Abstract

Stories about being successfully at youth education
- Educational guidance in the perspective of theory of learning

Young adults’ choice of education is important on the political agenda. The government has set up the political aim, that 95% of a youth generation will have completed youth education by 2015 There are certain difficulties in achieving this aim, and although almost all young adults in Denmark start youth education at present only 84% of these get their youth education.

This thesis wants to investigate way of supporting completion of education.

This thesis is a qualitative study among 7 young people in various fields of youth educations. They have all interrupted their education or been in serious trouble during their education, but they have managed a come back and are now bound for completion, and they themselves, their teachers and guidance counsellors expect them to complete successfully.

By means of a case study this thesis investigates, how these young students themselves understand their change, how this change can be understood in a theoretical perspective and what implications can be found for classroom teaching and for educational guidance.

The purpose of using the perspective of the young adults as take off is to identify phenomena of importance for changes. And furthermore in the light of these results of analysis to discuss present initiatives and consider alternative approaches to current initiatives in reaching the 95% aim.

The theoretical perspective, which I apply investigating the described problematic is an existential theory of learning, which is developed by Peter Jarvis. In his perspective learning and changing is connected with experience. And experience can in various processes be the basis of learning and changing.

The analysis of the young adults experiences of change points to various factors of importance for change. In the analysis I have followed 3 tracks:
The individual track
The social track
The identity track

In short the analysis of the individual track points out that the informants emphasize that individual will and strength are important reasons for change. Furthermore, a significant subject in their stories is that experience even from the crisis has strengthened the will of the young adults to complete education.

The social track however shows that experience can be understood as socially constructed and that meaning too unfolds between the individual and environment. Therefore the turning points of the informants can be understood not only as a matter of individuality but also as a matter of social influence. Furthermore empiric material and theoretical perspective points out the significance of communities and relations concerning change.

The third track is focusing on identity. The young adults in this investigation have had experience about being outside education or risking getting outside educations. Several informants tell about thoughts and experiences of not being successfully in society, which according to Peter Jarvis creates disjuncture. But according to the informants, education appears as meaningful in the light of experience, and for the young adults in this investigation education offers a harmonic and attractive identity, which according to Peter Jarvis resolves disjuncture. Thus the informants are now, theoretically formulated, occupied with creating harmony in social and individual identity by re-entering and succeeding education.

And on that background the analysis calls attention to an important possibility of supporting the completing of education through focusing on understanding the transformation processes as interacting with socially constructed experiences. And furthermore this analysis leads to understanding completion of education as combined with identity construction. Therefore this thesis points out, that successful completion of education is not only a matter of individual effort, but completion also involves interaction with participants’ everyday lives. On that background this thesis is implicating alternative ways of supporting completion of education

Considering that this investigation could have relevance for other young adults having trouble completing education, this thesis can point out the importance of educational guidance interacting with everyday life, communities and relations.

Having an eye for the importance of the environment, focus and co-operation between educational guidance and classroom teaching can probably provide change and new possibilities in accomplishing education. And so the investigation point out certain developing areas of interest for reaching the 95% aim. Areas that could be developed in educational guidance and teaching especially in common practice:

• Constructing stories
• Getting experience
• Participating in communities
• Having relations
• Identity construction

A final chapter considers how common practice between educational guidance and classroom teaching could be developed