creating pathways to education, employment and training · this diary is to be used in conjunction...

Creating Pathways to Education,Employment and Training

Participant’s Diary

Acknowledgments

This program was produced as part of the YoungMothers for Young Women Peer Education strategy.

It was written by Peer Mentors Adele Renwick andSharon Gyde.

With the assistance of Peer Workers Shiloh Watts, Anna MacRae, Susan Timbs and Katie Bennett.

Thanks to the leadership of Karyn Walsh and Linda Richards.

Thanks to the members of the Young Mothers forYoung Women DropIn Day and Leadership Projectwho gave permission for their photographs to be used.

We would like to acknowledge all who haveparticipated in developing peer education at YoungMothers for Young Women and the Qld Governmentfor the funding of YMYW’s Peer Support and Advocacy.

Special thanks to Young Women Who Are ParentsProgram, Centre for Women’s Health, The BenevolentSociety of NSW.

We gratefully acknowledge the funding from theAustralian Government Department of Family andCommunity Services for the printing of this resource for young women to use in local communities.

We acknowledge that this publication has ‘built upon’ a non-recurrent grant provided through the Qld Officefor Women and Partnerships Against DomesticViolence Australian Government in 2001.Copyright © 2004 Young Mothers for Young Women

gettingwhat you want

PO Box 3449SOUTH BRISBANE 4101

Ph - 07 3844 4866 Fax - 07 3846 5207

Email - [email protected]


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introductionintroduction

Young Mothers for Young Womengrew out of a 1994 participativeresearch project exploring the linksbetween gender and violence in thelives of young women. One of therecommendations from this projectwas to form a network of youngwomen to offer peer support,education and advocacy. As part ofthe Young Mothers for YoungWomen’s network, we regularlyhold training workshops, supportgroups and also participate inforums and other events being heldfor young women.

Young Mothers for Young Womenspends a lot of time as peer workerstalking with other young womenand listening to their experiences.The stories we hear are oftensimilar, young women want toreturn to work or study but areunsure how to begin. Frequentlytoo many other things are gettingin the way and the road toeducation, employment or trainingseems a long and difficult one.Young Mothers for Young Women is committed to supporting youngwomen in creating a pathway toeducation, employment andtraining that suits their lifestyle and recognises the need for youngwomen who are parenting to find

the right balance of work or studywith parenting.

How to use this Diary

This diary is to be used inconjunction with the Getting WhatYou Want: Creating Pathways ToEducation, Employment andTraining program. It has beendesigned so that young womenparticipating in the program canhave a personal written record ofwhat they have learnt and theirreflections of each session.

Getting What You Want: Pathwaysto Employment, Education andTraining is a self-directed programfocussing on creating pathwaystowards returning to eithereducation, employment or training.As a group, participants decidewhat they want to learn about andhow they will learn it. There aremany things in pregnant andparenting young women’s lives thatimpact on what they do as womenand as mothers. This program canhelp to explore areas of youngwomen’s lives and what they needto be able to do to furthereducation, employment andtraining opportunities.

The program consists of 15 sessionsmade up of four sections.

1. Introduction and planningsessions (sessions 1 and 2). Theaim of these sessions is to preparewith participants the content ofthe program.

2. Information and trainingsessions (sessions 3 through toten). The aim of these sessions isto equip participants with theknowledge to access the resourcesand information needed toenhance their ability to return toeducation, employment andtraining.

3. Advocacy sessions (sessions 11through to 14). The aim of thesesessions is to increase theawareness and address the issuesand barriers affecting youngwomen’s access to employment,education and training.

4. Closing session (session 15). The aim of this session is forparticipants to celebrate theirachievements throughout theprogram and to begin to thinkabout their goals for employment,education and training.


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Something to think about

Doing this program may raise issues for you personally and it is importantthat you have someone who is a good support. This person needs to besomeone who you can talk to and who is able to give you the informationand help that you will need to deal with the issue. If you don’t havesomeone like that already a good place to start is with the peer workers whocan provide you with that support or will be able to give you the name ofsomeone else who you can talk with further.

session onesession one


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Expectations of the program

• What am I hoping to get out of this program?

• What are some of the questions I want to ask about the program before I start?

Group Contract

Here is a space for you to write the group contract. You may also like to add your own personal contract.


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Underlying Principles

• Recognises the benefits of education, training andemployment

• Acknowledges how hard it is for you to attend

• Acknowledges your existing skills and resources

• Acknowledges that previous learning/group experience mayhave been a negative experience

• Acknowledges that previous learning experiences meanhelping participants to recognize the difference in thistraining

• Recognises that your lives may help or hinder yourinvolvement and learning (eg your lives may be complicatedand often involve difficult issues)

• Recognises that the facilitator has a particular relationshipwith you that is focused on the program. The facilitatormay not be able to assist with all aspects of your life but canassist by pointing you in the right direction for assistance

• Uses/observes the group as a learning experience in itself

• Responds to your needs: the pace and language of theprogram is responsive to your needs

• Process (how the training is run, the methods used) andcontent (the information) work together

• Recognises learning happens through applying newknowledge, ideas and skills

• Assumes you learn better when you are having fun andenjoying yourself (as well as being serious).

• Recognises your relationship with your child/children whoare with you


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Reflections of this session

• What did I learn today?

• What was good?

• What could have been done differently?

Preparation for next session

• What are some of the topics I want to learn more about that could be covered through this program?


Has this session raised any issues for me? Do I need to talk with someone further about this?


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Topics that will be covered during the program

• What topics aren’t being covered that I want to learn more about?

• How and where can I learn more about these topics? Talk to the peer workers for ideas



session twosession two


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• What was good?


Preparation for next week

• What topic is being covered next week?

• What do I want to get out of this session?

• What questions may I want to ask the presenter?




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session three session three

What is the topic being covered in this session?

Name and contact details of presenter

Notes




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• What was good?


• What do I still need to learn more about, where can I get this information from?








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session foursession four



Notes



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• What was good?










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session fivesession five



Notes




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• What was good?










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session sixsession six



Notes




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• What was good?










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session sevensession seven



Notes




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• What was good?










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session eightsession eight



Notes




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• What was good?










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session ninesession nine



Notes




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• What was good?










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Notes



• What was good?


session tensession ten



Where to from here

This was the final session where a specific topic will be covered. This may be a good time to start to thinkabout what you would like to do after the program is finished.


PEER ADVOCACY

A four-week peer advocacy project is included at the end of the Getting What You Want: Creating Pathways toEmployment, Education and Advocacy. This aims to provide you with the opportunity to utilise the skills youhave learnt during the previous ten weeks.

Peer Advocacy occurs when a person speaks out and assists others to speak out, with or on behalf of the peergroup that they belong to, on issues and decisions that affect the lives of their peers. This may occur on avariety of different levels, from advocating on behalf of an individual through to advocating to Governmentson issues affecting a group of people.

Some examples of peer advocacy projects are:

• Poster, cards • Pamphlets • A forum

• Internet site • Morning Tea for Government and service representatives

• What do I think are some of the issues for young women who are pregnant or parenting?

• What could we do as our advocacy project?

• What do I want to get out of this advocacy project?



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session elevensession eleven

What did we do today?


• Am I happy with the progress of the advocacy project?

• What was good about today’s session?

• Is there anything that I feel needs to be done differently?


• Jobs to be done for next week:

• Questions I may want to ask the other participants and the peer workers



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Session TwelveSession Twelve





• Is there anything I feel needs to be done differently?







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Session ThirteenSession Thirteen





• Is there anything I feel needs to be done differently?






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Session FourteenSession Fourteen


Reflections of Advocacy project

• What did I learn through doing this advocacy project?

• What was good about it?


Reflections of Program

• What did I enjoy most about the program?



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Preparation for next week

In session ten we asked you to start thinking about where you would liketo go from here. Now that the program is coming to an end you maywish to return to these thoughts in preparation for the next sessions taskwhich will be goal setting.


Has this session raised any issues for me? Do I need to talk withsomeone further about this?


session fifteensession fifteenGoal setting

In this final session we will begin to set some goals for the future. It is important that you set goals that areachievable and are not too far into the future. Maybe start with the next week and go from there. No matterhow small the goal it is still significant in your pathway towards education or employment.

Goals for the next week

• What do I need to do to achieve this goal?

• Where can I go for help and support to achieve this goal?

Goals for the next month



Goals for the next six months



Congratulations! Time for a Celebration 29


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what you want!

Creating Pathways to Education,Employment and Training

Participant’s Diary

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