School of Geography - Theses
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ItemStudents welfare co-ordinators' responses to homeless students in the south eastern educational region( 1997)School is an institution with which all members of society have contact at some stage in their lives. Next to the family, school is an important institution which has the opportunity to communicate with and support young Victorians. When young people can no longer rely upon their family for support, the school has the potential to act as a surrogate family. Student Welfare Co-ordinators are the people in Victorian schools who are more likely to deal with students who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless than anyone else in the school. There is little known about their attitudes and responses towards homeless young people, or their perceptions of their role. An understanding about the response students receive from their school's Student Welfare Co-ordinator is a necessary first step in gaining an insight into the role and the relationship schools have with homeless students and those at risk of becoming homeless. This thesis explores Student Welfare Co-ordinators' responses when dealing with students in their schools who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. It examines their responses in the context of how they define homelessness and their overall perceptions of homeless young people. Ten Student Welfare Co-ordinators in the South Eastern educational region were interviewed, along with six homeless students living in supported accommodation in the region. The responses of Student Welfare Co-ordinators to homeless students, and those at risk were grouped into four broad categories: the referral; the mental health; the locksmith; and the mediation group. Each category of response was examined in relation to Student Welfare Co-ordinators' assumptions about their particular training and their definition of homelessness. The overall finding was that Student Welfare Co-ordinators were not guided by the individual needs and circumstances of homeless students or those at risk of becoming homeless, but by their particular ideologies and training.