Transforming Hopes and Visions for ‘At-Risk’ Primary Students in East Gippsland: A Community–School Partnership

Abstract

Previously conducted research about ‘at-risk’ students has focused on the transition from primary to secondary schools or on the transition between secondary and tertiary sectors. Students who are deemed to be at risk are those who are disengaging from school via non-attendance and whose chance of non-completion is high. Much research has documented how formal education fails disengaged youth. As a Federation University Gippsland Education (FUGuE) researcher, this chapter documents the various intervention strategies used to address at-risk primary school students through completing 31 exploratory, individual interviews with stakeholders involved in a pilot programme within a network of 8 schools located in remote East Gippsland. This chapter points to the particularities of how this place shapes the ways remote communities operate—partly due to its geographical and resource limitations but also due to the creative solutions the stakeholders employed. The aim of the research was to deepen understandings of what is currently known and practiced in a cluster of primary schools regarding at-risk students, complementing the existing work of secondary educators and community agencies. Findings indicate that children as young as 5 years old can be identified as at-risk, and that interventions with disengaged secondary school students are often not early enough, as some children are in danger of not completing primary school. This innovative programme set about to cater for at-risk primary students in a unified manner, in the form of shared cultural practices amongst school and agency staff in a demonstrated commitment to the United Nations’ sustainable goal of equitable educational opportunities for all. Their shared commitment to collaboration and relationality was identified, alongside a focus on the overall well-being, hope and vision of families within the community.