1 Some principles for youth learning

This paper proposes some principles for youth learning developed from a major research project. Specific parts of the project have been published in other literature, and this paper summarises key findings before proposing a set of principles to support their learning. The findings of the research about youth learners and how they learn were analysed in the context of adult learning principles proposed by Knowles (1990). The analysis exposed discrepancy between youth and adult learners, implying that adult learning principles is unsuitable for most youth learners. A profile of youth learners was drawn from the research data on priorities that youth have, their motivation, and learning attributes. The analysis leads to three broad conclusions about youth learners: 2 1. Most youth use a surface approach to learning largely due to time constraints, overwhelming volume of content, and assessment requirements that rewar