Building bridges to realise potential

Abstract

Young people who go missing from school through non-attendance is not a new phenomenon and continues to challenge government policy makers and researchers. The research literature in the area has tended to look at deficits either of the young person, parent, school, society or various combinations therein-much of it developed from looking in on their lives as opposed to eliciting the unique views of those who are living those lives. This research project aims to redress this by eliciting the unique perspectives of the young people and their parents on the factors involved, in the young person going missing from school and the issues which this raises for them. It aims to analyse these factors and issues from an ecological and social capital perspective, exploring whether adopting such an analysis can inform an intervention approach to support their route back into education or training. A significant barrier identified was their lack of social capital in relation to knowledge of possible educational options available to them, and a lack of support to help navigate their route back into some form of education or training. Based on this, the researcher adopted a curative approach (Kinder & Kendall, 2005) using the social capital concept of linking social capital as a practical intervention. This involved an intervention with the researcher acting as a linking social tie to bridge the young people back into education or training. The research project adopted a social constructionist perspective and took the form of a qualitative exploratory study, which employed structured discussions and a multiple case study approach (Yin, 2003). The contributors to the research project were a group of young people (n-10), in Year 3 or Year 4 of a Scottish secondary school, who were aged 13 to 15 years. They comprised 6 males and 4 females. Their attendance had diminished to such an extent that school staff felt that they would be unlikely to return to a secondary school. The young people’s parents (n-10) also contributed to the research process. Following the intervention, seven of the ten young people returned to an education or a vocational placement. Implications for schools and professional practice are discussed, as are opportunities for further research.