Page 95 - Guiding-at-risk-youth-through-learning-to-work-Lessons-from-across-Europe

Guiding at-risk youth through learning to work
Lessons from across Europe

Guidance can be provided in a variety of ways, such as through professional
counsellors, through mentors or by members of teaching staff. Professional
counsellors or mentors are often an essential part of the support programme and
they complement the work of pedagogical staff to support young people in their
personal development alongside their learning. However, where young people
have built up a strong relationship of trust with their teacher or trainer, it may be
that this is the person they feel more confident to talk to when seeking advice and
guidance (Friel and Coulter, 2004 in Gordon, 2007). Where teaching staff are
involved in delivering guidance, it is clear that they require appropriate training
(Stokes, 2000).
For instance, NotSchool.net mentors are qualified teachers who help young
people to plan and organise their learning journey, as well as aiding their
learning, by communicating with the young people, monitoring progress,
answering questions and providing constructive feedback. NotSchool.net also
employs ‘buddies’, successful exparticipants or undergraduate students, who act
as paid online support to a group of young people. Their main task is to offer
consistent encouragement and help for the participants. Young people are able
to talk to their ‘buddies’ in an informal manner, which provides a valuable form of
peer support.
At the Lithuanian youth schools, specialist support is available for young
people with specific problems. The presence of a psychologist and social
pedagogical worker was found to be one of the strengths of youth schools
according to the survey carried out in 2005 (Vilnius Pedagogical University,
2005). This is fundamental to supporting young people and guiding them back
onto the ‘straight and narrow’. Through support from psychological counsellors,
young people can discuss their emotions and personal problems, identifying their
interests and skills, and tackle obstacles that prevent them from learning.
An evaluation of the Slovenian reintegration initiative Project learning for
young people (PLYA), which works with young people who have dropped out of
school and are unemployed, found that the programme’s success depended
greatly on the mentors providing support to its participants. The evaluation found
that it was important for the mentors to undergo training to help them to
understand the social and psychosocial causes and characteristics of drop-outs,
as well as the principles and delivery of modern curricula (Zalec, 2008).
Many of the initiatives reviewed, including German competence agencies,
have adopted a ‘case management’ approach or have allocated dedicated key
workers, mentors or buddies to the individual beneficiaries. The importance of
this one-to-one support and the development of a strong relationship between the

89