An Exploration of Residential Youths’ Views Regarding Their Education.
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Date
2012-07-13
Authors
Trudel, Delinda
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mount Saint Vincent University
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to hear the views of youth in care regarding their
educational experiences. The academic achievement of youth in care is lower than other youth
and their rate of school drop out is higher (NYICN, 2001; Vacca, 2008). Understanding the
youths’ perceptions regarding their educational experiences may help to increase awareness of
their learning needs and assist in developing strategies that may contribute to improving their
rate of school completion. Six youth, aged 13 to 16, living at the residential facilities of the HomeBridge Youth
Society in Nova Scotia participated in this study. Five of the youth were enrolled full-time in an
alternative educational program, called Bridges for Learning, and one was enrolled part-time in
this program and part-time in the public school system. Qualitative, phenomenological
methodology was employed and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted. The
main theme the youth expressed was that they wanted to be seen the same as everyone else and
not treated any differently at school or in the community because they were in care. They felt
that most people did not have an accurate understanding of who they were or their situations and
stigmatized them because they were in care. They also believed that they had specific learning
needs that were not being met in the public school system and they gave specific suggestions to
address this, such as smaller class sizes, more one-on-one support, and greater flexibility with
deadlines and expectations around school work. Although participants stated that they did not
think they could be successful in the public school system, all of them intended to finish high
school and had career plans that depended on post-secondary study.
Description
Keywords
Problem youth (institutional care) , Problem youth (education)