Reconnection or disconnection : the influence of alternative education for marginalised students in the middle years of school

Abstract

This thesis presents a research inquiry that focussed on the influence of alternative education for marginalised students in the middle years of school. The study was constructed from a social psychological perspective, drawing on an expectancy-value model of achievement. In acknowledging previous achievement-related experiences, investigating the influence of alternative education was crucial to further understanding how educational engagement and motivation could be improved for some of the most disenfranchised middle years students. Finally, this study illustrates the enduring influence of educational contexts and importantly, peer and teacher socialisers on educationally marginalised students’ achievement motivation, ability-, expectancy- and value- beliefs. These factors shape the achievement-related outcomes and subsequent trajectories of students in the middle years of school, providing the conduit to reconnect or disconnect learners from educational pathways.