Student disengagement is a growing societal concern and responses to this concern have included a proliferation of re-engagement programs ( REPs) across Australia. Evaluations by the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) and anecdotal feedback have suggested that teachers find it extremely difficult to adapt to REP settings and cater for ‘high needs’ students. This prompted a Research and Policy Centre scan of the extent to which teacher training programs prepare teachers to work in more flexible learning environments. This scan provides a glimpse of whether disjunctures exist between policy, training programs and needs, and whether these can be resolved
