RENYO: Re-engaging young offenders with education and learning

Project: RENYO – Re-engaging Young Offenders with Education and Learning

Project Team: Prof. Dr. Yvonne Knospe, Dr. Karsten König
Funding Agency: European Commission / Erasmus+
Duration: 01.11.2018 – 31.10.2021
Funding Amount: 60,000 EUR

---

Project Objective

The project aimed to re-engage young offenders with education and learning by using interest-based teaching and learning methods. The key method, “Authentic Inquiry”, identifies personal interests of young people, which then serve as the starting point for learning projects.

• Learners express their interests through objects such as posters, natural products, or artworks.

• These narratives make learners’ ideas meaningful for the group and form a foundation for learning processes.

The approach is designed to motivate youth who have disengaged from school or training, especially in the context of juvenile justice.

---

Digital Support

The project is supported by a digital infrastructure:

• Learning materials and best-practice examples are provided online.

• Learning processes are discussed and supported digitally.

• Progress is documented, making the method sustainable and scalable.

---

Project Partners

• Lead: Institute for Higher Education, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK

• Partners:

  • Foundacion Diagrama, Murcia, Spain

  • CESIE, Trappeto, Italy

  • Learning Emergence LLP, Peebleshire, UK

  • Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, FH Dresden, Germany

The project builds on FH Dresden’s prior work with social-pedagogical pilgrimages for young offenders.

---

Implementation & Activities

• Teacher & Practitioner Training: Educators in juvenile detention facilities were trained to apply the Authentic Inquiry method, bridging educational curricula with learners’ interests.

• Focus Areas:

  1. Support educators in reconnecting young offenders with learning

  2. Train staff in closed juvenile institutions to address learners’ individual interests

  3. Promote digital learning for continued access after the project

  4. Document and disseminate project outcomes to ensure sustainability

• Eight-Step Method: The Authentic Inquiry approach provides a structured learning process while integrating learners’ personal interests and facilitating curriculum implementation.

---

Outcomes

• Evidence was gathered over nearly three years across UK, Italy, Germany, and Spain that interest-based learning is effective in re-engaging young offenders.

• Workshops, trainings, and digital materials support ongoing application of the method in educational and social work contexts.

Project Website: https://skills4youth.eu/
Erasmus+ Project Details: Link

Partner Institutions:

• University of Gloucestershire: http://www.glos.ac.uk

• Foundacion Diagrama: http://www.fundaciondiagrama.es

• CESIE: http://www.cesie.org

• Learning Emergence LLP (UK)