04. Inclusive Education
Paper
‘Engaging’ with Education through Technology: Supporting At Risk Young People with their Next Steps.
Alison Power, Emma Whewell
University of Northampton, United Kingdom
Presenting Author: Power, Alison;
Whewell, Emma
Alternative provision is employed when school-based education is considered unsuitable for a young person; it can offer more individualised care that is therapeutic in nature, including small group teaching, and high staff ratios; aiming to reduce the long-lasting impact of exclusion from school including criminal activities, low educational attainment, unemployment and physical and mental ill health (Owen et al., 2021). There are disproportionate numbers of children in alternative provision with one or more of the following characteristics:
- Special Educational Need or Disability;
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at risk of or have been permanently excluded from school;
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school refusal, school phobia and poor attendance and record of truancy.
Research that discusses the children's voice in relation to their experiences of alternative provision cites its importance in enabling them to tackle their feelings of low self-worth and build an understanding of the world (Owen et al., 2021).
‘Engage' offers an innovative approach in alternative education provision from the Northampton Saints Foundation (NSF), working with students aged 10-18 to increase confidence and self-esteem and support them in the next steps of their journey. NSF evaluates their students’ journeys via a ‘paper passport’ which measures the success of the delivery outputs of the programme. It provides key statistical data to enhance the progressions of young people. Within the 2019/20 academic year NSF had a 93% progression rate, this refers to the progression to employment, education or training, or an improvement in soft skills.
We present the outcomes of a consultation and pilot with the young people and NSF staff, using the online platform Padlet, to explore how they would like to record their reflections, the look and feel of a digital passport platform (e-Passport), and how it could address the issue of disliking committing their feelings and emotions to paper. Initially, the Student e-Passport was piloted with one ‘Hub’ group from the Foundation’s programme, using participatory action research (PAR) involving the NSF staff and researchers at the University of Northampton (UON). The pilot aimed to consult with staff and students to evaluate its effectiveness and scalability. Version 2 is co-designed with NSF staff and based upon the theoretical premises of the Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2018) that values multi-modal engagement, representation and expression in learning design. Version 2 will see the evaluation of the digital artefacts produced by the students on their e-Passport and their learning behaviours and engagement.
This session will take the form of an oral presentation, sharing the findings of our research project, looking at how we are using Padlet to shape the future of inclusive teaching. UON uses Padlet as part of its active digital education pedagogical approach (ADE). This concept has been developed at UON to complement their pedagogical approach of Active Blended Learning (ABL). The ADE approach recognises that digital tools can be harnessed to facilitate the co-construction of knowledge through technology-enabled exchanges of ideas. Such active co-creation has the potential to build employability skills consistent with the transformative ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals, most notably number 4, Quality Education. It engages individuals in knowledge construction, reflection and critique, the development of learner autonomy and the achievement of learning outcomes using digital tools.
Padlet offers a range of opportunities for expressing learning, co-creation between students and staff and the building of shared digital artefacts that can be used synchronously and asynchronously. This session would benefit individuals who are looking at ways of engaging with learners that are across time zones and locations as well as those with a diverse set of learners, for example students with diagnosed learning needs, neurodiversity and students identified as needing support with access and participation.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis study aims to evaluate the usability, effectiveness and impact of a digitised Student Passport (Student e-Passport). The study is anticipated to last for 8 months and completes in May 2023. This study employs a participatory action research (PAR) approach that sees the NSF staff integral to the design, usage, evaluation and ongoing development and refinement of the Student e-Passport. PAR is recognised in the field of education as a collaborative methodological approach dedicated to social change (Vivona and Wolfgram, 2021), focussing on achieving social justice and addressing social problems. The fundamental premise of PAR is self-reflection, inquiry, community and empowerment. This proposal suggests that the process of co-creation will be completed using feedback from the NSF staff to understand the impact of the student e-Passport on children's engagement, learning and behaviours.
The sampling technique is deemed to be critical case sampling where the research is based upon a small group of participants who have experienced the same phenomenon (Guetterman, 2015). The sample is a ‘closely defined group’ (Newby, 2014:255) and critical case sampling is appropriate as the data needed can only be provided by the staff at NSF and the students who are attending the 'Engage’ project between the dates of October 2022 and May 2023. NSF granted permission for this project to be conducted with their staff and consented to supporting the research team to conduct focus groups. All staff members who will be using the e-Passport to work with young people will be invited to participate. Secondly, the research team will conduct a visual analysis of the student e-Passports All students who will be using the e-Passport will be invited to participate. The focus group data will be analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step structure of thematic analysis. The students’ digital artefacts from the e-Passport will be analysed using a visual analysis to elicit common themes of content and common ways of expressing learning.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe real challenge of the encouraging young people to engage with the passport is they do not like committing their feelings and emotions to paper. Three themes emerged from the findings of the pilot study: technology, student engagement and communication and support which informed the development of the Padlet for Phase 2.
By digitising the passport (e-Passport) staff report an increase in the young people's involvement within the sessions. Staff also found that the e-Passport was easy and engaging to use with the young people, and that the young people enjoyed the variety of ways to upload their work and the use of a stylus pen with the iPad added to the experience.
The staff described the need for a set of structured activities that they could complete with the young people, along the themes of ‘getting to know you’, ‘my family’, and ‘regulating my emotions’. Feedback has seen version 2 including activities that can be completed one to one or independently by the young people, plus a more comprehensive range of resources for staff and young people, grouped by age (under 16 and 16+).
Finally, staff found the process of being involved in a PAR project to co-create the Padlet for Phase 2 supportive, engaging and empowering.
Focus groups for Phase 2 will take place in June 2023, with findings being embedded in the presentation and discussed at conference.
ReferencesCAST (2018) About Universal Design for Learning. CAST [online]. Available from: CAST: About Universal Design for Learning [Accessed 12.01.23]
Clarke V, Braun, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3 77-101
Guetterman, T. (2015). Descriptions of sampling practices within five approaches to qualitative research in education and the health sciences. Forum, Qualitative Social Research, 16(2), 23–16:2<23. Available from: https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-16.2.2290 [Accessed 20.11.22]
Newby, P. (2014) Research Methods for Education. Oxon: Routledge.
Owen, C., Woods, K., Stewart, A.(2021) A systematic literature review exploring the facilitators and barriers of reintegration to secondary mainstream schools through ‘alternative provision’, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties 26(3) 322-338
Vivona, B and Wolfgram, M. (2021) Conducting Community Based Participatory Action Research. Human Resource Development Review 20(4). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/15344843211044003 [Accessed 01.12.22]
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