Providing Education and Training for At Risk ... - Victoria University

(i) accommodating student diversity in classes through appropriate design and teachingpractice;(ii) assertive discipline (and agreement to implement its principles); and(iii) detecting warning signs of students sat risk e.g. substance abuse, family/ peer breakdowns.Enabling structuresDoveton Secondary College is proud of its achievements in turning around students at risk.The structures and conditions that have enabled these achievements are:• managers who are flexible and willing to listen to concerns and introduce positive change;• a curriculum manager who is committed to developing multi level learning curriculum;• a review process that provides evidence of student learning levels, improvements in studentbehaviour (e.g. incident reports) and reductions in truancy (e.g. reductions in unexplainedabsences; and• coordination of student support agencies.Penola Catholic CollegePenola Catholic College Middle School Project is included in this study because of its focusedapproach to addressing student diversity and learning styles. Although this program targetsYears 7 and 8, the principles on which it is based are transferable. Also, a program aimed atmiddle school levels is worthy of inclusion because many of the school personnel interviewedindicated that signs of students being at risk of not completing a basic education were evidentin the early years of secondary school. In many cases this issue was being addressed throughliteracy intervention and transition programs.The Penola program is based on four major principles:1. A sense of belonging and support;2. Development of emotional literacy and resilience;3. Congruence of clearly articulated goals across school teams; and4. Curriculum and teaching practices based on multiple ways of knowing and learning.These principles are translated into practice in the following ways:• Increased time for home room teachers to spend with students to improve relationshipsand foster a sense of belonging;• Development of a bank of program units based on multiple intelligences and use ofcooperative learning approaches to increase student engagement in learning;• Common teaching approaches across classes;• Staff development targeted at facilitating adolescent well-being and teaching curriculumbased on multiple intelligences; and• Fortnightly team meetings that specifically focus on reflection on teaching and learningapproaches, pastoral issues and unit development.The program has been running for two years and early indications of successes include:• improved relationships between students especially in team-based tasks;• students’ increased sense of being ‘looked after’; and• increased discussion amongst teachers about positive changes that have occurred in theirteaching practice and consequent improved learning outcomes for students.40