Building Hope

Appropriate Programming for Adolescent and Young Adult Newcomers of War-Affected Backgrounds and Manitoba Schools, October 20, 2005

The ESL Program Review helped to draw attention to and confirmed that adolescent and young adult students from refugee, war-affected, and disrupted schooling backgrounds are likely to face significant challenges that often limit their opportunities for educational success and life chances. In spring of 2004, the Department sought to gather current and meaningful information on the school experiences of adolescent and young adult students with ESL needs and from refuge/war-affected backgrounds that had experienced significant disruptions in their schooling by undertaking a survey of 7-S4 schools and conducting site interviews. The survey and site interviews were designed to obtain information on the numbers of such learners currently in our schools, to develop a better understanding of their experiences and the programming models and supports currently available, and to explore the possibilities for enhancing programming effectiveness. This study was undertaken by Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, in collaboration with Manitoba Labour and Immigration, and Manitoba Advanced Education and Training.

A preliminary report, Building Hope: Appropriate Programming for Adolescent and Young Adult Newcomers of War-Affected Backgrounds and Manitoba School, October 20, 2005, summarizing the results of the research has been prepared for discussion and consultation. The report was released for review and feedback at A provincial consultation/symposium entitled There is Hope: A provincial symposium on Meeting the Needs of Adolescent and Young Adult Refugee Students with War-Affected / Disrupted Schooling Backgrounds that was held on Thursday, October 20, 2005. School division teams, adult learning centres, immigrant, and refugee serving agencies, and other educational partners were invited to participate. In addition, the symposium featured a presentation by Elizabeth Coelho, author of Adding English on the topic of appropriate programming and promising practices. By sharing the results of the survey and engaging in a dialogue on their significance, we expect to facilitate the process of improving and supporting effective programming and to explore establishing alternative approaches where required. A second consultation/symposium on promising programming models will be held early in 2006.

Manitoba Education, Citizenship, and Youth invites all interested parties to review the preliminary report and to offer feedback or suggestions using the feedback forms provided. The full report, feedback forms, and copies of the PowerPoint™ presentations made on October 20, 2005 are available.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Diana Turner
EAL Consultant
1567 Dublin Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3J5
Telephone: 204-945-7148
Fax: 204-948-3767
Email: diana.turner@gov.mb.ca