The Role of School Community Partnerships in Building Successful Transition Pathways for Young People one School's Approach

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Ben-Shahar (2007) asserts that possessing a tangible career focus is synonymous with having hope and envisioning the achievability of one’s personal success story. These are essential characteristics for the enabling of a happy and fulfilling working life. These dimensions are often the result of innovative school community partnerships that build community identity, recognise the role of families in careers opportunities and welcome agency involvement in shaping careers, policy and procedures (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR] 2008). Identifying and embedding community resources and perspectives into curriculum and pedagogy is said to ‘revitalize curriculum and pedagogy and make learning more relevant and accessible for students. Learning in the community gives young people opportunities to develop, apply and refine valuable skills and knowledge while increasing their capacity to participate and contribute in the world around them’ (Education Foundation 2001, p. 1).

The essential nature of careers programs becomes especially pivotal when consideration is made of the engagement (or lack thereof) of those young people who do not have other opportunities to connect to community resources. Connell (1993) suggests that cohesive partnerships between schools and community agencies are critical to addressing the debilitating impact of disengagement for the least advantaged young people. The fostering of what Cohen (1985) refers to as ‘communities of meaning’ (pp. 70) that awaken a young person’s desire to formulate life-long goals and a realistic vision for the future is only possible in the presence of teachers, school leaders and community agencies who can boast a social justice agenda. To relegate careers and transition issues to being the sole responsibility of careers teachers is to further disadvantage young people’s future prospects (Cohen 1985). Likewise, Teese (2000) suggests that for students at the crossroads of transitioning into further study or employment, an absence of school connectedness around careers pathways can further escalate feelings of insecurity and ill-preparedness. Young people who are not properly supported to make informed decisions about their career trajectory are more likely to encounter feelings of disempowerment and disillusionment (Teese 2000).

Research that examines careers education in its broadest form should seek to acknowledge that exposure to more life experiences, community connections and personal development opportunities helps young people to create careers narratives of some substance (Education Foundation 2001; Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR] 2008; Broadbent et al. 2012). Non-formal education is essential for the personal development and life-long learning of individuals. In recent years employers have been increasingly seeking people who have obtained not only academic qualifications, but who can also demonstrate that they have a wider range of practical skills not able to be learned through formal education. These ‘soft skills’ cannot be easily ‘taught’ in formal education because they are learned through hands-on, practical experience and are thus much more effectively gained in non-formal environments (Youth Forum Jeunesse 2003).

With this in mind, there has been a significant amount of work undertaken on the benefits of youth development programs attached to schools. At the 2003 launch of the Victorian Government’s Blueprint for Government Schools, the then Minister for Education identified one of the policy’s key drivers as the changing and challenging demands of our increasingly sophisticated economy in a more complex and rapidly changing society. The policy, which was reviewed and confirmed in 2008, identifies the importance of community involvement in key decisions about schooling and encourages partnerships between schools, community agencies and industry that place schools at the centre of a learning community. Accordingly, if the system is to ensure that students are provided with authentic and real-life learning and teaching experiences, community involvement will be essential (DEECD 2009).

In Victoria, an evaluation of a school-based program called Advance evidences the ability of curriculum to link young people to broader educational aspirations (Broadbent et al. 2008). Advance is a youth development program funded by the Victorian State Government that is currently operational in over 400 schools. The aim of the program is to connect community partners and projects with young people in schools. One of the most striking findings of the evaluation is the diversity of groups of young people involved in the Advance program within their schools and communities. Advance is able to target specific groups of young people whose social and educational needs might not otherwise be met. The research identifies how young people build and practice qualities of independence, communication, teamwork, leadership and responsibility in their work in the community. Young people report stronger academic engagement, a clearer vision of vocational, academic and personal pathways, and also stronger personal confidence in their relationships with fellow young people and school staff. This research highlights the fact that successful school community partnerships are those which place young people at the centre of positive change. In addition to this, the skills and dispositions practiced during the course of their Advance projects—in project planning, network building, in making approaches to business and community bodies, and in working co-operatively as a team—become tools that assist these young people to function effectively as active citizens.

Schools benefit in myriad ways when links to communities are strengthened and extended through young people’s engagement and volunteer activities. In turn such personal qualities in these emergent citizens enrich communities, including and especially those school communities to which these young people belong to. Stokes et al. (2003) express a similar theme by identifying the importance of a range of relationships in a young person’s life. Their work suggests that young people do not experience merely a single transition from school to work but, rather, undertake a series of on-going transitions, making the relationship between education and work more complex and unpredictable. This poses challenges for the notion of careers education as well calling into question the kinds of information the students need to maximise their own options. Decision-making skills and the ability to access their own information become important tools in the students’ quest to shape their future lives. In her meta-analysis of community resources and programs Bond (2010) identifies cross-sector and