The importance of transition for disaffected young people moving from school to post-school :Programme for Alternative Vocational Education (PAVE) - an evaluation

Abstract

This thesis describes an evaluation of a transition project called the Programme for Alternative Vocational Education (PAVE). The project is designed for young people aged 14 to 16 yrs who have become disengaged from secondary school through non-attendance andlor exclusion. A re-funding bid for PAVE was imminent, and the evaluation was intended to help inform this bid. The evaluation considered both the relative success of an adult led programme, such as PAVE, in re-engaging young people and an examination of the mechanisms which contributed to that success. A detailed consideration of the psychology of change was undertaken as an explanatory framework against which transition projects such as PAVE could be considered. The relevance of these theories to adolescence, Complexity Theory and Chaos Theory is explored in relation to the potentially supportive contexts of family and school. The methodology used drew on a mixed models approach and utilised Realistic Evaluation as an explanatory background for the findings. Four main approaches to addressing the evaluation were as follows: 1. An examination of PAVE's ability to re-engage young people's attendance (n = 91) 2. An analysis of post-school destinations for PAVE participants (n = 191) 3. An examination of any association between PAVE attendance and quality of first destination post-PAVE (n = 89) 4. Analysis of structured interviews with current participants on entry to and completion of their PAVE placement (n = 11). The interviewed group (n = 11) was a subset of the 'attendance' group (n = 91), as was the first destinations group (n = 89), which, in turn, was a subset of the 'post-PAVE' first destinations group (n = 191). PAVE was shown to be effective in re-engaging young people, particularly boys, who had become disengaged from their secondary school programmes, with an adult led structured programme. A significant mechanism which contributed to that success was the focus on building positive relationships between PAVE staff and the participating young people. Feedback from the evaluation to PAVE staff also led to improved transition procedures for young people joining the programme. Consistent with Complexity Theory, PAVE, a relatively short-term intervention, led to unexpectedly large, reported, positive changes in young people's attitudes to learning. It is concluded that change of this nature in young people's attitude to learning will prepare them for long-term employability opportunities rather than only short-term employment. This finding matches the Scottish Executive's drive to reduce NEET statistics and improve social inclusion.