Participant-reported Impact of the Non-formal Educational Activities for Teenagers: an Example of the Empowerment Program for Boys
Drõgin, Sergei (2012)
Drõgin, Sergei
Humanistinen ammattikorkeakoulu
2012
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2012060712072
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2012060712072
Tiivistelmä
Capability to communicate with other people and build relationships is the vital factor for survival in the modern society. Therefore it is important for the young people who enter adult life to acquire these skills necessary for everyday life. Non-formal education gives young people the possibility to develop their values, skills and competencies not in a conceptual but in the real world.
For a successful passage from childhood to adulthood the education of young people at this age should be under construction proceeding from the satisfaction of the following needs: 1) Developing the life skills 2) Possibility to make mistakes 3) Learning from their experiences. However the modern education system is focused more on acquiring knowledge, not skills. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the dominance of boys in the early drop-out from the school system.
The basis for this study is the non-formal educational project "Boys to Men!", which was organized and conducted by three NGOs: Estonian School of Citizen Journalism, Estonian Academy of Childhood and Skydive Club Dropzone. The aim of the project was to find out how 15-16 years old male participants would evaluate the impact of this non-formal educational project concerning their personal development. The author used the method of interview for collecting this data.
The main focus was on the everyday problems of the participants and how the activities of the project helped the participants to alleviate them. Participants’ self-reported results of the project show that it has had a positive influence on the development of the self-confidence of the participants, which may result in a long-term increase in their social capital.
These changes will also be beneficial for the whole community. For this reason the author suggests improving the curriculum of basic education by including in it the methods of non-formal education.
For a successful passage from childhood to adulthood the education of young people at this age should be under construction proceeding from the satisfaction of the following needs: 1) Developing the life skills 2) Possibility to make mistakes 3) Learning from their experiences. However the modern education system is focused more on acquiring knowledge, not skills. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the dominance of boys in the early drop-out from the school system.
The basis for this study is the non-formal educational project "Boys to Men!", which was organized and conducted by three NGOs: Estonian School of Citizen Journalism, Estonian Academy of Childhood and Skydive Club Dropzone. The aim of the project was to find out how 15-16 years old male participants would evaluate the impact of this non-formal educational project concerning their personal development. The author used the method of interview for collecting this data.
The main focus was on the everyday problems of the participants and how the activities of the project helped the participants to alleviate them. Participants’ self-reported results of the project show that it has had a positive influence on the development of the self-confidence of the participants, which may result in a long-term increase in their social capital.
These changes will also be beneficial for the whole community. For this reason the author suggests improving the curriculum of basic education by including in it the methods of non-formal education.