The Educational Pathway Available for Ellie - Case Study Example

1. The educational pathway available for Ellie is to acquire additional education through correspondence or seeking sponsorship to pursue her studiesas a way of equipping herself with the dictates of the contemporary workplaces which often require some formal education. In this particular case, formal education entails acquiring some knowledge from any given formal institution with the credentials of producing examinable products as set and regulated by national or even international examining bodies. The examining body sets the standards of educational competence to pursue various tertiary or any other professional qualifications. Ellie’s predicament of failing to acquire formal secondary school education is socially oriented and mainly emanating from a poor and unstable family background characterised by the apparent lack of parental support and care as well as clashes with school teachers. A critical analysis of her situation shows that all the above mentioned factors greatly contributed to her failure to successfully finish her formal secondary education. Negative social factors are detrimental especially to children still at a tender age like Ellie who would still be more vulnerable and susceptible to the trauma that is related with a harsh upbringing. It can be noted that she has the potential but lacks the much needed social support which morally uplifts the children to perform to their expectations in school. Elsie can still follow the educational pathway of seeking sponsorship upon advice by a professional social worker who can as well offer counselling services. Her situation is aggravated by poverty hence she can get assistance through the help of various social welfare agencies which include Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) or welfare departments falling under the government’s Social Welfare ministry. In UK for instance, underprivileged children or young people are put under the care of Foster Care Associates (FCA) with the aim of attaining a brighter future educationally. Their educational as well as other welfare needs are well catered for. In some instances, there are even NGOs which are primarily concerned with the welfare of disadvantaged young people. They can offer assistance through sponsorship in education. These are some of the pathways for Ellie if she happens to get correct advice from reputable social workers. Alternatively, the vocational pathways available for Ellie is the pursuance of a carer related training programme in social work as per her choice. Vocational training usually requires a minimum level of education to enrol for any given programme. Basically, vocational training institutes are meant to benefit the disadvantaged people like Ellie who would not be fortunate enough to pursue their academic careers. In fact they are meant to cater for people who do not have formal educational qualifications but capable of utilising their skills towards attaining equally good professions. The vocational training centres are meant to bridge the gap between the haves and those without with reference to attainment of professional qualifications. 2. Ellie requires to be positively identified by members of especially social networking forums responsible for the welfare of the marginally underprivileged members of the society particularly children who would still have aspirations of realising their own educational goals. What is particularly important is to ascertain the social background of the children in need as well as the circumstances surrounding their plight. In most cases, their capability is negatively affected by the harsh conditions they would have been brought up under hence the need for moral support. Children who come from poor family backgrounds are often disadvantaged socially, morally and even psychologically which all have a toll on their performance in school but not necessarily meaning to say that they are incapable. What is primarily important for Ellie to get even before financial assistance is counselling by professional counsellors. This would inculcate a sense of belonging to the society and this would also greatly help her to identify herself as a normal human being like any other who is capable of achieving all her dreams given the opportunity. In most cases children are traumatised by their harsh upbringing which will continue to torment them even at a later stage. Therefore, counselling plays a very important role to ensure that she is not psychologically devastated where she will feel as if she is inferior hence incapable of performing normally like other teenagers who are also her age. Apart from moral support, Ellie would also require financial assistance in the form of any sponsorship such as bursary or even scholarship. In some cases, people in vocational colleges are covered by government grants in their educational requirements. Whenever there is such a government provision, Ellie will also be entitled to get assistance upon completion of an application which will be used to positively identify her as well as the circumstances surrounding her condition. 3. SWOT analysis in this case refers to both the internal as well as external factors that are likely to impact on Ellie’s endeavours to proceed with her mixed approach to learning. The major strength characterising Ellie is the fact that she has no significant educational difficulties. She is only a disadvantaged child but is overally capable of better performance given the permitting conditions. By virtue of having a better understanding of educational matters, Ellie stands better chances of quickly adapting to new learning environment which would be a positive advantage for her. She also stands better chances of gaining more experience if she pursues some studies in a field related to social work as a result of her mixed learning approach. However, the major weakness she may encounter in her endeavour to pursue her studies is lack of full representation in her case. If she fails to get a considerate representative in her case, there may be a tendency of looking down upon her which may end up scuttling her dreams of furthering her education. The apparent lack of support networks is another weakness which may hinder Ellie’s dreams. If she does not get a sponsor, it may be difficult to realise her goals and another weakness may be the apparent lack of information pertaining to what exactly she would be looking for. If she fails to get proper career guidance counselling, she may jump into doing something that is unattainable or which may not be compatible with her goals. The opportunities available to her are determined by her sheer determination which may attract sympathy from well wishers or those particularly involved in assisting the needy in terms of acquiring education. She may be very lucky to pursue a lifetime career with the help of the assistance she may get from sponsors or well wishers. On the other hand, it should be noted that there are also threats that are likely to dampen Ellie’s hopes if not properly addressed. By any standard, she is still young despite her vile upbringing and is still vulnerable to abuse by other rowdy male counterparts who may want to take advantage of the unfortunate situation of an unstable family background. Research has shown that most sexual offences committed on the young and vulnerable children often go unnoticed as a result of the breakdown of the family fabric (Robinson 1989:23). He observes that cases of sexual abuse are rampant in poor communities and they often go unnoticed or reported. The lack of proper education coupled with the absence of a complete family unit in some cases is a cause for serious concern with regards to the increasing cases of sexual abuse especially on the young and innocent. The family unit should form the basis for a conducive atmosphere which is morally and intellectually sound to develop the full potential of the child and give it a sense of belonging and values. This is the major threat often besieging young girls from disadvantaged communities as some male counterparts would be out preying on them. In conclusion, it can be noted that Ellie’s failure to get formal education is a result of poor social background characterised by an unstable family as well as lack of a proper upbringing. However, upon good advice, it can be safely concluded that she stands better chances of pursuing the career of her choice if she get proper financial as well as moral support. Sources Bryan Merton et al (2004) An Evaluation of the Impact of Youth work in England, Youth affairs Unit De Montfort University Retrieved on 11 Mar. 09; From http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR606.pdf Foster Care Associates (FCA) Retrieved on 11 Mar. 09 from http://www.thefca.co.uk/ Robinson E.H. (1989), Introduction to Criminology, Guidelines (PTY)LTD, SA Susan Williams (2003), OECD Career Guidance and Public Policy: Bridging the Gap Conference Alberta Human Resources and Employment, Retrieved on 11 Mar. 09 From: http://www.crccanada.org/conference/bridging_the_gap/guidance_orientation/theme_4_williams.pdf Read More