Session Information
05 SES 03 A, (Developing) Support Systems for Children and Youth at Risk
Paper Session
Contribution
General description.
This paper discusses the role of the learning mentors in the transition of disaffected children and young people into highly motivated individuals participating effectively in their learning, thereby helping to address wider issues such as disaffection and Early School Leaving (ESL). The learning mentor programme was part of the Excellence in Cities (EiC) initiative introduced by the Labour Government in 1999 to tackle the problems of low standards in education and attainment levels which plagued inner city schools in England (LeGrand, 1993; Machin & Vignoles, 2005). The learning mentors were given the task of supporting schools in their efforts to remove barriers to learning which were perceived to be preventing pupils from accessing and participating in their learning which, in turn, prevented them from achieving their full potential, ultimately causing standards and learning outcomes to remain appallingly low.
The Objective of the study.
The principal research question was ‘how do service users and providers perceive the role of the learning mentors? The main objective of this question was to gain a deeper understanding of the role of the learning mentor within the primary school setting and how it facilitated the transition as discussed above. Within a limited empirical analysis of the role, development and impact of the learning mentors, the doctoral study from which this presentation is drawn, addressed two key issues. Firstly, there has been some suggestions that, despite significant growth in numbers, both definition of the role as well as deployment of learning mentors, particularly in primary schools, have remained vague and based on the broad ideas of inclusion (Rose & Doveston, 2008; Rose & Jones, 2007). A clearer understanding of the role will enable the service users make more effective use of learning mentor support to enable pupils to participate in learning thereby facilitating a positive transition. Secondly, it addressed the need for schools to have the detailed knowledge they require to deploy learning mentors more effectively.
Relevance of the study.
Firstly, indicators of disaffection such as Early School Leaving / leaving education without adequate qualification is not an England/UK specific problem. In fact, the European Council drew attention to this issue (European Council, 2000), and the number of children in Europe facing negative transition from effective and purposeful education to an uncertain, unskilled future. For instance, according to a recent study, ESL in Portugal was 20.8%, Italy, 17.6%, UK, 13.5% and France, 11.16% (Success At School, 2014).
Secondly, it is unreasonable to assume that these young people undergo negative transition unpredictably, as an impulsive reaction to a single incident. ‘Prevention is better than cure’, and therefore causes for such negative transition must be identified and addressed effectively during early stages especially in primary school.
Theoretical framework
This study is based on the theoretical framework of the Ecological Systems Theory proposed by Bronfenbrenner (1979). Accordingly, the pupil is at the centre of the Microsystems within which various factors influencing the learning and development of the child including the family and school are situated. Learning mentors are one of the constituents of the school factor along with teaches and peers. Various components of the Microsystems overlap indicating their interrelation in the holistic development of the child and the study examines how learning mentors support various pedagogical strategies to facilitate learning and transition of disaffected pupils into active participants in learning.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
References: Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development, experiments by nature and design. London: Harvard University Press. Curtis, S., Gesler, W., Smith, G. & Washburn, S. (2000) “Approaches to sampling and case selection in qualitative research: examples in the geography of health” in Social Science and Medicine, 50. 1001-14. Denscombe, M. (2010). The Good Research Guide: For Small-Scale Social Research Projects, (4th edition). Maidenhead: Open University Press. Golden, S., Knight, S., O’Donnell, L., Smith, P. and Sims, D. (2003) “Learning Mentor Strand Summary: Executive Summary’, NFER, [online] www.nfer/research/EIC_CP2.asp. Le Grand, J. (1993). Quasi-Markets and Social Policy. London: Macmillan. Machin, S. and Vignoles, A. (2005) What’s the Good of Education? The Economics of Education in the United Kingdom. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Maypole, J., & Davies, T. G. (2001). Students’ perceptions of constructivist learning in a community college American History II. Community College Review, 29(2), 54-80. Office for Standard in Education (OfSTED) (2005). Excellence in Cities, managing associated initiatives to raise standards. Available on http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/excellence-cities-primary-extension-real-stories. Robinson, D. & Reed, V (1998). The A-Z of social research jargon. Aldershot : Ashgate. Rose, R., & Jones, K. (2007). The efficacy of a volunteer mentoring scheme in supporting young people at risk. Emotional and behavioural difficulties, 12(1), 3-14. Rose, R. & Doveston, M. (2008). “Pupils talking about their learning mentors: what can we learn?” Educational Studies, Vol. 34, No2, pp.145-155. Success At School (SAS). 2014. Background to the project: Building a better future for young people in Europe. Available on http://www.successatschool.eu/project-overview/background/ accessed on 11/01/2015 The Lisbon Special European Council (March 2000): Towards a Europe of Innovation and Knowledge. Available at http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/general_framework/c10241_en.htm
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