Certificates are presented to all students who have completed the 5 phase programme.

1. CAREERS AWARENESS

   Students become aware of the realities of the local labour market and the range of provision of continuing education and vocational training in their area. This is achieved through the Induction Day and, later on, by their Choice Club Projects. Young people make direct contact with a range of employees about their experiences and their expectations of young people in that workplace. This occurs during both their Industrial Visits and participation in Choice Club Projects. Young people are introduced to the concept of teamwork as being a major building block of activity in the world of work. When they go on their Industrial Visits and when they organise their Club Choice Projects, the young people begin to ascertain the relevance of teamwork to successful work organisations (as strongly highlighted by the 1997 DFEE/DTI joint report - Partnerships with People).

   Young people are given the opportunity to focus on TLC and then to connect Teamwork, Leadership and Communication to the expectations of people in the world of work and continuing education and vocational training. The Away Day brings out the importance of these three skills in terms of, both, working and in managing one's own learning.

   Through Choice Club Projects, young people actually experience taking responsibility for Teamwork, Leadership and Communication. They work with each other and with teachers who are facilitating their projects, and they interact with employers and providers of vocational training and further education who are acting as respondents to their investigations. At each school, the findings of the various Choice Club Projects are shared by presentations or through a student-made section of the careers library. This allows other young people to become more aware of the various expectations of the world of work and further education.

   The 1995/96 and 1996/97 evaluations of Motivated by Choice showed that, from a total population of more than 200 young people, 70% not only felt that they better understood the external world and the expectations of the world of work and continuing education, but that they could consider their own future and place in that world more clearly. 80% of students felt they knew more about the options of post compulsory education and training.

   The concept of the student-led Choice Club Project, enables young people to investigate their vocational interest area and to ask the questions that they feel are important about work or learning. They have the chance to share that learning with their peers. By sharing that learning they are able to reinforce what they have found out through their projects. The best way to learn something is to teach it.

   Throughout the five phases of Motivated by Choice, young people are gradually introduced to the notion of community-based regeneration and its role in creating labour market opportunities, education and training options. They discover that there are opportunities for young people to play a role in the regeneration process itself. This is an additional dimension of careers awareness regarding the world of work in their local community.

2. KEY SKILLS

Motivated by Choice provides an opportunity for young people to exercise and use the five nationally recognised key skills of working with others, communication, improving own learning information technology, application of number and problem solving. The experience of designing and managing one's own Club Choice Project creates many opportunities for young people to use these skills. The concept of Choice Club Projects is based on the Transition Team model. The DFEE-supported 1995-96 pilot of Transition Teams in 9 secondary schools showed that of the 250 students, 100% intensively used communication skills, 75% used information technology skills. 25% used applying numbers. 100% intensively experienced working with others and 75% of students experienced problem solving and 'improving their own learning'. To design and manage a real project, participants must use the 12 personal and transferable skills necessary to take action. These twelve skills (defined by Transition Teams) are a foundation stone for the development of the five nationally recognised key skills.

The development of key skills is reinforced when young people share their information with their peers. By having the chance to participate in a regional celebration, students from each of the participating schools, not only, explain to each other what information they have gathered about the world of work and post compulsory learning but they also have the opportunity to share their learning - that is to talk about the skills that they have developed. Once again, learning is reinforced by their being able to teach or pass that information on to other young people. The best way to learn something is to teach it.

Choice Club Projects are generated by young people's own ideas and based upon their aspirations. As such, they have great potential in developing high order key skills, such as persevering when under great pressure, meeting deadlines, dealing with conflict and power struggles, being able to create opportunities and to manage change. Choice Clubs Projects are seen by many as the important component of the Motivated by Choice programme structure and process. They guarantee the opportunity to develop key skills, at both a basic and more sophisticated level.

3. MOTIVATION AND TAKING INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

The underpinning process to Motivated by Choice, moves from the adult led Induction and Industrial Visits, through to the student-led Choice Club Projects. This process is one of taking gradual steps in one direction that actually enables and encourages young people to take responsibility for their own work and learning.

This carefully worked out process and structure enables young people who are not necessarily confident or skilled, and who are frequently underachieving or disaffected by formal education, to actually experience the process of designing and managing a project they believe is important to them. Without the lead up process, this may not be possible. Without such an opportunity for young people to create and run something that they want to do and own, it is difficult to develop their motivation to fully engage and to learn.

Self esteem and confidence grows, not only because of the five phased programme and the underpinning process, but also because of the special attention and the ability of the facilitator to respond to the ideas, interests and aspirations of young people. This verification values young people for who they are. Young people who feel that their interests and ideas are respected are much more likely to become motivated and to take responsibility for their individual learning. The 1995-96 and 1996-97 evaluations, showed that 67% of all Motivated by Choice participants improved their motivation to learn. 1995-96 evaluation figures showed that there was an improvement of more than 60% in the attendance rate of participating students and a dramatic reduction in the number of conduct cards and detentions handed to those students.

Motivated by Choice not only focuses on motivating young people to learn, but also simultaneously focuses on the need for those same students to take responsibility for their learning. Both are vital qualities in the world of post compulsory education and training and (of course) in paid work. It is not enough to simply motivate students to learn as they move through the transition of key stage 4 to post compulsory options- we must also teach young people to take control over their learning, individually and with the support of their peer group i.e. 'their mates'. The actual design and methods used by Motivated by Choice live and breathe the principles of peer support.

4. PEER SUPPORT - EASING THE TRANSITION

The design of Motivated by Choice builds peer support. It offers an attractive alternative to 'skitting' i.e. to bringing down expectations of individuals by the peer group. The process and structure demand that young people work through phases of activity which lead to them taking responsibility for the design and management of their own career investigations and then sharing that information with their peers. They experience networking, both within the school and in the external world. They generate peer support and become an integral part of creating systems of shared learning and teaching. All these characteristics and qualities are vital to dealing with the changing world of work. The mixed portfolio of the traditional job, participation in the contract culture, further education and training and the experience of certain periods of unemployment can only be tackled by individuals who have the ability to take the initiative and to create a support base from within their own friendship groups. This is particularly critical when the home or the community may provide a positive influence or role model. Young people involved in Motivated by Choice frequently come from a culture setting where very few people have succeeded in formal learning. It is vital that we create systems within Key Stage 4 where these young people understand that they can do it for each other. The evaluations from 1995-96 and 96-96 show that 82% of all participants felt they had improved their ability to work in teams and to gain, and give peer support.

5. TACKLING DISAFFECTION

   Motivated by Change is a strategy for complementing mainstream education, or in certain specialised settings such as pupil referral units or special needs education, creating an alternative to the mainstream that can become a building block, a stage by which young people gain the confidence, self esteem and motivation to return to the mainstream. The five phases and process of the programme are effective in tackling disaffection for the following reasons.

   ·  the activity is seen as relevant by young people. It is seen as being about the work related curriculum and their ability to earn in the future. Young people give this programme 'a thumbs up' on this basis.

   · the process and programme features different methods of learning to traditional classroom activity. It is active and experiential, the teacher is the facilitator rather than the expert over content

   · relationships are valued highly - relationships between the students and between the students and the facilitator. Moving from a structured adult-led programme through to a student-led initiative may be the key to creating a curriculum for the disaffected. Young people are given the chance to lead projects that they believe to be important through learning beyond the classroom. They have the opportunity to leave the classroom and go out into the external world to investigate things that they perceive as highly relevant. They work and learn in a variety of different settings, whether that be through a visit(s) to a community regeneration agency, a vocational training organisation, an FE college or a place of paid work.

   Motivated by Choice has shown potential to work with those more at risk including some students who are disruptive and relatively immature (on many occasions this means young males). It is an opportunity for these young males to make direct contact with positive male role models in the world of work and in vocational education and training. The leadership of the armed services in the Away Days (i.e. the RAF) also enables young males to come in direct contact with those who can offer them challenge and support.

   In order to truly motivate and empower those most at risk, those most disruptive and those who have very under-developed personal skills it will most probably require a two-year programme. Motivated by Choice is currently to look at the need of developing a combined year 10/ year 11 programme which will be targeted at this group, i.e. the 5-10% of all students who are most disaffected.

    

   First published August 9, 2000. Last modified August 9, 2000.