http://hdl.handle.net/10453/52273 2026-04-03T22:27:58Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/10363 Title: Young People, Education and Hope: Bringing VET in from the margins Authors: Te Riele, K; Crump, S Abstract: Vocational Education and Training (VET) plays an important role in the reshaping of upper secondary school curriculum. Retention to the end of secondary education in Australia went from 35% in 1980 to 72% in 2000. This increase caused major problems for the senior school curriculum which historically prepared students for university entrance but now has to serve multiple purposes. While the purposes of VET suit different groups, our interest is those students alienated from, reluctant to complete, or attempting re-entry into senior secondary education. Our objective is to understand policy reforms in this area, in order to assist stopping the spiral of disadvantage in which these young people are caught. We shall argue that VET has the potential to re-engage young people with education. With the labour market becoming more knowledge-based, such re-engagement becomes increasingly important. We ask to what extent is the post-compulsory curriculum serving student and family ambitions for employment in a way that is equitable and inclusive? 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/10385 Title: From Controlling to Constructive: Youth unemployment policy in Australia and The Netherlands Authors: Meijers, F; Te Riele, K Abstract: Youth unemployment is an issue that has increasingly troubledwestern countries since the 1970s. This paper provides data on youth unemployment in Australia and the Netherlands, and discusses government policy in both countries. The rate of youth unemployment was similar in both countries in the mid 1980s, but since then it has declined dramatically in the Netherlands, while changing little in Australia. Youth unemployment policy in Australia has been driven by the concept of obligation, while in the Netherlands youth unemployment policy has been organised around the principle of a guarantee for youth. The Dutch labour market programme offers more continuity and coherence than the rather ad hoc Australian programmes.However, the paper argues that youth labour market policy in both countries is of a controlling nature, and does not serve marginalised youth. Moreover, policy in neither country meets OECD criteria for effective labour market programs. The paper concludes with the description of a Dutch program which, to a large extent, does meet the OECD criteria, and demonstrates that a more constructive approach to youth unemployment is possible. 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/17792 Title: Breaking Down the Sense of 'Us and Them' Authors: Te Riele, K Editors: Bottrell, D; Goodwin, S Abstract: The idea of geographical distribution of disadvantage, poverty and social exclusion has long been captured in Australia in the use of the phrase 'wrong side of the tracks' (Dusevic 1995), which has, interestingly, been found to be a particularly Australian concept (Muntz 2001). Many Australian towns are divided by railway tracks, a major road and/ or a river, with poorer con1munities often concentrated on one side of that divide. This geographical divide is especially poignant for Indigenous Australians, with traditional 'town can1ps' historically located on the less attractive outskirts of a town. Pockets of concentrated disadvantage continue to exist in rural, regional and urban Australia and have been associated with low educational attainment and high levels of crime (Vinson 2007). 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/12076 Title: An inclusive learning culture: Post-compulsory education for a 'second chance' Authors: Te Riele, K Editors: Searle, J; Yashin-Shaw, I; Roebuck, D Abstract: A significant proportion of young people in Australia continues to leave school before completing senior secondary education. This paper is based on research carried out at two senior colleges in New South Wales, aimed at providing a 'second chance' for completing post-compulsory general education. Mainstream schooling practices played a major role in causing the senior college students to leave their previous school. It was also schooling practices, but different ones, that caused more positive educational experiences at the senior college. One specific factor which emerged was the difference in learning culture, perceived by students, between their previous school and the senior college. The significance for equity lies in the possibilities these colleges show for schools to 'accommodate folk that fit outside the norm'. 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z