Youth Research Qualitative Report - District Council of Mount Barker

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3.6 Limitations This study recruited young people attending high school in the Mt Barker Council District. As a consequence it was not in a position to canvas the views of young people travelling out of the area to attend school elsewhere. These people are likely to have particular needs in relation to transport, social interaction and employment that are not explored in this report. The views of school leavers up to the age of 25 years are also absent from this report. These young people will have a very different experience of the local community, particularly in relation to employment, transport, education, and entertainment needs. Others who are not represented in this report are indigenous young people, unemployed young people and young people with a physical disability or mental illness. These groups are likely to have very specific views and needs which need to be explored in relation to the provision of targeted service and amenity. It is anticipated that the views of these groups of young people will be captured in the second phase of data collection. 4. Project findings – part one - How young people in the Mt Barker area experience their community Findings are reported in two parts. In part 1, findings are presented in headings that reflect different areas of concern to Council and to service providers in the Mt Barker Council District. However, it was rare for young people to discuss any of these areas of concern without reference to other areas. It is also worth noting that young people were quick to acknowledge the demands placed on other groups in the community when certain services or amenities were inadequate or unavailable. In Part 2, findings will be presented for particular groups of young people, including males, females, young adolescents, older adolescents and disengaged young people. 4.1 Education Education is a right of all young people in Australia, but access to education is not equal. Young people with poor access to high quality education, extra-curricular education and parental support for learning are more likely to underachieve at school, drop out early, have behaviour problems and find the transition from school to work more difficult than young people with good access (McLoyd et al 2009). School characteristics (class size, teacher turnover rates, physical and social infrastructure) combine with community characteristics (socio-economic status, transport infrastructure, extra-curricular amenity and funding) and home environments (availability of supportive adults, access to educational resources) to determine young people’s access to educational opportunities (Williams et al, 2009a). A community that facilitates good access to 11 Needs assessment of young people in the Mt Barker Council District – November 2009
educational opportunities will reduce inequity among its younger residents and limit the negative effects of youth disengagement (McLoyd et al, 2009). The Mount Barker Council district offers a wide range of secondary education options for young people. A mix of public and independent schools encourages local participation in secondary education which increases opportunities for the development of social capital in the area. However, there was some evidence that the public high school had a negative reputation among local young people attending other schools, as well as among people outside the area. Young people attending this school were aware of its reputation but considered it unfounded. As far as they were concerned their school suffered from negative stereotyping and the reality was far more positive. On the bus to the Royal Adelaide Show there was this kid that we were talking to, and he said that everyone in Adelaide that he knows thinks [this school] is the worst school possible. They’re all scared of us. Is it warranted I think unwarranted, it’s completely stereotyping (Young man, 16yrs). Everyone thinks there are fights that go on here every day, when it’s all talk and there’s no actual fights (Young man 17 yrs). Despite the positive school experience of these students, a poor reputation can negatively affect a local public school, its school community and the wider community within which it is located. Schools are critical to the development of social capital (social ties that offer support and opportunities) for young people and their families. A local public school is a particularly important community resource and every attempt should be made to maximise the resources available to these schools and to ensure a more positive public representation. The level of resources available to public education will dictate the socio-demographic characteristics of the school. If the local public school is well resourced it is more likely to attract a broad socio-demographic mix of families which will result in greater levels of social capital for the school community and also for the wider community. If there is an exodus from the local public school because of a lack of resources or poor public opinion, disadvantage and inequity for the remaining students may be perpetuated with flow on effects to the community as a whole (McLoyd et al 2009; Williams et al, 2009). For the most disengaged students, the Adelaide Hills Vocational College (referred to in this report as Vocational College, its commonly used name) offers an invaluable opportunity to continue in education and stay connected to health and social services. This educational service is a lifeline for many of the young people who access it. Those participants who attended the Vocational College were universally appreciative of the support provided by the teachers involved and many were not sure where they would be without it. 12 Needs assessment of young people in the Mt Barker Council District – November 2009
Page 2 and 3: Project Report Young People Living
Page 4 and 5: Contents About the Author .........
Page 6 and 7: access to friends, sport, recreatio
Page 8 and 9: Encourage more retail that appeals
Page 10 and 11: 3. Desk top study of current servic
Page 14 and 15: I used to have drug problems and th
Page 16 and 17: young people living in the region d
Page 18 and 19: The majority of work available to y
Page 20 and 21: off my face and not realise. I slep
Page 22 and 23: a shortage of human resources requi
Page 24 and 25: comfortable or welcoming homes to w
Page 26 and 27: catch the 9:28 bus and sit there fo
Page 28 and 29: Male Yeah but that's already happen
Page 30 and 31: Centre, these amenities are not rea
Page 32 and 33: More entertainment as part of the c
Page 34 and 35: The Big lounge is cool. They play r
Page 36 and 37: was still a strong desire among the
Page 38 and 39: These were also the sentiments of y
Page 40 and 41: Other reasons for not choosing to l
Page 42 and 43: I am aware that there are 13-14 yea
Page 44 and 45: 6. Project conclusions and interim
Page 46 and 47: Avoid housing young people outside
Page 48 and 49: Facilitate the integration of activ

Youth Research Qualitative Report - District Council of Mount Barker

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