Aspley State High School

Case Study: Aspley State High School (2010)

BACKGROUND

Process

In May 2010, 25 students from Aspley State High School took part in the Foundation for Young Australians’ Worlds of Work (WOW) program. This report presents the findings from an evaluation of the WOW program participants using the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique.

The evaluation session was conducted  three months after the students completed the program. During this session, students were asked to write a short story answering the question, “What has been the biggest change to you because of the WOW program?” Students were then formed into groups of three and asked to select the story that best represented their shared experience. A total of six stories were produced and presented to the teacher who accompanied them for part of the WOW program, who then selected the story that he thought best represented the experience of the group as a whole.

School and students

Aspley State High School is located in the North-Eastern suburbs of Brisbane. Its Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage is 967, placing it below the national average of 1000.

FINDINGS

Participants were willing and eager to participate in the MSC process. Overwhelmingly, their stories related to instances where they had to interact with others in social situations and, for many, there was an observed higher level of self-confidence since participating in the program. The MSC data revealed three main aspects of this new-found confidence which was important to the students: the ability to initiate and maintain communication with strangers; the ability and willingness to find and follow pathways into work, further education and volunteering; and an increased capacity to establish and maintain their identity.

Improved communication skills

A recurrent theme in the student stories was having the confidence to talk to strangers and use the skills needed to initiate and maintain these conversations. Students identified themselves as “shy” before the program or spoke of how they “didn’t like to interact or introduce myself in groups”. They spoke of how the program had pushed them out of their “comfort zone” and given them the “courage” they needed to communicate effectively one-on-one or even publicly to a wider audience. One student spoke of an enhanced capacity to provide positive feedback in social situations when engaged in conversation:

I have found that keeping eye contact has been helpful as it shows that I am interested in what they are saying, whereas I was unsure how to give them that message beforehand.

Another student spoke of having the confidence to overcome nerves to ask strangers for the time, and a third related how the WOW program had dramatically improved her confidence to address a large group:

Before WOW I had a lot of trouble talking to people and developing my public speaking skills. After WOW I got up on full school assembly with {friend} to share my WOW experience with my fellow students.

These students clearly demonstrate that the WOW program gave them an opportunity to both learn and practise the communication skills they need to succeed in social situations. Students were able to maintain these skills and apply them in a variety of situations after completing the WOW program.

Furthermore, their teacher spoke of how the shared experience of WOW gave him a reference point when encouraging students to put themselves forward in social situations:

… you say, ‘Just approach them, say hello, a nice firm handshake’, you know, they can relate to those things. They can do it or they come and tell me that they did stuff like that. So that confidence stuff does come back in, in discussions with them.

Pathways into work, study and community engagement

Stories which relate to students gaining entry into new jobs and study opportunities illustrate the practical benefits of improvements in confidence and communication skills. Several students made direct links between the experiences they had on the WOW program and their ability to approach people in seeking work, and then having competency in their interviewing technique. One student mentioned how the WOW program gave them the motivation and confidence to seek out employment:

After the WOW week I felt much more confident and more successful. It opened my eyes to my goals and my ambitions. With all of the knowledge I gained I went out to get a part-time job. It wasn’t long before I got called up for an interview at Woolworths, I approached the interview with confidence and was successful.

Another student made direct links between the WOW program and her new-found ability to pursue a diploma at TAFE. Most importantly, she identifies her increased confidence to conduct herself appropriately in an adult, as opposed to school, context:

Since WOW I have had the confidence to apply for a diploma of nursing TAFE course. This course requires me to study with people older than me. Before WOW I would be more likely to not apply for this course because I wasn’t confident meeting new people. But now I feel that I can meet new people and get along with them even if they are older.

These reflections correspond with the differences the teacher observed between students who participated in the WOW program and those who didn’t:

… the kids that I have got – they are going through this process at the moment, with the attempt of picking subjects and whether they are going to TAFE one day a week, or diplomas and traineeships and stuff. Out of 150 Year 10s the ones that are most proactive are the WOW students because they’ve got that confidence.

The teacher draws a link between the students who did the WOW program and an increased desire to explore wider and more varied opportunities:

They’re really looking at more opportunities than what’s just put in front of them. Like they are looking at those [opportunities] outside TAFE … and are confident enough to do it.

Some students spoke of how the WOW program had enabled them to pursue these wider ranging opportunities, specifically an artistic short course and a volunteering position at a local church-run community cafe. In these instances the impact of the WOW program extends beyond the identification of part-time work opportunities to the domain of personal fulfilment and community engagement:

Being recently involved in a STEP program for a Photo Imaging course, I never would have been involved if it weren’t for WOW.

I volunteer at Chatter’s café at Chermside. I met the staff and I learnt how to serve customers, food service and I now have the confidence to speak more and cooperate more as part of their team … Before WOW I wouldn’t have been as confident to go and work with anyone.

These stories reveal the extent to which the WOW inquiry question (“What does it take to succeed in work and life”) appears to have resonated for the participants. Included in this shared experience is the instilling of confidence to act on and fulfil interests in areas not directly related to school. Importantly, the student who volunteered at the cafe recognises the benefits of learning how to serve customers and serve food, which stem from her willingness to engage with the community.

Improved self-image and identity

In their stories, a number of students make reference to how they have a better understanding of who they are as individuals. They spoke of how they now have greater confidence in expressing their identity to those around them. One student said, “I have become more confident as a person and who I am”, and another said that they now find “it easier to be myself around others”.

Another student made a particularly sophisticated comment in reference to not only their increased understanding of their own identity, but also how this can be communicated effectively to those around them:

Talking to my coach has improved and through that he is starting to understand what my needs are and how I can help the team.

In the process of selecting the story that best represented their shared experience, this group made reference to “Comfort”, “Independence” and “Personality”, themes that clearly show clarity of understanding in relation to the need for a strong, purposeful sense of self.

Similarly, the teacher made reference to changes in behaviour he had noticed in the students who took part in the WOW program:

They seem to be the kids in their groups that are not necessarily the quietest … they just seem more mature than the other kids that are hanging out with them. They’ve got just as much respect as everybody else but the seem to be a lot more settled if you see them around interacting and things. If they are in a class or activity or on parade and they’ve been asked to settle down they’ll do it straight away …

This teacher’s observations demonstrate an increased maturity and self-assuredness in the students who took part in the WOW program. This increased maturity and more “settled” nature point to the impact of the WOW program in giving students the confidence to maintain a strong individual identity amongst their peers and the school environment.

Conclusion

These MSC stories highlight the ability of students to transfer the skills and confidence they developed in the WOW program into their everyday lives. Students clearly experienced significant benefits from participating in the WOW program and were able to articulate how these improved capacities and skills helped them achieve employment, entry into education pathways and improved self-image.

Furthermore, these changes reported by students were corroborated by observations from their teacher in terms of the students’ behaviour and thinking regarding education and training pathways, work and social interactions.