Section 1 A: Implementation of Recommendations in What Works –
Summary of Survey Results
Working relationship with Ontario Works: What is your working
relationship with OW agencies? |
The majority of respondents felt they had a positive relationship with
their Ontario Works (OW) Agencies. 16 of the 19 said they were working
to educate OW personnel. However, the turnover of OW personnel concerned
some. Among the responses to the query asking if OW understand the unique
role of Colleges:
- Most OW workers work with us directly and they understand what we
do.
- Their understanding is improving as we work with them.
- Moderate at best. Still needs work.
When asked if they were working with their OW agencies to improve this
relationship
almost all responded that they had regular meeting with the agencies and
many invited OW
people to the college.
Retention Strategy: ‘Locus of Control’.
Has your program implemented ways to help OW clients strengthen
their locus of control? |
There certainly is an attempt by most programs to recognize the importance
of this ‘locus of control’. However, few seem to have been
as clear in their approach as Goforth and Jonik suggest. Of the 15 respondents
who understood the term, 13 felt that they were working on strengthening
learners’ locus of control, some through formal approaches, Others
less formally, or through their counselling areas. Examples of the way
this is carried out are:
- Students are given tools to track their own progress within courses.
This way
they know what is recommended as satisfactory progress and how well
they are
doing.
- We allow flexibility in attending the 20 hours per week to satisfy
OW.
- We have tried very hard to simplify our bureaucracy, financial assistance
and
communication with sponsors. By having these things organized the students
can focus on being students.
- Learners are encouraged to take control of their learning.
|
