Flexible learning programmes (FLPs) and similar alternative education initiatives are designed to meet the diversity of needs of young people who have become disengaged from mainstream education. There is emerging evidence of the high prevalence of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and language disorders amongst students attending…

Semester schools provide high-school students with a relatively new type of learning environment that largely has not been empirically studied. This study used a retrospective survey (n = 797) to explore the learning outcomes that stem from semester schools and identify features within the educational environment that promote them. Participants…

In-country migration is widespread in South Asia, and the region hosts the world's largest number of out-of-school children. Yet the relationship between internal migration and inclusion in formal education has received only limited academic and policy attention. The Agenda 2030 pledge to leave no-one behind prompts us to argue that when it comes…

This study investigated the experiences of students who attended a Vancouver Alternate Secondary School (VASS) program and achieve a regular high school diploma, which is known as a Dogwood Diploma in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Through interpretive and semi-structured interviews, the recent graduates shared their experiences and how…

The aim of the study was to compare the quality of literacy skills of 4th grade students at Formal primary schools and non-formal basic schools in Islamabad. A comparative analysis was conducted to compare the writing and numeracy skills among the 4th grade students of Formal and Non-formal schools. The research was descriptive in nature. The…

In response to concerns about the children of first responders needing a safe, supervised place to learn in the midst of COVID-19 school closures, the City of North Las Vegas funded education nonprofit Nevada Action to set up a microschool. Students left the school district to learn at the microschool, which received from the city facilities,…

In the United States, our traditional educational model is outdated, with subpar academic achievement and a high dropout rate. Alternative education provides non-traditional settings designed to help prevent students from falling through the cracks, but the atypical format and at-risk population can make it difficult to assess how effective…

Youth of color are severely underrepresented in STEM which is can be attributed to low socioeconomic status, lack of representation, varying levels of racism faced within different institutions and systems. Without proper support and representation, youth of color can begin to feel that STEM is not a field they identify with or feel they belong.…

Oftentimes, alternative schools are viewed with a deficit perspective. Yet, the way teachers are taught to build and enhance supportive relationships with adolescent students helps those students to become more successful in the alternative school setting. This study focused on characteristics of this central phenomenon and important factors used…

Homeschooled students are unique in a college environment. Without adhering to a traditional school system, homeschooled students possess various learning opportunities outside of the classroom. However, because they lack the formal educational prerequisites held by traditional students, their achievements and experiences may differ. Stereotypes…

For many students, placement in an alternative education setting is temporary, and once they make progress, they will be expected to return to their home school setting. An effective transition between settings is essential in order to ensure the student meets the behavioral expectations in the home school and to prevent poor outcomes such as…

This paper provides theoretical reflections and recommendations for implementing smart learning spaces in schools. Learning resource networks are enlarging students' opportunities for exploring alternative formal, non-formal and informal education, in physical and virtual learning spaces, inside and outside traditional classrooms. Smart Pedagogy…

The article analyses a new educational development in Poland, that is, free democratic schools, which are grassroots initiatives of parents seeking an alternative to the traditional pedagogies of the public schooling. These schools form a broader network. Based on ethnographic research carried out at eight such schools over five years, the authors…

As public education faces multiple issues, including the surfacing of children's struggles in society and the formation of capabilities suited to the times, free schools are tasked with expectations for their role as a supplement to public education, leading to a change in the onetime structure of opposition. However, attention must be paid to the…

We examine youths' perceptions of their experiences in one of two senior alternative education programs. We used self-determination theory (SDT) as a sensitizing lens to specifically understand students' perceptions of whether and how their basic psychological needs--needs for autonomy, belonging, and competence--were fostered in the context of…