CASE STUDY 1 The Game workshop
Glostrup Albertslund Production school Motivation for learning and education through computer games How can the young people’s interest in computer games turn from being an obstacle to commencement of education, to instead promote the motivation and prerequisites for completing a youth education?
Background An increasing number of young people in Denmark have difficulty in completing a youth education. The academic requirements for education programs have increased and too many young people are undecided about the direction of education they want. This means a big drop in youth education and often the young people lose faith in their own possibilities. Some of them isolate themselves with their computer and spend most of the waking time at stake. The real world becomes irrelevant to them, and dreams revolve around a future in the gaming world - either as a professional gamer or as a developer of com-
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puter games. Very few, however, seriously pursue the dream, and instead lose faith in education and work.
Production school The purpose of the production school is to motivate and prepare young people for continued education. The target group is young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who are not ready to complete a youth education. The teaching is organized as workshops in a number of different subject areas, giving the young people the opportunity to test one or more subjects in practice, thereby increasing their competencies and finding motivation for education. Unlike formal education, the goal of teaching at the production school is not a concrete and measurable academic benefit. The path to motivation for continuing education is instead based on the individual’s abilities and interests. Interest in traditional crafts has been declining in recent years, whereas media and IT have gained mo-
