‘It is my decision, and it's really up to me. But they wanted me to do it’: an exploration of choice in enrolling in a reengagement programme

ABSTRACT

This study explores how choice to enter a reengagement programme was experienced and understood by students and staff. In seeking to understand choice, we sought to gain insight into one design element that is considered to be vital for effective reengagement programmes: namely, that they are voluntary or choice-based. We interviewed 12 students and 5 staff who were involved in a reengagement programme that was underpinned by philosophy of choice. Specifically, it was a mandate of the programme that students had to actively and voluntarily ‘choose' to enter the programme. Analysis of the interviews revealed that it was not as simple as a student ‘choosing' to enter the reengagement programme and then entering it. Rather, four main construct types emerged through the interviews that explained the ways in which choice was experienced by the students: (1) an opportunity for self-improvement, (2) an escape from the current situation, (3) a threat, for which the alternative would be a severe consequence, and (4) a nudge taken from a respected adult. Using a ‘contexts-for-action’ ecological model of agency, we seek to understand the construct types by exploring the complex factors that constrain or legitimize why, how, when, and with whom a student makes his/her ‘choice'. The contexts that emerged in this study relate to the internal or external influences as well as whether the choice was proactive or reactive.

KEYWORDS:

• Disengagement
• reengagement
• choice
• agency

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the students, teachers and principal who participated in this study. We also appreciate the support from the ‘host school’. This paper presents findings from a PhD study of the first author whose studies are supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship funded by the Australian Federal Government. We also appreciate the detailed and comprehensive feedback from the two anonymous reviewers.

Notes on contributors

Jeff Thomas is a PhD Candidate at the University of Tasmania. His research focus is on effective practices for the reengagement of disengaged students in alternative settings.

Dr Janet Dyment is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania. Her research focuses on reflective practice, sustainability, school ground environments and teacher education.

Dr David Moltow is Lecturer in Philosophy and Ethics and Director of Student Engagement in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania. His principal research interest is in the ethical underpinnings of educational policy and curriculum.

Professor Emeritus Ian Hay is an active researcher who holds both a Professor Emeritus position with the University of Tasmania and a part time research position within the Faculty of Education University of Tasmania. His main research interests are in the domain of students with literacy and academic difficulties, the role of motivation in learning, and students' cognitive development.

Notes

1. In Australia, each school has been measured on the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) based on a range of factors that influence disadvantage including parent occupation, level of educational attainment and socio-economic status based on geographic location. The Host School in this study has an ICSEA of 966, with 67% of its students in the lower half of the ICSEA range.

2. This is the first example of many where students describe themselves in a deficit way. While we recognise the damage of replicating this view can have on young people, we felt it important to report their voice as authentically as possible.