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Project Learning for Young Adults

Rationale for the programme

Project Learning for Young Adults (PLYA) was developed by the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education with the purpose of the holistic approach towards solving the problem of dropping out school system. It is carried out by seven Adult education centres, two Development Agencies and four private institutions. The main aim is to motivate young adults to continue abandoned education, finish formal education or (and) get a job. Program is a tailor made training for each participant. This means that individual needs of participants are acknowledged and activities are adjusted to their needs.

Our organization Adult education centre Radovljica has been running the program since year 2000. It has developed into highly professional programme which has integrated into local environment.

Target group

PLYA includes young adults from 15 to 25 years of age.
Participants have the status of unemployed persons and / or are not in education or if they are in education they face with problems that lead to dropout.
More specifically participants are determined by the following characteristics:

  • they find themselves in a unspecified intermediate social space without socially recognized status,
  • are socially excluded, this exclusion is associated with personal, behavioural, social and other problems,
  • are often without basic vocational or professional education, or the labour market is too saturated with certain occupations, therefore they remain the long-term unemployed,
  • they have never been employed or they have short-term work experience or are seeking their first job,
  • have lost their status of pupil or student, or their status defines special individual contract with school,
  • to achieve changes in the patterns of functioning in the social environment they need systematic, intensive and long-term incentives,
  • incentives are needed to strengthen healthy identity and the development of basic capabilities.

Participant’s profile

Most young adults included in the program go through a difficult phase of adolescence. They face numerous problems and severe situations at home such as domestic violence, alcoholism, poverty, abandonment, abuses, divorced parents. Some of them lost their parents or the parents are not capable to give them proper support. Therefore a lot of them solve their distress in various unsuitable ways: abusing drugs, alcohol, self- abusive and suicidal behaviour. Others escape in virtual world of computer games. They have health issues, such as depression, schizophrenia, psychosis and also physical injuries or illnesses after accidents.

In educational system they often find themselves in a conflict situation with the teachers, they violate school rules and start skipping classes. In general, it is really hard to say what the main reason for dropping out of school is. Each participant has his own reasons.

 There is up to 24 participants in the group. The programme is for the participants completely on a voluntary basis and they can enter or exit the programme any time during the school year. They get a contract with the employment service, which covers their travel expenses and gives them a small fee for their cooperation. Another way to enter the programme is a special individual contract with the school, which means that they don’t attend the classes at the school. They come to PLYA programme every day and finish school by passing exams in their original school. It is a kind of prevention before actually dropping out of school completely. But most of them attend adult education.

Work methods

The basic form of work in the program PUM is project work. It’s most important characteristic is consideration of the interests and abilities of the participants which are also involved in the designing of ideas, work planning, doing projects and evaluation. Participants and mentors together shape the projects, activities, workshops, choose the topics of the project, learning resources, methods and procedures. As participants actively participate and decide on the course of the program, their motivation to participate increase and also motivation for learning and continuing education.

Our work is based on the basic concepts of Transactional Analysis:

  • People are as human beings OK regardless off inappropriate behavior. In program this is reflected so that the participants express their interests, desires, and behaviors in an environment where they feel safe and accepted.
  • The concept of development

We encourage development and progress in the participants. Projects are designed so that anyone within his power and capabilities contribute his share in project and therefore develop his potential.

  • The concept of decision

During the program young people learn the concept of decision-making and consequences in a structured and controlled manner. We raise their awareness that the decisions they make are important in teamwork, have an impact on them and others in a group, on mentors and environment. We encourage them to make important life decisions and help them to take consequences.

  • Agreements

Working in project is based on the agreement on the division of tasks and acceptance of responsibility. We encourage them to articulate their interests, desires, and at the same time take into account others and their agreements.

Concepts are realized through project activities. Young people acquire basic functional skills, experience and knowledge that enable them to be successful in further education or in their chosen profession. They get positive learning experiences, they can be more clearly aware of their professional aspirations and create employment strategy. Each participant has selected role in the project. Young people through various activities learn functional skills, communication skills, taking responsibility for their decisions and actions. They also build a positive self – esteem.

PLYA

Role of mentors

Mentors have to be appropriate for this work and properly educated. Education level and mentor licence are only the beginning. They have to be able to do individual work (counselling, guidance), group work (prevention workshops, product work), organising everyday programme, administration. In our group we work according to the TA (transactional analysis) principles.

The role of mentor is based on an equal relationship towards the participant. This means that we treat them as adults; we respect them and except them as good human beings. This is the grounding to start solving the problems they have. We are using numerous tools to encourage participants to recognize their problems, to see different possibilities and that they start to believe in their own abilities.

Every human being is able to grow, to develop and taking responsibility for their decisions and actions.

Mentors have to have inner believe in the participants, they need to accept them as they are and they have to love them.

SOMETIMES IN CRISES ONLY HUMOR AND HUGS HELP.

Individual work

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We make an individual learning plan where we define the goals in personal and in educational area. All the participants are included in a programme of learning help where they are preparing for exams. Individual work is based on a trusting relationship between the mentor and the participant, which gives us a chance to stand by their side on their way towards independence.

Individual work is crucial for their success; it requires high professional competences of the mentors and connecting with external institutions of help.

There is usually a very good reason behind dropping out of school so mentors have to help the youngsters to overcome the difficulties they have. There are other reasons for dropping out of school, not school work itself.

Projects

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All the participants are included in the projects and each of them contributes a small part in the whole project. The process of work is very important, because they create something new and in the end they present their work in the local community or even wider. In fifteen years we created a number of very good projects (films, documentaries, fashion show, newspapers, puppet show, photo exhibitions…). Project entitled “I can live!” presented 30 human rights through different art forms – dance, drama, photo, film, poetry.

Our most successful project was short documentary about the mental health of young people entitled I CHOOSE TO LIVE. The main story is a true story of young girl, the former participant of PLYA program, who has been struggling with self-destructive behaviour and eating disorder, tried to end her life and was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital. Nevertheless she finished school and she now successfully studies (four year in University for low). According to her diary she wrote the story and she was actively involved in making the movie. She guided the director and also the actress that she could as easy as possible embraced in her situation.

In the movie participants of program PLYA appear in various situations. At the same time they got to know the whole process of making a documentary and become familiar with the basics of recording, playing and directing.

Activities of interest

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Daily activities are developed on the basis of the interests of the participants. These activities help to discover hidden talents, gaining new skills, learning how to spend quality leisure time.

Thematic and prevention workshops depend on the problems young people face, on their interests or relate to current events (relations, relationship between parents and adolescents, values, learning styles, sexuality and sexually transmitted disease, love, alcoholism and drugs, domestic violence, poverty, suicide among young people, mental health, racism and tolerance, subculture, human rights, discrimination, politics, ecology, transactional analysis, etc.). Mentors prepare materials for the workshop, questionnaires, role playing, followed by an open discussion on the issue. Young people can also hear the opinions of others, they share their opinion, start to solve problems, learn about a particular topic, expand their knowledge, begin to understand certain things about life, the prejudices reduce, their tolerance towards people and different ways of life increases. The program also hosts various guests who make their profession, lifestyle.

We ask the participants what kind of activities they want to do and according to their suggestions, we try to organise them (cooking workshops, computer lessons, making music, creative workshops, joggling etc.).

Production work

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Production work is intended to acquire new knowledge on occupations, learning about the labour market and employment opportunities, gaining knowledge in the field of marketing and sales. It the last years we organise voluntary work in different local institutions such as kindergartens, retirement homes where they spend few days a week so they can experience a real work environment.

They also participate in intergenerational centre of Radovljica as volunteers in computer courses.

We make an individual learning plan where we define the goals in personal and in educational area. All the participants are included in a programme of learning help where they are preparing for exams. Individual work is based on a trusting relationship between the mentor and the participant, which gives us a chance to stand by their side on their way towards independence. Individual work is crucial for their success; it requires high professional competences of the mentors and connecting with external institutions of help. There is usually a very good reason behind dropping out of school so mentors have to help the youngsters to overcome the difficulties they have. There are other reasons for dropping out of school, not school work itself.

In PLYA Radovljica, we have 4 basic rules that every participant has to accept:

  1. You have to come every day in the morning and have to stay until the end.
  2. You can’t be alcoholised or stoned during the programme.
  3. During the programme you are in the premises of the programme.
  4. We respect each other; we have zero tolerance towards violence.

International projects

Since the year 2000, we have been actively participating in the Youth in action programme. We attended a lot of youth exchanges in Europe (Germany, Hungary, Poland, Holland, Norway) and also hosted groups from abroad. We also hosted three young people in EVS (European voluntary service), one boy from Holland and two girls from Poland and Ireland. This was a great experience for our youngsters, because they had to speak in English, they got to know young people from abroad, their habits etc. We also sent our youngsters on EVS.

These projects are an important part of PLYA, they offer young people to actively participate, they can get to know different cultures, informal and intercultural learning. They can expand their horizon and switch their environment. Consequently   they can see their own life from a different perspective.

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MatejaWritten by: Mateja Rozman Amon, Adult Education Centre Radovljica, Slovenia