Literacy and the Soup of SuccessThreshold Moments

Professor Brendan BartlettDr Elaine RobertsQCAL 2009

Young People in Transition

We know the signs of the problems:• No job – often with failure history• Ineffective reading skills and limited range• Poor application of numeracy skills• Ineffective communication & problem solving• Inability to express emotions sociably• Plummeting self esteem- use of drugs and

alcohol and abusive behaviour• Disassociation from traditional help sources• Distrust

We recognise success

• Willingness to work/search for work• Sociable behaviour & awareness of others• Consciousness of a future that can be

planned• Raised vocational skills• Improved problem solving and literacy skills• Improved health and well-being• Willingness to work on improving skills of all

types• Belief that someone genuinely cares

Participants recognise success

• Willing to talk about themselves and others

• Recognise and value the improved skills • Reacknowledge belief that someone cares

for them• Moving forward• Have strategies for handling trouble

How do we find the “third space?”

• Where past failures become irrelevant in moving forward and doing new things?

• Where the future is more important than the past?

• Where a perception of worthwhile is a driving force in making positive changes to lifestyle and behaviour?

• Where a relapse is a learning opportunity?

Our spotlight has been on

• The journey and what course participants have been able to make sense of

• Comparisons with other providers they tried• Their growth in appreciation as they moved

through BoysTown• Factors as they saw them singly or together• The attraction of happy people who cared• The value of another supported chance

The Soup of Success

• Is Thick and Nutritious but not easy to isolate the separate tastes

• Is interactive in nature• Is building up the people who partake of it • Is a complete package – but a different

package for different people• We know that power with language is

integral to improving job opportunities and dealing with problems.

Combination of factors

• Spiral is upwards• Support, health, well-being, small

successes, ability to deal with situations improve.

• We practise what we prefer to do and we perfect those things.

• The third space is where the preferences change and the willingness is there.

• Belief in self comes from success and generates success.

Motivation Factors

• Power of a winning combination is the key• No “one size fits all”• Awareness raising and belief in their

unique abilities• Trainers, counsellors and youth workers

who are happy and “together”• Progression that is relevant.

100%

100%

69%

100%

100%

24%

67%

57%

100%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Good maths skills

Good reading skills

Good writing skills

Proportion of young people in Fresh Start Literacy

Mid or exit point (10- 12 weeks) Mid or exit point (4- 6 weeks) Entry point (0- 2 weeks)

• Results of participation in Fresh Start Program

Improvements in Language, Literacy & Numeracy

The Lure of Independence and the $

• Reality clicks in (e.g. as graduates explain that they do not wish to take time from the employer to answer a questionnaire)

• Reality of bad choices and consequences

• Reality that the responsibility is mine• Reality that I received help and I should

pass that on• Reality that I feel better when I earn the

money for my needs and wants

The Sky is the Limit

• Underpinning everything – {all the coordinated support services the vocational skills, literacy, numeracy, social skills, problem solving, health care development}

“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” (Goethe)

Literacy Cannot Fly Alone

• Third space has “Gold Lotto” moments when the wealth of what can be moves off the TV screen and into the lives of disengaged young people in transition.

• Like accidents, such moments are caused – they don’t just happen – the array of ingredients are mixed just for the person who needs the soup of success.