Students help North End youth succeed
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/rachelcollins.jpg” caption=”Rachel Collins, centre, working at Pathways to Education. Though her class on at-risk youth ended in April, Collins, along with classmate Amanda Pavlakovic, continued working with the program until the end of June.”]
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Their class may have ended in April, but that didn't stop Rachel Collins and Amanda Pavlakovic from continuing their work in the community for part of the summer.
As students in Scott Davies' Sociology of At-Risk Youth class this past winter, Collins and Pavlakovic not only gained the opportunity to learn about the social conditions that are associated with at-risk youth, but also a chance to participate in an academic placement at the Pathways to Education program, organized through the Experiential Education office in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
The two students, along with 20 others in the class, volunteered as tutors and mentors on a weekly basis throughout the term to provide support for underprivileged youth. They enjoyed the experience so much, however, that they continued their work until the end of June, when the Pathways program ended.
The combination of Davies sharing his expertise in the classroom and the community placement for students made for a unique and rich learning experience.
“The placement allowed me to take the things I was learning in my class and apply them on a local level,” said Collins. “Sometimes we found ourselves discussing how our experiences were different from the things we had learned in class. This gave us the opportunity to critically analyze the things we were learning, both in the classroom and in the community.”
“The experience really helped me to better understand the course material,” said Pavlakovic.
In May 2008, Davies, a professor in the Department of Sociology and a member of the Offord Centre for Children's Studies, was awarded the Ontario Research Chair in Educational Achievement and At-Risk Students. To fulfill the mandate of this chair he is currently conducting research on student achievement in the province. His current projects include the tracking of unequal pathways after high school, the effects of early summer learning programs, and the links between school and neighbourhood characteristics and student well-being.
Pathways to Education is locally organized through the North Hamilton Community Health Centre and, in its pilot year, was host to grade nine students from the North Hamilton community who experience barriers to education. McMaster students help the organization to impart skills that help youth succeed.
Plans are underway for social sciences students to get involved with Pathways again next year.
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