Introduction

It’s probably a bit much for them

Not all staff,

are particularly keen,

to teach a year nine group,

for six periods a week,

for obvious reasons.

It’s probably a bit much for them.

These are the words of Mathew. Mathew is a year nine teacher who teaches in an integrated year nine programme. In the above poem, Mathew articulates a problem of practice that his school has addressed, being that not all teachers are particularly fond of teaching year nines for large periods of time. This is due to year nines being described by teachers as being lost, disengaged and, more alarmingly, in never-never land. Despite the historical challenges that year nines may pose to schools and teachers, a largely unrecognised group of schools have implemented tailored programmes into year nine to help engage students during this year level in schooling. Essential to the success of delivering such programmes are teachers who work on them. This article argues that for year nine programmes to be successful, teachers of year nine programmes require an accoutrement of skills in addition to those required by the ‘typical’ teacher. In this article, I draw on an empirical research project using one integrated year nine programme, situated in a large government school, to argue for six essences of being a year nine teacher.

The issue of engagement in secondary schooling is neither new nor novel. In Victoria, Australia, a raft of measures have targeted the issue of student engagement with school (e.g. Elsworth et al., 2004). Despite enduring efforts to engage students in school, ≈6800 Victorian students completely disengage from schooling between years nine and twelveFootnote 1 each year (Victorian Ombudsman, 2017, p. 7). Furthermore, a significantly larger cohort chooses to exit formal schooling after year nine and undertake a different pathway (vocational training, etc.) (Department of Education and Training, 2021). In addition to the students who completely withdraw from schooling, many may actively or passively disengage from school during the middle years (Earl et al., 2017). In Victoria, more students are observed as being disengaged with schooling in year nine than in other year levels of secondary schooling, as Yates and Holt (2009) argue ‘In Australia, “Year 9” is widely seen as a problem, a time when young people disengage from school; and when curriculum and student identity often fail to cohere with each other.’ (p. 28). In response to the problem of students disengaging from school in year nine, a largely unrecognised collection of schools have implemented year nine programmes to address the issue of disengagement.

Year nine in Victoria, Australia, is the third year of secondary schooling—students are typically 14–15 years old.Footnote 2 Year nine is in the middle years of education (Pendergast, 2017). During the middle years, students simultaneously undergo puberty—a period of bodily change (Sisk & Foster, 2004), and adolescence—a societal construction in which behaviour maturation is observed (Bahr, 2017). During adolescence, young people experience heightened periods of peer influence and can be at increased risk of mental health issues (Andrews et al., 2021). These two simultaneous periods of change result in students with particular assets, wants and needs (Bahr, 2017) as learners. Bahr (2017, p. 44) identifies the assets, wants and needs of middle years learners as:

Assets

Wants

Developmental needs

– Self-centred/orientated

– Fun

– Support/guidance/acceptance

– Globally aware

– Relevance

– Connection with prior knowledge

– Concrete vs abstract

– Success

– Authentic/situated learning

– Tensions

– Direction/goals

– To take risks

– Untested/unknown

  

– Unique

  

– Physicality

  

In addition, it is important to note that although Bahr’s model assists in understanding middle years learners in general, other factors such as socioeconomic influences likely impact access to education (Tham, 2021) and in turn the particular assets, wants and needs at a more localised level. Bahr’s (2017) model does however celebrate the individuality of learners in the middle years by drawing on student assets such as the teacher working as a guide for student learning that is situated and connected to prior knowledge.

Year nine programmes in Victoria are longstanding (e.g. Montgomery & Darling, 1967) and becoming increasingly commonplace (e.g. McCaw, 2017; Yates & Holt, 2009). Programmes vary in type and length. For example, some programmes consist of year-long residential experiences, whilst others use integrated curriculum and experiences within the bounds of a normal school timetable. Programmes vary across different schools, localities and governance models. They transcend both single co-educational and single-gender schools. Furthermore, inquiry-based learning and dedicated or specialist staff are common in many programmes. These programmes are sometimes labelled alternative.Footnote 3 Although year nine programmes are diverse—the desire for programmes to respond to the developmental needs of students is common.

Pivotal to the success of year nine programmes are the teachers who design, deliver and advocate for their role and place within schools. In particular, the teachers who work on year nine programmes are often required to go beyond the normal role of teacher as a deliverer of information, and rather adopt a more holistic approach to education. This article contributes to a broader understanding of year nine programmes, by interrogating the lived experience of six teachers of a year nine programme. Through doing so, it presents poetically their lived experiences, and in turn, the essences of being a year nine teacher.

Context of study

This paper presents poetically six teachers’ stories who work in the Renewal Programme at Waterdeep College (pseudonyms). Waterdeep College is a government secondary school situated more than 100kms from Melbourne, in the regional city of Kingfisher. Kingfisher had less than 50,000 residents at the time of the research (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). Waterdeep College has over 1000 students (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2021). Additionally, 70% of students fall in the bottom and bottom-middle quartiles of the Australian distribution of socio-economic advantage (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2021).

The Renewal programme has been in place for over 10 years at Waterdeep College. The Renewal programme enacts a transdisciplinary model of curriculum integration (Groundwater-Smith et al., 2007; Paige et al., 2019), in which several learning areas (English, health and humanities) and the general capabilities are taught. Students can negotiate aspects of the curriculum and assessment, such as choosing a topic of interest within a broader theme or how they present their work. The Renewal programme is timetabled for 6 out of a total of 20 periods per week, with one teacher assigned to each class for the entire programme. Renewal combines classroom-based activities that align to one or more of the three learning areas, with time out of school on camps and excursions, guest speakers and other specialist programmes relevant to the life stages of year nine students.

Theoretical framework

This paper uses phenomenological found poetry as an example of poetic inquiry (Prendergast, 2009) to present the stories’ of the six Renewal teachers. Theoretically, the poetry uses a hermeneutic phenomenological position (van Manen, 2016) to examine the lived experience of the six teachers who shared their stories via individual interviews. The poetry works in response to the research question: What insights into year nine teaching can be understood through examining the lived experience of teachers and school leaders of a year nine programme? What is the essence of being a year nine teacher? Fundamentally, this paper is an exercise in ontology, where I question what is required to be a year nine teacher.

Phenomenology focuses on the individuals’ lived experiences within a phenomenon (van Manen, 2016). The underlying epistemological position is that knowledge is created through experience. Phenomenological researchers search for the essence of said experience to make sense of the phenomenon (van Manen, 1990, p. 10). Phenomenology is a collection of methodologies concerned with lived experience (Adams & van Manen, 2012). Within this article, I focus on phenomenological research as poetry by borrowing (van Manen, 2016) the experience of others as they reflected upon their own lived experience of teaching on the Renewal programme, in order to better understand the essence of being a year nine teacher.

Phenomenology is considered to align with two traditions, being those that align with the works of Edmund Husserl and those that align with Martin Heidegger (Laverty, 2003). Whilst Husserl’s phenomenology is concerned with a descriptive practice, and an epistemological focus on what can be known about the world, Heidegger’s focus is ontological—where the researcher focuses on ‘what it means to be in the world’ (Farrell, 2020, p. 4). Heidegger’s interpretive approach is hermeneutic; as Farrell (2020) offers, ‘the term hermeneutic ([is derived] from the Greek hermeneuein meaning to ‘translate’ or ‘interpret’)’ (p. 3). This understanding of the origins of phenomenology is rather simplistic; however, it is not the focus of this article. Rather, I present them here to acknowledge the broader field of phenomenology. van Manen’s (1990, 2016) work is used as the main methodological source to inform this research. van Manen’s seminal text draws upon both traditions, to present a guide to conducting hermeneutic phenomenological research. Thus, this article is an exercise in hermeneutics. Accordingly, when I talk of the essence of being a year nine teacher, I do so plurally, noting that the essences are continually forming and reforming through lived experience, and the essences presented here are not definitive, rather they are situated in the context studied.

Poetic inquiry is performed here as participant-voiced poetry (Prendergast, 2009). The poems are found in that they emerged from the transcripts of the six interviews. Found poetry allows the performance of research in a more ‘emotionally poignant, and accurate’ (Faulkner, 2016, p. 18) manner. The process is neither innocent nor separable from me as a researcher. This omittance is not a threat to this paper’s integrity but still requires recognition. As Ely et al. (1997) suggest: ‘one joyful thing about writing poetry is that, given the same data, different people create differing versions’ (p. 136). Hence, my poetic processes follow others’ (Schoone, 2020) as being created by, and tied to me as a researcher.

Methodology

Found poetry is an art form that is re-constructed from the everyday. In this instance, they were found within the transcripts of interviews with the Renewal teachers. By using poetry, as an arts-based methodology (Leavy, 2020), I adopt the view that art and beauty are commonplace in the human experience. Meaning, inspired by artist George Herms—who paved the way for a deep exploration of both found items and text as art without the need for binary labels of ‘artist’ or ‘poet’ (Ball, 2018)—I view art, and poetry, as terms that can be used to describe any creative act—intentional or not.

The poems emerged through working closely with each teacher’s transcript one at a time. Owton (2017) states that it is through a familiarity with the transcripts and through a religious commitment to ‘reading and re-reading the transcripts over and over’ (Owton, 2017, p. 45) that the poems emerge to express the ‘‘whats’, ‘whys’ and/or the ‘hows’ of experience’ (Owton, 2017, p. 45). Owton’s process has highly influenced the found method. It was through the repeated reading and re-reading of individual transcripts that the poetry began to emerge. Like other distillations—for example, transforming the oil of a eucalypt into a useable essential form—this act intensifies the language but likewise, changes the composition and context away from their original and situated meaning within the social world to a purer version. The poems themselves were found by the researcher through a process of stripping back outlined below. This process required a continual ethical consciousness, to ensure the meaning captured by the text is maintained (Owton, 2017). Through this process, the presentation of text in raw, unpolished and unapologetic poetic forms acts as a ‘method for opening the discipline to other speakers and ways of speaking’ (Richardson, 1993, p. 697).

Through the use of ‘anecdotes’ (van Manen, 1990, p. 115) the found poetry aimed to stay as close as possible to the participants’ experiences and tell their stories. To highlight the voices of the individuals, all wording in the poems has come from the transcripts, including the poems’ titles. The teachers carefully, generously and openly crafted these words, and they deserve the stage within the performance. Through the continual (re)reading∞ processes, the titles or a key phrase often emerged first. From this point, the continual, back and forth process of stripping back, reading, stripping back further, re-reading and reading aloud saw each poem emerge from the transcripts. I sometimes found my canvas too bare and had to re-start the work with a section of the transcript because I had been too heavy-handed with the stripping back process. To further help the poems to remain distilled excerpts of the transcripts, they stay true to the chronology of the conversation and idiolects of the individual participants, as shown in the passage from Chris below. Ethically, it is necessary to state that although the poems remain mostly verbatim, punctuation and capitalisation were cautiously employed to help with readability; this was a necessary but ethical and exact act.

It’s almost like that wasteland

Kids leaving primary school,

absolutely connected,

getting into high school,

then year seven we have the kids to a certain degree,

CHRIS: Okay so I guess there, kids leaving, leaving primary school, absolutely connected getting into high school and then year seven we have the kids to a certain degree

The finding of the teachers’ poems was the first stage of the phenomenological analysis. Through the stripping-back process, I was continuously working in search of the ‘nature of the phenomenon’ (van Manen, 2016, p. 62). Within the finding process, preference for allowing the stories, anecdotes and recollections (van Manen, 2016) of their own experience of teaching Renewal to be present on the page. The result being that the poems allow the reader directs insight into the phenomenon of being a year nine teacher.

It is important at this junction, to consider my use of the term poetry, this paper echoes Glesne (1997) in stating that these forms move in the direction of but are ‘not necessarily poetry’ (p. 213). Rather, they are texts in forms that reassemble some of the conventions and forms associated with poetry but do so without a salvage adherence to any set of literary rules. I adopt the term poemish or poem-like to describe these texts (Lahman et al., 2019). The poems, whilst sharing many of the poignant and expressive use of language normally associated with poetry, are presented mostly verbatim to capture and present the idioms and expressions of each individual as a mechanism of sharing a view into the teachers’ lifeworlds (van Manen, 2016). Accordingly, I adopt a broad definition from Owton (2017) of: ‘poetry as anything resembling a poem in beauty, effect, which is a rhythmically written expression of emotion or ideas in an arrangement of words/verse.’ (p. 44).

The following section presents a collection of each of the six teachers’ stories poetically. This collection is abridged due to the limitation of this publication,Footnote 4 with most poems being limited to a verse or less. Some poems include their titles (in bold) if appropriate. Breaks in poems are indicated with an ellipsis where necessary. Each of the poems is accompanied by an authorial commentary, through which I unpack and analyse what is being said by the participant about their own experience of being a year nine teacher. This forms the second part of my analytical process. Following the teachers’ poetry, the penultimate section of this paper, ‘The Essence of Being a Year Nine Teacher’ presents a further analysis of the teachers’ poetry, drawing on both the teachers’ lived experience of the phenomenon and literature to present, six essences of being a year nine teacher.

The teachers’ poetry

Chris’ story

Chris provided the first interview of the project. Chris has been teaching for over 10 years, with a significant amount of this time spent working with middle years students. He has taught across a range of regional and metropolitan schools.

I came in as a leading teacher,

with a bit of a background in

year nine programs.

Chris moves on to tell me about how the teachers are trying to have more student agency within the Renewal programme. He outlines some of the challenges that the teachers face including how difficult it is to try and capture authentic feedback from all students in the programme.

What do you want being in year nine?

…

We tend to look for feedback,

from kids that

give us the feedback we want.

We don’t seem to go for the other end.

What’s not working?

Chris outlines how they use a transdisciplinary curriculum structure, through which each Renewal teacher has their group for over one-quarter of the week. The curriculum covers the learning areas of English, health and humanities.

It’s one teacher, teaching health to humanities right through to English as well.

A range of topics, through different lenses.

We’ve got three areas of study,

that are linked.

Chris starts to explore some of the opportunities and challenges that Renewal offers. Chris explains some of the key challenges that the programme faces: preparation for VCE, working in a low socioeconomic area and accommodating a high proportion of low-literacy students.

More opportunity

The kids have more opportunity,

in regards to choosing,

their own destination in a sense.

A lot of rubrics,

developed for the kids,

to be able to find their own learning.

Chris turns his attention toward the use of experiential learning in the programme. He describes how the students completed a trail through the Kingfisher town centre and an annual camp.

There’s been some real engagement.

We’ve just come off the trail,

six weeks ago,

where the kids have been out for a day.

Dropped off in the CBD,

they’ve got a task to do.

We called it a trail.

We run a camp every year

Putting them into small groups,

where they have to step up,

and if they’re not stepping up,

they’re supporting somebody else too.

The conversation moves to the structure of the Renewal curriculum. Chris uses the careers unit as an example. He tells me how it is now placed at the start of the year because the Renewal supports students in gaining part-time employment, as many students look for a job at this time.

It’s real honest feedback from a potential employer

We do mock interviews with the kids.

First time we’ve done them,

at the start of the year.

Chris tells me how, in days gone by, there were barriers to Renewal running in/excursions. He tells me that there is now widespread support for the programme.

We value it, so let’s do it

In the past it’s been tricky.

There’s been this focus,

where the push has been,

no, it’s impacting the school,

because it’s impacting staffing or whatever. 

Chris continues to reflect on teaching year nines. He describes how they have historically been difficult to engage and suggests that this difficulty arises because students do not have a sense of purpose.

It’s almost like that wasteland

There’s always,

that disconnect,

with year nine.

That’s historical. 

Chris tells me that part of their approach to Renewal is an openness to difference. This includes both how the curriculum is delivered and the assessments the students do. He outlines how they use student choice when it comes to how they present their work.

How are you going to report back?

It goes from essays,

to drawings,

to paintings,

to all sorts of stuff.

With each of those,

there’s written component.

Chris tells me about the need to adopt a specific pedagogy as learners, sometimes at the expense of the formal curriculum.

Beyond just the superficial.

We start with throwing the curriculum out,

for the time being.

And just focusing on the kids,

and building that relationship.

…

They won’t respond to anybody.

We are with them for such a long period of time,

there’s gotta be this element of

them getting to know us,

and us getting to know them,

beyond just the superficial. 

We conclude our conversation with Chris telling me about the importance of staffing for the programme. He explains that the school often seeks early career teachers for Renewal, so they can shape them as a ‘Renewal Person’.

A Renewal person

We’ve put the right staff in the program,

not just anybody,

because we know the right staff

they’re going to be supportive. 

Tanner’s story

Tanner is an early career teacher who is originally from Kingfisher. I ask Tanner about the structure of Renewal. He explains the curriculum integration within the programme, and the amount of time he spends with his Renewal class.

It’s cross curricula…long periods… three subjects in one

It’s actually quite long periods

of 71 min.

…

Renewal because it is three subjects in one

there’s not a day goes by, Monday through Friday

that I don’t have my class.

I ask about the rationale for Renewal. Tanner explains how he believes disengagement to be prominent amongst year nines.

Disengagement! And a general feeling of apathy is prominent.

I think it’s a widely recognised issue,

that youth once they get to the age of about,

it’s getting younger and younger,

13 through about 16,

Disengagement!

And a general feeling of apathy is prominent.

Tanner highlights how student voice has informed more experiential pedagogies in Renewal.

They’re sitting next to each other for a long time… that will get quite monotonous.

…

So they recognise,

we need to get feedback data on this.

There were surveys done,

students were asked,

are you engaging in the program?

Was generally quite positive.

But, would you like to do more activities out in the community?

and it was overwhelming that they did.

Our conversation circles back to relationships. He explains how strong relationships with the students can be used pedagogically.

Getting up, in front of the class

and presenting,

is a big deal for a lot of people.

…

I find with Renewal,

it’s easier for me to get people up,

than it is for my year eleven class.

We move on to talk about the use of incursions within Renewal. Tanner tells me about deriving a pedagogical strategy from a visiting author.

A bigger context than just words on a page.

For one of our books.

the head of English,

arranged for the author to come in.

…

He said the best way for you to write,

is minimum structure.

Start with one basic point,

and just start writing.

…

I went and implemented that in class,

it worked well.

Our conversation continues and shifts to focus on student wellbeing. Tanner tells me about how students come to their Renewal teachers with issues.

We bridge the gap.

On a couple of occasions this year,

students have come to me, their Renewal teacher,

before they’ve gone to their tutorial teacher,

before they’ve gone to their house leader,

and said:

“I’m feeling extremely overwhelmed.”

“I’m having anxiety problems.”

“I don’t know why, it’s freaking me out.” 

We close with a discussion on staff. Tanner reflects on the need for staff to be more open, and willing to share more about themselves, when teaching Renewal.

You need to give a bit yourself sometimes,

and I don’t think people appreciate that.

Matthew’s story

Matthew has been a teacher for 10 years. Our interview starts with Matthew identifying how Renewal allows better support for students’ development.

Going from a child, into a young adult

Renewal gives kids,

an opportunity to learn about life.

…

There is a great rapport,

built between teachers and kids.

Allows students to explore,

investigate, ask questions about life issues,

that they wouldn’t normally ask a teacher.

…

it’s about growing,

going from a child, year seven-eight,

into a young adult in year ten-eleven.

Matthew talks about how he feels the programme is evolving and must continually evolve to meet the needs of the cohorts. He explains how they try to achieve a balance between the academic and holistic objectives of Renewal.

The structure

…

We guide it, but it’ll be a balancing act,

trying to still have that core English structure,

behind it all.

I think the Renewal structure,

here at Waterdeep is still going to develop,

and grow and change,

depending upon the needs of the kids. 

Matthew describes how the team use common assessment tasks whilst allowing teachers the flexibility to modify the learning plan for their class. This flexibility demonstrates a maturity, away from the current trend within mainstream schooling toward uniformity in curriculum, to value diversity.

We have a Renewal team,

that works together,

to produce the curriculum.

There is flexibility,

in how you teach,

guided by the resources,

that the team has put together,

over eight or nine years.

Matthew tells me about how they try and relate their assessment tasks to issues that interest their students’ life stages.

There are a range of assessment tasks.

For example, with health,

they had to write a persuasive letter to the Council,

Kingfisher City Council,

about a health issue in the community,

that they wanted funding for.

Matthew goes on to explain how Renewal also supports the socio-emotional development of students.

A lot of the year nine issues,

that come up are addressed in Renewal.

Issues with absenteeism,

bullying,

self-harm

the Renewal teacher is in a better position

to understand the student.

than someone who teaches them,

one or two periods a week.

Matthew tells me that some members of staff do not want to teach Renewal because of the larger teaching allotment with a year nine cohort and the pressures of teaching across multiple learning areas.

It’s probably a bit much for them

Not all staff,

are particularly keen,

to teach a year nine group,

for six periods a week,

for obvious reasons.

It’s probably a bit much for them.

Addison’s story

Addison is an experienced teacher who has been at Waterdeep for 2 years. She is part of the school’s leadership group. Addison describes some of the change that is happening within the school’s English faculty, which includes Renewal.

Transforming

It’s less top-down,

we’re focusing more on skills,

in junior level,

Addison outlines the use of outdoor learning as part of Renewal. She describes how the activity engages students in a sensory experience that they can then write about.

Getting them outside, fires up a different part of their brain

One of the teachers created this map,

where they had to go around,

and imagine if they were to sleep rough,

where they could sleep.

Addison elaborates how the programme supports students. She explains that, compared to all other cohorts, Renewal students have reported the strongest connection to school.

Feeling connected

If you looked at a snapshot,

of different year levels,

year nine by far,

had the most positive responses,

to feeling connected.

I can attest that too,

the fact that they spend,

a lot of time with their teachers.

Addison goes on to tell me more about how some of the curriculum works within the Renewal programme.

They developed a series of questions,

…

Identify which ones were open,

and which ones were closed.

…

Kept a progress log,

which was good.

At the start of every lesson,

they set a goal.

“What are you going to do?”

As we progress, Addison reflects on how she now approaches Renewal teaching differently.

I’m quite different

Last year,

was my first year of Renewal.

If I compare it to this year,

I think I’m quite different.

…

This year in Renewal,

I’m much more flexible.

It’s probably something,

I should be focusing on,

to bring into my other classes.

Just allow a bit more time for things.

Keaton’s story

Keaton is an early career teacher and in his first year at Waterdeep. He has previously taught overseas. He draws attention to how Renewal is an exciting time for students.

I think the way

that it rolls the three subjects

into one makes it more enjoyable

for the kids. 

Keaton outlines some of the advantages of having significant time each week with his class. He explains how he uses his Friday afternoon session to break away from normal curriculum.

I’ve got a Friday period four;

end of the day.

When you’ve already had

you know nearly six hours with the kids,

by the end of the week

they’re pretty fried.

…

It’s good that it’s got that many hours,

so that you do have time

to reflect,

review,

see what worked,

see what the kids enjoyed. 

Keaton describes the flexibility of Renewal assessment tasks. He recounts how students are provided with a variety of mediums in which to respond to enable agency and ownership over the task.

They can pick from

an essay,

a short story,

a poem,

a video,

a radio interview,

or artwork.

Keaton reiterates how the programme becomes a kind of broker of services for the students both within and outside the school community.

We got in staff

from wellbeing.

They introduced themselves

let them know about their job,

what they do in the schools.

Devon’s story

Devon is the Principal at Waterdeep College—he gives me a bit more of its history about how Renewal has evolved over his time at the school.

It has been in place,

before my time,

about 11–12 years.

Came about

on the basis

of trying to make things

more relevant, meaningful.

Targeting relationship development,

with students,

of fourteen-fifteen.

Devon explains some of the historical issues attitudes toward the programme. In the past, the programme was perceived as ‘a waste of time’ and became increasingly difficult to staff. He explains that when staff started to see Renewal as their core business, the programme transformed due to finding the right staff.

A merry go round

There seemed to be,

a merry go round,

“I’ve done my time.”

“I’ll do two years and that’s it.”

How it changed

There were people,

who were adamant,

this was worth saving,

worth emotional investment,

if only the right people could be found to teach it.

…

That following year,

there was immediate buy in,

That started to really switch kids’ attitudes.

“this person wants to be here”

“wants to get to know me as a person”

I ask Devon why the programme continues. He responds that he feels obligated as a principal to respond to the life stages of the students in year nine.

We can’t change when,

hormones start flooding into a body,

when puberty starts,

and what impact that has,

in terms of adolescence,

and young people,

seeing themselves as that in-between stage.

“am I a child?”

“am I an adult?”

“what if I’m neither?”

Devon shares his vision for the middle years at Waterdeep.

…

I want to get to a point,

in a couple of years’ time,

when this years’ year nines,

and last years,

are the school captains,

where they reflect positively,

on what the middle years looked like. 

Discussion: the essence of being a year nine teacher

This section draws on excerpts from the teachers’ found poetry, to consider the essence of being a year nine teacher.

Relevant curriculum and assessment

In the poems, the teachers identify the importance of curriculum and assessment in helping them work with the year nine students. They describe how the curriculum in Renewal is and must be relevant to the students and explicitly responsive to the life stages of adolescence and puberty. The teachers spotlight how the programme uses stimulus material that helps students explore notions of challenge and growing up, personally and collectively. Drawing in such material demonstrates the ability of the Renewal teachers to break away from traditions of scholarship toward a student-centred learning experience (Schiro, 2013).

Matthew

Allows students to explore,

investigate, ask questions about life issues,

As part of developing a relevant curriculum for year nines, the teachers explain how a transdisciplinary structure (Groundwater-Smith et al., 2007) helps to make the learning more enjoyable for the students. The teachers also point out that, as part of the student-centred transdisciplinary model, they have specific structures which work at both the individual and group level.

Tanner

So you need to make sure it’s structured,

whereby there is a level of accountability.

These structures help guide the students through the inquiry cycles, manage their projects and help scaffold the learning individually and in groups. Inquiry-based learning is categorised through the use of processes that the students actively engage in, although many models of inquiry exist, Pedaste et al. (2015) suggest that processes such as ‘Orientation, Conceptualization, Investigation, Conclusion, and Discussion’ (p. 54). Within the inquiry-based learning in Renewal, group tasks are divided to ensure all members are accountable whilst allowing for individual strength and diversity to be explored.

Matthew

We guide it, but it’ll be a balancing act,

trying to still have that core English structure,

behind it all.

This planning ensures that Renewal balances the three learning areas with the other inter-/intra-personal developmental aims. The teachers are aware of the role of English within the transdisciplinary structure, especially ensuring that students on a path toward the VCEFootnote 5 English are exposed to enough ‘rigour’ at year nine. Interwoven into the accounts are descriptions of enacted curriculum that breaks from the three learning areas and focuses on the student. These descriptions demonstrate the freedoms that the teachers feel within Renewal to design learning that may or may not necessarily align with the Victorian Curriculum F-10 (Victorian Curriculum & Assessment Authority, 2023).

The teachers build choice into assessment tasks, and students choose the mediums through which they will demonstrate their learning. They break away from binary notions, where singular metrics of achievement—such as large-scale tests (e.g. NAPLAN), and quantification against progression points—dominate the question of ‘what is of worth?’ and drive schools backward (Reid, 2020).

Keaton

They can pick from

an essay,

a short story,

a poem,

a video,

a radio interview,

or artwork.

The first essence of being a year nine teacher is the ability to design and implement a curriculum that is relevant to the life stages of the students.

Student assets, wants and needs

In the teachers’ stories, they describe how conventional approaches to education at year nine can lead to disengagement with school. They outline how students are undergoing periods of rapid change—puberty and adolescence. The teachers link several social issues to this period of transition. These accounts demonstrate the Renewal teachers’ heightened awareness of their students’ challenges and their appreciation that effective year nine teaching requires an understanding of their students collectively and individually.

Devon

We can’t change when,

hormones start flooding into a body,

when puberty starts

The teachers identify how student choice and agency (Vaughn, 2020) are integral to Renewal. They describe how students help guide the curriculum—academic and socio-cultural—and assessment tasks. These processes demonstrate the teachers’ commitment to celebrating and working with the unique assets of their students both collectively and individually.

Addison

“What do you need to do next time?”

The depictions show how Renewal helps students develop life skills. The teachers describe how tasks like writing a resume help develop students for present and future encounters. This multi-layered task demonstrates the teachers’ commitment to working with the needs of their students, both present and future, as part of a learner centred (Schiro, 2013) approach to education.

The teachers describe how Renewal addresses relevant ‘issues’, through strong staff-student relationships and topics that align with the health curriculum. The stories describe how the programme helps teachers recognise students’ unique assets. The length of time spent together is a key enabler that allows the teachers to support their students.

Matthew

A lot of the year nine issues,

that come up are addressed in Renewal.

The second essence of being a year nine teacher is the ability to work with the unique nature of year nine students and shape their practice based on an increased understanding of their students.

Pedagogies

In their accounts of the programme, the teachers describe the use of various pedagogies. These pedagogies include the use of outdoor and experiential learning. Outdoor learning is understood as a pedagogical approach to learning through which learning is connected to and facilitated through outdoor environments (Gray, 2018). In the case of Renewal, an example of outdoor learning is the writing experience in the park, where students complete a sensory writing task about homelessness. Experiential learning refers to any learning undertaken through experience; although often associated with outdoor education, experiential learning can be in or outside of the classroom, and is better defined by the use of learning through experiential processes, than where the experience takes place (Kolb, 2014). For example, in the case of Renewal, the teachers prioritise the use of visiting speakers, thus providing a unique experience for the students to learn from.

The teachers outline how these approaches enable students to develop academically and socially, with outdoor and experiential pedagogies occurring as part of larger events, such as the community trail and annual camp. These stories demonstrate the teachers’ willingness to change their context and style to better support students.

Keaton

We’ve gone down to the botanical gardens

just walked down there.

It requires more organisation.

Tanner

For one of our books.

the head of English,

arranged for the author to come in.

The poems outline how the teachers use an inquiry-based curriculum that allows students to both self-manage and self-direct their learning. Student-centred pedagogies align with constructivist learning theories and allow students to design learning and assessment and promote opportunities for learning that link to real-world applications of knowledge (Olofson & Garnett, 2018). These approaches demonstrate a commitment to learning alongside and working with the students. The stories also demonstrate a sense of fun within the programme. They detail how the teachers adopt a less formal manner at times. This informality demonstrates how the Renewal teachers are required to be more open than they might be in their other classes.

Addison

I’m much more flexible.

It’s probably something,

I should be focusing on…

The poems also demonstrate how the teachers are committed to differentiating learning for all students’ learning levels. The poems identify how a greater level of flexibility is required to cater to both the individual needs of students and the differing needs of classes—again reinforcing the teachers’ commitment to student-centred practice.

Addison

but I don’t know that that matters necessarily,

because it depends on the class you have.

What they need.

The third essence of being a year nine teacher is the ability to deploy student-centred pedagogies across formal (classroom) and informal (school yard, excursion) settings.

Relationships

The poems describe how Renewal teachers build relationships with their students. These relationships are over and above those held with students in other year levels. As part of this relationship building, the teachers outline how the time they spend with their Renewal groups enables their relationships with their classes.

Chris

They won’t respond to anybody.

Tanner

It all comes down to the relationship you build with the student.

The stories describe how the teachers are required to give more of themselves as Renewal teachers in comparison with teaching other year levels, and how the students get to know them on a more personal level. Developing these relationships requires skills that all teachers may not possess, and a level of commitment that some may not be willing to make. Where teachers do establish these relationships, it shows their commitment to the programme.

The poems also describe how the Renewal teachers act as a broker of services within the school. They work with internal and external stakeholders to support their students’ mental, physical and academic health. This work speaks to the teachers’ awareness of their own skills and expertise and that they know when to call upon the services of others.

The fourth essence of being a year nine teacher is an acute awareness of relationships and the ability to develop and maintain relationships with students, staff and other professionals.

Working with the community

The stories describe how the teachers work alongside members of and in the locality of the Kingfisher community. The teachers recount how time in the community supports students and helps to build the reputation of the school. They outline how this time develops students’ personal and social capabilities. Additionally, the stories demonstrate how important it is for the programme to be perceived well within the Kingfisher community—in part to help facilitate the programme moving forward by being able to leverage community assets and members to help deliver Renewal.

The fifth essence of being a year nine teacher is a commitment to work in and with the wider community.

Renewal and the rest of the school

The teachers’ stories outline that Renewal both fits in and stands out at Waterdeep College. They describe how the programme dovetails into other school activities and is mostly ‘part of a school day’. However, the stories also demonstrate a need for Renewal to have its own unique identity within the school and maintain a level of difference from the normal.

Addison

“we need to make this different”

The sixth and final essence of being a year nine teacher is the need to carefully balance fitting in and standing out within the school.

Conclusion

Year nine students have historically presented a perpetual problem and opportunity for both schools and teachers. However, a growing number of schools in Victoria have implemented specialist year nine programmes to help engage year nine students in schooling. Vital to the success of such programmes are the teachers who design, refine and deliver the curriculum for year nines. The enactment of curriculum for year nine programmes requires teachers’ to step away from the fiercely guarded and long-established opinions about what is of worth in schooling (Yates et al., 2011), and instead deliver a programme of learning that is much more in tune with the needs of the students. Vital to the success of such year nine programmes is a different kind of teacher. A teacher who possesses an accoutrement of skills and knowledge, in addition to the normal demands of being a secondary teacher. By adopting a different way of working, and in turn a different way of being, the year nine teachers who work on Renewal provide a context for how we need to move forward to better cater to this unique and interesting year level.