Hands On Learning Australia

Hands On Learning Australia is a not-for-profit organisation listed as a Harm Prevention Charity by the Australian Government. The charity was assisted to come into being by Social Ventures Australia and became an Australian company in 2008 with a board of directors providing governance and oversight. The charity was formed to expand the implementation of a secondary school reengagement program started some nine years previously by high school teacher Russell Kerr. The organisation has gained the patronage of Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.

Hands On Learning (HOL) provides an alternative learning framework for disengaged students to reconnect with school and community. Students come out of normal classes one day per week to join a small team formed of Years 7 to 10 students to work on creative construction projects around their school and in their local community. The students remain part of their normal school program the other four days of the week. Participation is voluntary and long term — students can remain in the program from several weeks to several years, depending upon their needs.

HOL was reviewed by the University of Melbourne and identified as an example of effective strategies for increasing school completion. The program was also considered by Monash University as a way of improving educational outcomes. The program has featured in newspaper and radio broadcasts in Melbourne media, is acknowledged by the Dusseldorp Skills Forum, and endorsed as a strategy to be implemented by schools in the Gippsland region as part of their Youth Commitment to help increase retention rates.

One of the first projects a HOL program engages in is the construction of a HOL hut. This original straw bale hut continues to operate as the operational centre of HOL at Frankston High School.

HOL operates on three broad principles for dealing with students at risk of leaving school prematurely; Target them early and long-term; Work outside the square; Don't just talk, do!. The following summaries are extracted from a presentation given at a Department of Education and Early Childhood Development conference in 2008 unless otherwise indicated.

HOL involves students in junior secondary school (Years 7 - 10) as a preventative measure. It operates on the assumption that if students have become fully disengaged they will either exit prematurely, or remain disaffected and derive minimal benefit from their time there. Thus the program attempts to identify and recruit disengaging students before negative attitudes and behaviours become entrenched. Students are reported to remain, on average, two years in the program on a voluntary basis.

This phrase refers to the fact that students come out of their normal classes one day per week as a 'release valve' into a small group of students with two adults — a teacher:student ratio of 2:10. These small groups are intended to provide an opportunity for students to form strong relationships and an alternate peer group, providing a sense of belonging.

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