Aims

The basic aim of the programme is supporting young people to acquire such experiences, knowledge and skills that would enable them to continue education or advance the career they have chosen. It is also essential for them to develop the competences needed generaly in education and gain positive learning experience. The PLYA wants to help them in defineing and articulating their career and life aspirations.  Through the learning they develop their ability for critical, flexible and problem-oriented thinking.

The Project Learning for Young Adults has been established to encourage young people to take creative and active part in society. The programme wants to motivate participants to enter the process of regular education and/or teach them how to become more competitive in the labour market and thus increase their employability. By project oriented learning the programme creates reflection upon majority of everyday social contexts in which young people are invited to experince and learn from several diferent social discourses, became more familiar with many different professions and occuptions and get ideas about ”what, who, where, how is doing” and how to approach to became part of those social networks. These experiences at the same time enables them to enlarge and canalize their interests, discover and develop their talents that othervise maight be stay undiscoverd and consecuently unrealised.

Objectives

The programme wants to:

• Prevent harmful consquences of social isolation of young people;
• Reintegrate them into the cultural environment of peer groups;
• Reduce social problems in the environment;
• Change the environment’s negative response to them;
• Facilitate establishing mutual links and self-help among young people;
• Develop motivational mechanisms for returning to school;
• Help them to improve some of their everyday habits,
• Learn about learning.

Common educational goals of the programme:

• General education comprise the goals of basic skills learning and concern how to familiarising oneself with various efficient learning techniques, strategies and skills required for independent learning, acquiring  experiences of reading for comperhension in several diferent context, speaking and writing functional and for self-expression, numeracy and arithmetic for every day life and for other purposes (e.g.to pass math exam), communication skills, functional use of computers, the basics of natural sciences, basic rights of students, citizens and workers (civic learning), ecology and the basic about body and halth. Every student has to do individual leraning plan for the period he or she intend to stay at PLYA.
• The goals of forming professional identity comprise gathering professional information, designing the career plan, functional use of individual professional languages, recognising new or flexible career opportunities, establishing links with potential employers within the local environment, understanding basic components of labour legislation and training for job-seekers.
• The goals of socio-cultural activeness are connected with shaping personal identity, they include accepting responsibility for one’s actions, increased ability to overcome less favourable incentives from the immediate social environment, the ability of independent action in institutionalised life situations, more effective and constructive use of leisure time, acquiring habits needed in achiving thir learning plan and certain life goals, increased self-confidence, experiencing constructive group dynamik where people feel competent and happy, knowing basic possibilities offered by modern media and creative use of media culture in promoting their own activities and for thir communication with/over the world.

Target group

The programme PLYA is publicly verified non-formal educational programme titled to unemployed young people between 15 and 25 who discontinued their schooling. Poor education and lessnes of appropriate work experience push them into the category of those unemployed who hardly find the job. Their social status is determined by being poor educated, mostly drop-outs and unemployed.

At the beginning when they entering the PLYA they ussualy have very distorted perception of work and employment, very low motivation for education and poorly planned professional career. The last is coused by inappropriate choice  of secondary education at the end of primary school. Most of PLYA students in that time had to run the school that was in fact their second or even third choice. The school system in Slovenia is selective and very determinate in the way of forming professional career. The most  popular schools are limited in the number of student registrations. Thus a lot of youth can not be educated through their favorite school programme and are less motivated for learning in other programmes.
PLYA students meet a lot of other problems in their life, e.g. they do not have any suportive adult person and it was found out that failure in the school in most of PLYA students is a complexity  of sevaral disadvantageous in which stundents need help to be overcomed.

Unemployment and other negative consequences of failure in school lead them into social isolation which in turn brings out the lack of opportunities for creative and satisfactional communication in society. Because they don’t use them people can lose their skills, knowledge, lernability and even values. In this way their competences stay undeveloped. The social isolation sometimes leeds to marginalisation of youth and reflects in drug abuse, criminal and/or self-destructive behaviour. 

The programme history

The Project Learning for Young Adults  began in the nineties (1992/93)when the number of young unemployed people increased considerably due to political and economical changes in Slovenia. It became obvious in that time that almost thirty percents of each school generation drop-out from school or do not continue their regular education. Originally, the programme was carried out experimentally as the Centre for Young Adults. First group of yoth strat with learning at october 1995. After two years of practical experiences that has been permanently monitored and evaluated the programme was partially supplemented and titled as The Project Learning for Young Adults. Its implementation began in the spring of 1998.  In 1999 it was adopted by Ministry for Education.

In the following three years the network of organisations that carried out the PLYA grew bigger. There are eight PLYA organisations in eight Slovenian towns: Ljubljana, Slovenj Gradec, Celje, Murska Sobota, Radovljica, Ajdovščina, Maribor, and Koper . In 2005 there is intended to start four new organisation and in 2006 two or four more in the regions where PLYA still not egsist.

Key activities

Project learning is carried out in four typs of project work which are all together supplemented in achieving programme goals:

• Individual learning projects are a part of the career planning and indvidual learning plan that evry student has to do during the programme. It derives from the defined personal goals of the participants, e.g. passing certain exams, activities connected with forming individual career, it may be also a project related to personal growth of participants in the programme.
• Optional group project work; is based on the interests and current learning needs of the participants. The individual intrests and needs are incorporated in common group project. Each member of the project group realised their own learning and other bjectives in the context of common project of the group. He or she is expected to work and learn on the common benefits and the group shall suport individual student in her/his efforts. As it is known from the studies and practice in this projects , participants are primarily interested in modern media productions (newspapers, film), art (theatre, exhibitions, photography), travelling. An optional project usually lasts from 1 to 3 months, all participants of the programme take part in it.
• Productional project work is directed into learning about new ways of creativeness, ways of using energetically less demanding environment-friendly technologies, developing possibilities for the revival of old and disappearing crafts and the production of objects which are characteristic for the local environment. Productional project work can be also in the form of various services which the groups carry out permanently for the environment.
• Extra-curricular activities are logically connected with the contents which a group of participants pursue in the programme, yet they cannot be carried out within other programme options. Their contents can be directly connected with supplementing of the project tasks or can be organised independently from other projects, just for fun or to satisfied ones interest. Ussually they are used as a tool for rising students motivation – like uverture in  the optional project work. Those activities help also in enlargering students interests within new fields in which they have no experiences or has not know them before.

Working methods

Basic form of work is project learning. The most important in programme seems to be mentor’s sensibility for interests and abilities of participants who actively participate all the time – from the beginning till the end of the project. Participants decide project theme, learning sources, methods and procedures, while mentors help them in doing this. Because students themselves actively participate and negotiate the programme’s implementation, their motivation for participating in the programme increases, thus also their motivation to learn and continue their education.

Project Learning for Young Adults do not use conventional school methods, learning programmes, marking and selection, but it is based entirely on self-evaluation and evaluation of the projects. Different projects, such as film, theatre and newspapers, help young people to acquire knowledge and skills, experiences and values that enable them to be successful in continuing their education or advancing careers they have chosen, they gain positive learning experiences, they more clearly define their aspirations concerning career and whole life. At the same time they craeate their own career or employment strategy.

In the programme each participant is accepted individally.  Mentors guide students individually during the learning all the time. Every student start with planining her/his individual learning plan that has to be realised during the programme. This plan is the foundation for all his/her activities in the programme. The individual learning plan is a plan of the participant’s progress in all fields, not only those pertaining to schooling but also in social, motivational and personal field. It represents the basis on which most of project activities are chosen, since the rationale for these activities are the goals set by the participants. Indvidual learning plan is a document which is “in the making” through all the time student stay at the PLYA. It helps student in evaluating his/her progressing in the programme acording to the goals he/she has sat before.

Group dynamics in learning projects help participants to find the meaning in learning and education, to form a realistic attitude towards work and people, to form a personal vision of further career and employment. Project Learning for Young Adults helps young people to overcome social isolation and enable them to discover their talents, creativity, to improve their working and learning habits as well as to learn how to co-operate in a group.

Financial support

The Project Learning for Young Adults is funded:

• two thirds by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport,
• one third is supposed to be provided by local communities in which the programme is carried out, yet this is not regulated by the law.

Perceived strengths

Between 2000 and 2002, the Faculty of Philosophy carried out the evaluation study of the programme named the Social Integration Role of the Project Learning for Young Adults. Its basic purpose was to find out:

• Whether the programme stimulates and enables young people to return to education and what are the effects of the programme;
• Whether the programme has only short-term effects or also long-term effects – young people returning to education and persisting till they successfully finish it and get a job;
• How the curriculum of the Project Learning for Young Adults is structured and which ingredients effect its quality.
• Which quality indicators can be identified in the system of mentor training in the programme Project Learning for Young Adults – are there any shortcomings which should be overcome.

Basic findings of the evaluation study

The basic finding is, according to the entire research team, that the programme Project Learning for Young Adults has long-term effects of social integration. The evaluation encompassed all young adults which participated in the programme from its beginning in 1998. We considered what happened to the young people who started with the programme after they had discontinued their education and consequently found themselves on the social margin. The latest data about their present situation (spring 2002, 80 percent of all those who participated in the programme from 1998 on answered the questionnaire) reveals that 40 percent are attending schools, 9 percent have regular jobs, 15 percent is employed part-time, 2 percent will return to school in the school year 2002/20031, 21 percent are unemployed, 2 percent are in the army, 2 percent on maternity leave, 2 percent are in rehabilitation for drug addiction, 7 percent are categorised under “other” or “unknown”.

The answers about their plans for future show that most of them formed a clearer picture of their further orientation and that two thirds of the participants wish to continue their education (33 percent as regular students and 33 percent in part time education). According to these data and the previous data we can conclude that the programme is successful.

The findings of the evaluation study reveal that school failure or dropping out is a complex social problem which appears at the intersection of family, school and the wider environment, the problem which surpass the perspective of an individual. Participants in the Project Learning for Young Adults are young people who have dropped out of school for various reasons. The analysis of the characteristics of the environment and the participants’ school history show that the programme attracts those young people who belong to a vulnerable group of the society; families fail to provide them with support, while education itself due to the school failure cannot function as a factor of safety either.

Dropping out of school is an important turning point in one’s life and young people need some time to get over the distress, search for solutions, improve their self-image etc. Psychosocial rehabilitation of an individual is the first condition for his or her successful continuation of education. Participants need external support and help to select their further career and continuation of their education. The entire issue which marks the participants justifies the application of more mentors than is usual for adult learning. The important role of the Project Learning for Young Adults is revealed by the fact that it alleviates or render their school failure less absolute and points out the opportunity to correct the failure at some other occasion. The work in the programme also enables them to discover their strong points which in turn provide them with opportunities to constructively assert themselves.

The reasons for positive effects can be found in the goals, contents and methods of the educational programme and in the training of mentors who carry out the programme. The evaluation of studies has shown that there exists not merely declarative but real commitment to form the programme Project Learning for Young Adults according to the modern curricular theory and the basic principles – these were summarised also in the starting points of the Slovenian curricular reform. Those solutions offered by the curriculum of the Project Learning for Young Adults which are concerned with asserting the principle of individual’s active role in the process of learning should be pointed out, since the curriculum offers original solutions which enable individuals to fully influence the selection of themes which are only in a later phase structured as a learning matter by the teacher who also determines its learning goals and standards of knowledge. Although it is a programme with special goals and is intended for a special target group, we are of the opinion that similar solutions could be used in more formalised curricula, at least as a supplement for fully structured and determined learning themes.

The programme’s effects to a large extent depend on those who carry it out, that is – on mentors. The evaluation group attributes the quality of implementation to the following factors: the mentors must, besides the required basic education, undergo the training within a more extensive programme which helps them familiarise with social and psychosocial causes and characteristics of drop-outs, modern curricular principles and implementation as well as with initial practical testing. On the basis of their training they do not acquire permanent right to work in the programme, they have to prove their competences in a special procedure every three years; this stimulates them for constant further training. Each year they participate in an evaluation workshop in which they thoroughly discuss their achievements and the problems they encounter during the implementation.

Perceived weaknesses

• The last third that should be founded by local community is rarely realised. This in particular causes the lack of finance for realisation of the whole programme, e.g. production project work is rarely realised.
• The knowledge student gain in the programme is not accredited in other education or in the market. At the start it can be obstacle for some students to join the programme.
• In particular region there is still lack of support among counsellors within institution (e.g. Labour market agencies, schools) competent to direct youth into the programme.

Future prospects

During its implementation, the Project Learning for Young Adults has been recognised as a programme that is teribly needed in Slovenia. The first reason for this is undoubtedly the fact that a very high proportion of young people in Slovenia drop out of school.
The second reason is that Slovenia still lacks educational programmes which would help young adults consistently solve the difficulties due to marginalisation stemming from school failure as well as others reasons and problems (Project Learning for Young Adults, 1999, 7). The Project Learning for Young Adults solve these problems consistently and efficiently.
The third reason is its successfulnes and popularity among youth who attend it. According to evaluative study from 2000 it was realised that 94percents of all participants who has ever be involved in programme responded that they were satisfied with the PLYA. Only 21 percents of all participants stay uneployed even after completting the programme. Other students has find thejob or continue education or realised some other goals that are important for their future life.

In next decade PLYA shall work elimination of the percived weeknesses. The development will go in the direction of legalisation of the programme, creating of important links within common eduactional system in the sense of the accreditation of PLYA learning (e.g. key competences), promoting programme to become even more recognized not only among target group itself, but also within network that enable its realisation.

Name in full contact details of key informant

Ms Natalija Zalec
Slovenian Istitute for Adult Education
Smartinska 134a
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia

Phone: 00 386 1 5842 587

Email: natalija.zalec@acs.si
http://www.acs.si