Making Schools Different

Kitty te Riele is Principal Research Fellow in the Victoria Institute for Education, Diversity and Lifelong Learning, at Victoria University in Australia. She researches educational policy and practice for disadvantaged young people, with a particular focus on alternative education initiatives. Her research has involved students, teachers and community members as participants. Kitty has supervised doctoral research students from both Australia and Hong Kong on research projects in primary, secondary and tertiary education. She has taught professional ethics for pre-service teachers and has experience as an active member of faculty and university human research ethics committees. Her most recent book Negotiating Ethical Dilemmas in Youth Research (Routledge, 2013) is co-edited with Rachel Brooks. They have also guest-edited two special issues (for Young and Youth Studies Australia) focused on research ethics.

′In editing this collection of alternative approaches to education for estranged young people, te Riele has shone a strong light on the inability of society to adequately respond to the learning needs of all citizens, regardless of background. She has included chapters on e-learning technologies, vocational education, the concept of learning identities, the education of Indigenous students and in her own chapter, what she calls the ′pedagogy of hope′. She discusses a positive culture of learning, focusing on possibility, establishing a community of hope and critical relfection. She observes the view of Rorty that ′a philosophy of hope ultimately aims to create a fairer and more democratic society;...The fact that such challenges are not new indicates their complexity and location within a web of socio-economic and cultural factors that make progress towards democratic schooling extremely difficult around the world. If we accept that all humans have a deep interest in the knowledge and learning and that working families have an intimate understanding of the issues they face every day, then the current nature of the curriculum must be brought into question. Rather than fitting all young people to a pre-determined world view, it may be that the field of school knowledge and practice must relate and connect more closely with the dispositions and habitus of all young people′ - Journal of Education Policy ′This edited text by te Riele begins with an interesting but familiar premise: we are forced to attend school for many years and, during this time, many of us get to the point that we just want to leave and get on with our lives. This sets the context for the remaining chapters of the book - which focus on issues regarding non-participation in, and disengagement from, compulsory education...One of the striking features of the text is that the case studies and other examples clearly illustrate how the concepts discussed throughout the book can be applied in a realistic setting...This will ensure that the appeals to a range of audiences including both educational practitioners and those studying a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses focusing on education and children′s experiences at school′ - British Journal of Educational Technology ′The short chapters make for an easy read. Other useful features of the book include suggested further readings, web pages and discussion questions at the end of each chapter. These can be used to help students think about alternative approaches to schooling. I will recommend this booik to teacher educators, teachers, youth workers and policy makers′ - The Psychology of Education

• Educational Innovation for Young People - Kitty te RieleAlternative Schooling in the USA - Laudan AronThe Need for Dialogue in Vocational Education - Frans MeijersNew Adulthood, Youth and Identity - Meg MaguireLearning Identities for Living - Helen Stokes and Johanna WynDoing Identity Differently in Practice - Kitty te Riele (Case Study 6.1) and Frans Meijers (Case Study 6.2)Embedding the Ethic of Care in School Policies and Practices - Kumari Beck and Wanda CassidyPedagogy of Hope - Kitty te RieleEngaging Disaffected Young People - Linda MilbourneDoing Pedagogy Differently in Practice - Jann Eason (Case Study 10.1) and Linda Milbourne (Case Study 10.2)Learning Spaces in Educational Partnerships - Terri Seddon and Kathleen FergusonE-Learning Technologies and Remote Students - Stephen CrumpPart-time Schooling - Marie Brennan, Eleanor Ramsay, Alison Mackinnon and Katherine HodgettsDoing Place and Time Differently in Practice - Kathleen Ferguson and Terri Seddon (Case Study 14.1), Kylie Twyford and Stephen Crump (Case Study 14.2) and Katherine Hodgetts (Case Study 14.3)Learning from Indigenous Education - Wanda Cassidy and Ann Chinnery