Overview

1. Youth Advocates: ‘Mobile Matters’Developing a youth participatory action research and advocacy program.Leo Fieldgrass, Youth Projects Officer, Brotherhood of St Laurence lfieldgrass@bsl.org.au @leofieldgrass

2. Overview • Secondary education program created in response to concerns re: youth and family mobile phone debt • Facilitated by Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) and funded by Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) grant • 4 Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) groups in Frankston-Mornington Peninsula, VIC • Approx 100 Year 11 & 12 students (15 – 18 y.o.’s) • Nov 2010 – Oct 2011

4. Aims • Build capacity of young people to understand rights and responsibilities as mobile phone consumers; • help young people develop research skills, through gathering evidence of peer mobile experiences; • empower young people to advocate for appropriate and affordable mobile phone services, by disseminating research findings to key industry stakeholders at a public event.

5. Program • Classroom-based workshops: consumer skills and research skills. • Peer-to-peer surveys on youth finances and mobile phone use at conference-style events. • Students analysed data and produced findings. • Student advocacy group created final set of project recommendations, delivered at public event.

7. Methodology • Recruitment of partner schools (BSL Community VCAL, Padua College, Carrum Downs Secondary College, McClelland College). • Formation of adult Working Group to provide oversight: BSL, ACCAN, schools, Frankston-Mornington Peninsula Local Learning and Employment Network (FMPLLEN) and Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV).

8. Methodology • Project program split into three phases: • Two ‘Learning Rounds’ of student education and skills development • Final Student Advocate Presentation Group, comprised of volunteers from all four participating groups, who collaborated to produce a final set of project recommendations and presented these to key industry stakeholders at a high-profile event.

10. Methodology: Planning • Need to combine program with research skills, advocacy skills and consumer awareness. • Adaptation of Kellett’s (2005, 2010) program Developing children and young people as researchers; • Consumer Affairs Victoria (2005) Consumer Stuff VCAL teaching resources, BSL / ANZ Money Minded; • Foundation for Young Australians (2009) RU Mad?Are you making a difference?8 Keys to MADness; • Youth Participatory Action Research (PAR) lit., e.g. Wright (2009), Foster-Fishman et al. (2010), UK Office of Public Management (2010).

11. Methodology • Pure ‘youth research’ not possible as students couldn’t choose overall research topic themselves; it had already been chosen for them by adults! • BUT ‘youth-led research’ still achievable: young people given opportunity to develop own research questions, plan and carry out research in direction of their own choosing.

12. Methodology: Action Research • Action research: Koshy (2010) , Kemmis & McTaggart (2000) - reflection and evaluation stages built into project program • Youth Participatory Action Research (PAR) • Wright (2009) – critical thinking and youth leadership • Foster-Fishman et al. (2010) – messaging games to teach research data analysis

13. Methodology: Youth PAR • Kellet (2010) – power dynamics present in research with young people • Kay et al (2009), UK National Youth Agency (NYA) (2010) – youth research toolkits • True youth participation = “knowledge, opportunity and support” (NSWCCYP, 2003) • Participation models: • Hart’s (1992) Ladder of Participation • Treseder’s (1997) Degrees of Participation.

15. Treseder, P. (1997), Empowering Children and Young People, Save the Children. http://www.nfer.ac.uk/schools/developing-young-researchers/involving-young-people.cfm/

16. Methodology: Learning Rounds • Two partner schools experienced separate concurrent classroom sessions then brought together to undertake collaborative research (surveys). • Each Learning Round spread across one academic term (i.e. roughly eight weeks) to maximize student interest and engagement and facilitate easy assimilation into normal teaching program.

17. Feb – Apr 2011: Learning Round 1 • BSL Community VCAL: ‘Rights and responsibilities’ = contracts, right to redress, making a complaint, accessing the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) • McClelland College: ‘Appropriate and affordable’ = understanding caps & bills, pre-pay vs. post-pay plans, resisting pressure from salespeople • Surveys carried out at collaborative event, inc. peer presentations (‘top tips’) and guest speaker from Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV)

18. May – Jul 2011: Learning Round 2 • Carrum Downs Secondary College: • ‘Fair calls for all?’ = Call rates from mobiles (linked to ACCAN campaign) • Padua College: ‘Language and marketing’ = telco ads and contracts • Surveys carried out at 2x collaborative events, inc. Frankston Youth Forum

19. Research findings • Many young people (and their families) experiencing ‘bill shock’ • “My sister managed to rack up a $3000 phone bill in one month, just by calling, texting, and internet… mum was not happy about that” – female Student Advocate.

20. Research findings • Young people were confused • Unclear charges for SMS / calls / data • Unsure of their usage or how to check • Contracts hard to understand • “Cap” isn’t a limit? • “I was over my phone bill [usage allowance] every month and I didn’t know why – couldn’t understand why, couldn’t check how you were over your bill” – female Student Advocate.

21. Research findings • Young people were unhappy • ambiguous advertising (especially “cap”) • regularly going over budget • “unfair” call costs (13/1800) and contract periods • “If it’s called a ‘cap’ it really should mean it stops but it doesn’t… and you don’t really know that you’re going over it, so the next thing you know you’ve got a phone bill that’s a ridiculous amount of money and you weren’t even told you were going over it” – male Student Advocate.

22. “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”(Chinese proverb)

23. Jul – Aug 2011:Student Advocacy Presentation Group • 15 volunteers from across the four groups • 4 weeks of group work sessions • Final set of project recommendations • Presented to peers, government regulators and telco reps at ‘A Call for Change’ event, Melbourne Town Hall, 30 Aug 2011

26. Student Advocates’ messages • “We want you [telcos and regulators] to understand what it’s like to be a young mobile consumer: we don’t just use mobiles for texting and mucking about, we use [them] for jobs and shifts, school, parents and emergencies” – female Student Advocate.

27. Student Advocates’ messages • “Why is this important? This is a serious issue that we feel very strongly about” – female Student Advocate. • “Changes [need] to be made in the future inside the companies... you’ve heard the problems young people go through” – male Student Advocate.

28. Student Advocates’ messages • Young consumers should take their time • Telcos should use less ambiguous language • “Stop hiding all the important stuff in the fine print!” • Improve customer services • Remove “unfair” charges • Offer shorter contracts • Introduce trial periods for plans • “Telcos should make more of an effort!” • Regulators should “keep telcos to their word” • TIO should promote its service more widely

29. Conclusions: Limitations • Relatively small sample size (n127). • Location – confined to particular area of VIC. • Cohort – young people from Indigenous, refugee, or non-English speaking backgrounds, and young. people with stated disabilities mostly unrepresented. • Attempts to use online surveys via ACCAN and Australian Youth Forum websites disappointing. • Not pure youth research!

30. Conclusions: Challenges • Tensions between young people choosing to actively participate in the project and obligation to participate as requirement of VCAL program; • power dynamics of youth-led research within formal educational settings; • challenge to keep students passionate and encourage them to take ownership of the project, esp. in out-of-school time.

31. Conclusions: Strengths • Focused ‘snapshot’ of youth financial experience of mobile comms. in 2011. • Collaborative elements highly successful. • Excellent partnership work between schools and agencies. • Youth PAR worthy strategy for empowering young people, inc. sociopolitical analysis, critical thought peer leadership and advocacy.

32. Outcomes • Supported need for increased financial literacy education for secondary + post-secondary. • Demonstrated how mobile phones can be a compelling and relevant way to engage young people in education. • Firm addition to evidence base re: youth and family debt related to mobile phone use. • Positively influenced govt. and industry policy changes.

36. Outcomes • Enabled young people to develop advocacy, leadership and presentation skills, helping build self-esteem and confidence: • “transformational” effect on some students; • further presentation at Hard Knock Life youth conference, Melbourne; • media interviews: Today Tonight (Ch. 7), 6.30 with George Negus (Ch. 10), The Age, Herald Sun; • 2 students invited to Sydney to discuss findings with telco CEO • “The more I put into this project the more I get out of it” – female Student Advocate

37. Outcomes • Demonstrated: • mobile phones are not just a social luxury for young people • significant youth anxiety about mobile debt and industry practices • Need for revised Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) code (recently launched) • “Treat us with respect ‘cos we’re your future customers. If you don’t treat us with respect you won’t have our business” – female student advocate.

38. Learning • Be conscious of organisational agendas and power dynamics: differences between Youth-created vs. Youth-led research; facilitate don’t control. • Create fun, focused sessions for young people: purpose, autonomy and leadership are key. • Encourage use of 21st century technologies (audio-visual, internet, etc.) and arts-based approaches. • Organise high-value ways to disseminate findings (e.g. high-profile event). • Youth collaboration can extend into wider community, e.g. inter-generational.

39. “It is the responsibility of all of us working with children and young people to ensure that children’s rights to active participation maintains a high profile in practice, as well as in theory.” Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (CECFW) (2012, p.28)

40. Thank you.Further info: http://www.bsl.org.au/Youth-Advocates-Project.aspx.The full report can be downloaded via www.accan.org.au. leofieldgrass@bsl.org.au @leofieldgrass

41. References • Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (CECFW) (2012), Their voice: involving children and young people in decisions, services and systems, Monograph No. 23, Melbourne: Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare • Foster-Fishman, P., Law, K., Lichty, L. and Aoun, C. (2010), ‘Youth ReACT for Social Change - A Method for Youth Participatory Action Research’, American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 46, pp. 67–83. • Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) (2009), RU Mad?Are you making a difference? 8 Keys to MADness, Melbourne: The Foundation for Young Australians. • Kay, E., Tisdall, M., Davis, J., and Gallagher, M. (2009), Researching with Children and Young People, London: Sage. • Kellett, M. (2005), How to develop children as researchers, London: Sage. • Kellett, M. (2010), Rethinking Children and Research: Attitudes in Contemporary Society, London: Continuum. • Kemmis, S. and McTaggart, R. (2000), ‘Participatory action research’, in Denzin, N. and • Lincoln, Y. (Eds.), The Handbook of Qualitative Research (2nd ed.), London: Sage.

42. References (cont.) Koshy, V. (2010) ‘What is action research?’, ch. 1 in Action Research for Improving Educational Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide (2nd ed.), London: Sage. National Youth Agency (NYA) (2010, Young Researcher Network Toolkit, Leicester: NYA, http://nya.org.uk/dynamic_files/yrn/YRN%20Toolkit%20Dec%202010.pdf [last accessed 5 October 2011]. New South Wales Commission for Children and Young People (NSWCCYP) (2003) Research and resources about participation, http://kids.nsw.gov.au/uploads/documents/tps_resources.pdf, [last accessed 28 September 2011]. Office of Public Management (OPM) (2010), Creative Influence - Research led by young people, London: OPM. Wright, D. (2008) “For us, by us” - Young people's leadership, participation and agency in a youth led project for community development, Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Education of Harvard University.