On the occasion of National Youth Day, which was celebrated yesterday and whose activities were launched officially last Saturday at the Robert Samut Hall and will culminate in Baystreet on Sunday, I would like to entice you with some food for thought.

Following the recent rise in violent acts on teachers in schools, the Malta Union of Teachers held a protest rally to highlight the unacceptable behaviour of some pupils towards teachers. At the end of the rally, a number of proposals were made. These included the following:

• the union, together with the concerned authorities, will identify the schools which are most at risk and employ more assistant heads, whose sole responsibility would be school behaviour;

• more activity teachers particularly in primary schools;

• social workers and councillors employed full-time in schools;

• school heads given clear instructions about their role and responsibilities, the introduction of reception areas in schools;

• the setting up of specialised learning centres in schools and outside.(www . m ut.o rg.m t.pressrel.htm)

What is happening in our secondary and higher schools? Why are an increasing number of young people dropping out of school? The increase of violence and delinquency is a cause for alarm which must instigate a prompt re-valuation of the education system.

The National Minimum Curriculum is a sound basis for educating the majority of adolescents and children attending school. However, it is failing a minority of young people who, unfortunately, often demonstrate their anger in disruptive behaviour, both towards their peers, as well as to their teachers. This situation is prevalent in many other countries, “schools are reporting an increase in recent years of bullying, robbery and assault with weapons” (Cotterell, J. 1996).

The streaming process in the formal education system favours the “achievers” who will progress and move on to obtaining a comprehensive education, vital to acquiring a prestigious job and social standing. On the other side of the coin are the school drop-outs who:

Run aground at the lower educational vocational levels and as a consequence end up in situations without prospects of finding regular jobs. Also, these youngsters usually have no ambition to be in the labour force and make no serious effort to find a regular job. (Van der Plog, J. & Scholte, E., 1997)

“School teachers for a lot of the time are working from a syllabus or a curriculum that sets out what they should be teaching and provides for some basic form of evaluation” (Jeffs, S. & Smith, T., 1996). This curriculum is rejected by deviant adolescents as it does not have the flexibility required to cater for their individual learning needs.

Youth workers are educators who can be of particular benefit to deviant youth by meeting “the needs of different individuals, situations and circumstances… developing the individual and supporting their participation in society” (Dewey, 1961 cited in Young, K. 1999). “As such, the youth work’s intention is to liberate as opposed to domesticate young people” (Freire, 1972, cited in Young K, 1999).

It is an established fact that education is an ongoing process and many people talk about “lifelong learning”, which is all well and good, but fails to address the needs of school drop-outs, who often lack even the most basic skills needed to enable them to earn a decent living. These desperate youngsters often turn to delinquency and crime in order to survive.

Many European countries have developed alternative educational programmes to cater for these youths, using outreach youth workers in ‘a non traditional drop-in open enrolment classroom that provides basic academic skill development and social skills as well as vocational needs’ (Van der Plog, J., Scholte, E., 1997). Drop-in centres are also effective in encouraging deviant youths to seek help to furthering their education in a non-formal setting.

Youth work is particularly suited to one-on-one encounters, which are very often not possible within the school environment. The skilled youth worker can establish a meaningful relationship.

Formed on a basis of equality, trust and mutual respect … Learning begins with that which immediately confronts the learner. It is not imposed externally through a curriculum. There is encouragement for diversion and creative thinking and a general striving for whole person education. (Rosseter, B., cited in Jeffs, T., & Smith, M.K., 1997).

In spite of the confusion of the significance and loosely defined role of youth work, one can immediately conclude that the principle role of the youth worker is to educate on a personal, social and political level. “There is broad agreement that the basic objective of the youth service is the social education of young people” (Marsland, D., 1993).

The youth profession in Malta has clearly defined goals which are aimed at improving the quality of education of young people leading towards independence:

• It encourages young people to be critical in their responses to their own experience and to the world around them;

• It works with young people to help them to make informed choices about their personal responsibilities within their communities;

• It complements schools and work based education and training by encouraging young people to achieve and fulfil their potential;

• It works with other agencies to encourage society to be responsive to youth people’s needs. (The Maltese Association of Youth workers: Code of Professional Ethics).

Non-formal education as practiced in youth work offers a flexible approach, especially suited to young people, who for one reason or another, find it difficult to adjust and conform to the defined boundaries of the formal education system. It can also be applied within diverse settings, extending a lifeline to potentially delinquent youths, which is often missing in the scholastic curriculum.

There is no conflict of interest. The advantage of offering both formal and non formal means of education can only be of benefit to all our youths if used in a holistic manner. The profession of youth work needs to be recognised on an equal level to the teaching profession, together, these can offer the comprehensive approach, presently missing, to provide our youth with a synergised educational programme.

Good school teachers, like good informal educators, desire to help people grow and learn so all may share in a common life. They seek to educate not indoctrinate … It is best to see informal and formal education as a continuum (Jeffs, T., & Smith M.K., 1996).

Michael Boffa is a student in BA Honours Youth and Community Studies and a member of the Malta Association of Youth Workers.