Challenges of Evening Educational Program for Working Children and Young People

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-54
Author(s):  
Akalewold Fedilu Mohammed ◽  
Degwale Gebeyehu Belay
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Teacher Motivation ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Disadvantaged Children ◽  
Working Children ◽  
Descriptive Research

This article reports the findings from a study aimed at assessing the challenges of evening educational programs for working children and young people. A descriptive research design and mixed research approach were employed. The design helped to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena and to describe “what exists” with respect to conditions in a situation. A total of 367 students participated in the study. The findings of the study revealed that majority of the evening students are females. There are ongoing access issues for disadvantaged children and young people who cannot attend school on a regular basis, despite the provision of evening educational programs. Challenges include deficits in policy framework and the adopted curriculum, political drivers, teacher motivation, and facilities. Due to a lack of time, some courses are excluded from the evening programs. As a result, children and young people who are enrolled in this program achieve low academic performance as compared to the students in the regular program.

scholarly journals The Life Skills Assessment Scale: Norms for young people aged 17–19 and 20–22 years

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
David Pearson ◽  
Fiona Kennedy ◽  
Vishal Talreja ◽  
Suchetha Bhat ◽  
Katherine Newman-Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Life Skills ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Assessment Scale ◽  
Skills Assessment ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Age Norms ◽  
Disadvantaged Children

Severe poverty, adversity, and malnutrition have irrefutable negative effects on the development and mental health of children and young people. The Life Skills Assessment Scale (LSAS), is a 5-item impact assessment scale developed in India, that provides a simple, yet valid and reliable, instrument to assess life skills of disadvantaged children and young people, with age norms of 8–16 years. In the present study, in Bengaluru, India, we used observational data obtained from 656 disadvantaged young people to extend the LSAS age norms to 17–19 and 20–22 years age groups, resulting in a simple, valid, and reliable assessment tool for children and young people aged from 8 to 22 years.

The Sounds of Intent project: modelling musical development in children with learning difficulties

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 179-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Ockelford
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Musical Development ◽  
Online Resource ◽  
The World ◽  
Theoretical Thinking

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to set out the current status of the Sounds of Intent project, and explains some of the theoretical thinking that has underpinned its development over a period of 12 years. Sounds of Intent maps the musical development of children and young people with learning difficulties. It currently exists as an online resource that offers practitioners a framework for assessment (with an online recording tool), information and downloadable resources. Design/methodology/approach – The approach to the development of Sounds of Intent has been through two main phases: first, exploratory, qualitative analysis was used to inform the development of a model setting out how musical abilities and engagement are thought to develop in children and young people with learning difficulties; and second, the framework’s efficacy has been evaluated through gathering data from a number of practitioners in the field that has been analysed principally through quantitative means. Findings – The principal findings of the Sounds of Intent project to date are that virtually all children (with the exception of those who are incapable of processing sound or vibration at all) are able to engage with music, whether reactively, proactively or interactively. The great majority have potential for musical development that can be realised over time, given an appropriately rich and engaging environment. Originality/value – Sounds of Intent is the first research project in the world to focus on the musical development of children and young people with learning difficulties, and makes the first attempt to set out how this may occur. Since its public launch in 2012, the Sounds of Intent web site has had over 4,000,000 unique hits, with over 500,000 downloads of resources, from people all over the world.

Collaboration as a strategy for promoting equity in education: possibilities and barriers

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mel Ainscow
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
School Autonomy ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Equity In Education ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper draws on the findings of a program of research, which, over many years, has explored ways of promoting greater equity in schools and education systems. Using examples from the field, the paper provides an explanation of what this involves. In so doing it identifies potential barriers that have to be addressed and suggestions as to how these might be overcome. Design/methodology/approach The paper refelects on a series of studies what uses a ‘development and research’ approach This is one of a family of methodologies referred to by as ‘design-based implementation research’. These aim to transcend traditional research/practice barriers to facilitate the design of educational interventions that are ‘effective, sustainable, and scalable’. They are seen as occurring when researcher and practitioner knowledge meet in particular sites, aimed at producing new knowledge about ways in which broad values might better be realized in future practice. Findings The experiences described in this article suggest a way forward that policy makers could use to ensure that the impetus that comes from greater school autonomy will lead to improvements that will benefit all children and young people. This is based on an assumption that education systems have further potential to improve themselves, provided policy makers allow the space for practitioners to make use of the expertise and creativity that lies trapped within individual classrooms. The aim must be to ‘move knowledge around’ and the best way to do this is through strengthening collaboration within schools, between schools and beyond schools. Research limitations/implications In thinking about how the approach described might be used more widely it is essential to recognize that it does not offer a simple recipe that can be lifted and transferred between contexts. Rather, it defines an approach to improvement that uses processes of contextual analysis in order to create strategies that fit particular circumstances. Practical implications The experiences described in this article suggest a way forward that policy makers could use to ensure that the impetus that comes from greater school autonomy will lead to improvements that will benefit all children and young people. This is based on an assumption that education systems have further potential to improve themselves, provided policy makers allow the space for practitioners to make use of the expertise and creativity that lies trapped within individual classrooms. Originality/value The article draws together findings from an extensive programme of research in order to develop new thinking regarding ways of promoting equity in education.

scholarly journals Growing Up Under COVID-19: Young People’s Agency in Family Dynamics

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malika Shah ◽  
Sara Rizzo ◽  
Barry Percy-Smith ◽  
Leanne Monchuk ◽  
Enrica Lorusso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Family Dynamics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the nature of family life in countries across the world. School, and workplace closures meant that families spent more time at home and had to confront new economic, social, and psychological challenges as a result of lockdowns and the greater proximity of family members. Policy, research and media coverage of the pandemic’s impact on family life has focused primarily on the economic costs borne by households. This article draws on the findings from an empirical research project funded by the UK Nuffield Foundation on “Politics, Participation and Pandemics: Growing up under COVID-19”, which worked with young people as co-researchers, to present an innovative perspective on the impact of lockdown on family relationships. The research team adopted a longitudinal ethnographic action research approach to document and make sense of the experiences of young people (aged 14–18) in four countries: Italy, Lebanon Singapore and the United Kingdom. The project used digital ethnography and participatory methods to track the responses of 70 young people to the challenges created by the pandemic. The study used the family as a prism for understanding how the lives of children and young people in different family circumstances and relationships were affected by the crisis. This article analyses, firstly, the complex shifting dynamics within households to identify the transformative effects of the pandemic on family life in various socio-cultural contexts. Secondly, it examines how young people’s agency shaped family dynamics. In conclusion, the authors recommend how the findings from the study can be used to inform government interventions designed to minimise the impacts of the pandemic on the social well-being and rights of children and young people, and to recognise them as active participants in family and civic life both during and after the pandemic

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