an educational psychologist and offers fully integrated experiential learning for students not experiencing success in mainstream schools in the Southern Metropolitan region.
Students attend the program four days a week and their home school for one day.
“The program aims to build and promote skills in relationships, motivation, engagement, respect, achievement and commitment through student-focused activities, adventure-based learning, interactions with other educational and instructional providers, excursions/incursions and sporting activities,” teacher Carol Tocknell explained.
Activities include rock climbing, hiking, camping, bike riding and bowling, for which the students receive certificates of completion.
The success of the program is measured by the number of students who complete the course and by recording the numbers still engaged in schooling, training or employment 10 weeks later.
“According to the 2002 Annual Report, 78 per cent of students completed the program. Of these, 100 per cent were either still at school or other educational institutions or in the workforce after the 10-week period,” Ms Tocknell said.
Bayswater Secondary College – Leaps and Bounds
The Leaps and Bounds program has attracted attention through regional and statewide awards and is widely recognised as a model of best practice.
Located on the grounds of Bayswater Secondary College and coordinated by Croydon Community School, the program focuses solely on adolescents who have displayed severe social and emotional problems in mainstream schools. While some have difficulties because of school refusal tendencies or depression, others have shown violent or criminal behaviour.
Students attend for an initial 10-week period, their progress is assessed and placement is extended if needed.
“To date more than 500 students have directly benefited, with many completing VCE and apprenticeships, going on to tertiary studies or joining the workforce,” coordinator Scott Jennens said.
“Ex-students regularly drop in to show off their new car, share their current success or ask for guidance through a personal crisis,” he added.
Teachers also benefit: “One of our roles is to provide professional development for teachers, student service officers and before- and after-school care workers. We run seminars for them and discuss issues such as classroom behaviour management. We also run a series of PD activities for first-year teachers to teach them, to quote one of our beginning teachers from last year, ‘the stuff that the universities don’t’,” Mr Jennens smiled.
A key component of the Leaps and Bounds program is physical activity and the hands-on learning of life skills.
“The cooking and catering program teaches independent living skills with a focus on nutrition and hygiene. As well as planning, budgeting, shopping and preparing meals, the students are involved in catering for a range of meetings and professional development activities,” Mr Jennens explained.
“In terms of physical activity, aside from the onsite high and low ropes course, students are expected to take part in the Integrated Wilderness Program,” he added.
“This consists of up to five-day bushwalks or rafting journeys through remote areas of Victoria. Students are extended physically and emotionally by being well out of their personal comfort zones.”
For Mr Nguyen, the outdoor activities and one-on-one attention of program staff were the catalyst for personal change.
“The ratio was about four staff to eight students, so you develop a connection straightaway. They got to know you as a person, not just as a troublemaker. I wanted and needed someone to listen to me and they were the ones,” he recalled.
“The activities were great. I enjoyed the bushwalking and the ropes course, but it was the hike to Mt Bogong that really affected me. Being close to nature and having that time to reflect on the things you take for granted, such as home and family and friends, was incredible.
“During a night hike one of the leaders saw a shooting star and he said, ‘Make a wish, guys,’ and I said I wanted to change myself and to go back to school and finish VCE.”
After six months with the Leaps and Bounds program, Mr Nguyen returned to Vermont SC and continued his studies. He successfully completed Year 12 and went on to study social work at RMIT. After three years as a high school counsellor he is now a community youth worker running programs to support young people.
“When I went back to school there was significant change on both sides. The teachers could see that I had changed and they were supportive. I was settled, more focused on the academic and I started hanging around in a different group. At my VCE graduation I made a speech in front of the whole school and thanked them for their support – there were tears,” he recalled.
“The Leaps and Bounds program changed my life. It gave me the positive reinforcement and the trust that I needed … and I wanted to help make a difference to others who needed similar guidance,” Mr Nguyen said.
“These programs are valuable: they give kids a second chance. Sometimes all you need is someone to pat you on the back, someone you can talk to, a role model to look up to, and once you have that you can move on.”