Listening to rangatahi,
shaping change
What do young people
say helps them reconnect
with learning?
Bringing learning
into practice
Staying with the mahi
That question sits at the heart of Lloyd Martin’s research into young people’s experiences of change in Alternative Education (AE). A longtime youth worker and educator
in AE, Lloyd brings decades of practice to his research. His doctoral thesis, Don’t give up on us, was completed
in 2024.
His mahi sits alongside years of AE research and
inquiry, including work by Dr Judy Bruce, exploring how education can better support rangatahi poorly served
by mainstream schooling. We’ve supported this work along the way.
Lloyd’s Essentials project offered professional development for people working in AE, connecting
youth development knowledge with the everyday work
of supporting rangatahi.
In 2025, an event brought together researchers studying disengagement from education. They realised they’d independently reached similar conclusions about what was working and decided to bring that knowledge to decision-makers together.
From this grew the Youth Development and Education Network Aotearoa (YDENA), including Lloyd, Dr Judy Bruce, Dr Adrian Schoone and other researchers and practitioners.
Their 2026 White Paper, Re-engaging young people in learning: “Just don’t give up on us”, sets out that shared understanding and recommendations for change.
Lloyd helps keep the group connected and speaking collectively, building relationships with decision-makers so their shared knowledge can inform education policy and practice.
Changing education takes time, relationships and
people willing to keep asking questions.
Across research, professional development and advocacy, this mahi brings young people’s experiences into the decisions shaping education. That’s the systems change at its heart: an education system that understands young people’s lives, builds on their strengths and keeps making room for them.