Early School Leavers
As part of our priorities, we are working to improve the quality of life for working poor individuals in Ottawa, and were concerned that adults with low levels of education face very significant barriers in the labour market and are more likely to live in poverty. In the last couple of years there has been increasing focus on strategies to keep youth in school. Despite the success of many of these programs, in 2006 in Ottawa, there were 8,400 young people aged 15 to 24 who had not finished high school and who were not attending school.
We responded by developing a profile of young adults who were early school leavers, along with some internet resources to assist agencies reaching out to these young adults. Under the leadership of an advisory committee of community stakeholders and academics, we established a Community of Practice (knowledge exchange) for information sharing, promotion of resources about “best or promising practices” and networking opportunities.
An important accomplishment of the project was the creation of a profile of early school leavers in Ottawa. The profile has improved understanding of the issues related to engagement in learning. The statistical analysis, based on a custom data purchase from Statistics Canada, and geographic information system mapping has helped local practitioners better understand who early school leavers are as well as the geographic distribution of the population. The literature review within the profile has clarified relevant research with respect to the issues related to engagement in learning. This information is supplemented by the findings of focus groups held with a total of 47 young adults who were early school leavers, and key informant interviews with community agency staff. The resulting document has provided service providers in Ottawa with an invaluable tool for service planning, staff development and community education with their stakeholders regarding the issue of early school leaving.
The project points to the need for a four pronged approach to better address the challenges faced by early school leavers, specifically:
- Improve interventions to keep young people in school and strengthen schools in vulnerable neighbourhoods;
- Expand opportunities for young people to “change direction” or make different choices at different points in time along their transition process from school to work;
- Increase supports for the working poor;
- Improve supports for young people facing distinct challenges, such as disabilities, poverty or significant family responsibilities.
We are grateful to the members of the Advisory Group to the project. Resources for the project were provided by the Canadian Council on Learning.
This project led to the creation of a new project at the Social Planning Council to enhance employment opportunities for early school leavers in Ottawa, called Building Greener Futures Together.