Young people’s voices: disciplining young people’s participation in decision-making in special educational needs

In recent years, education and family policy in the UK has sought to incorporate the views of children and young people through an active participation agenda, in the fulfilment of children’s rights under the obligations of the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child. Drawing on empirical evidence, this paper suggests that this aspiration is flawed. The inclusion of young people’s voices in decision-making is context dependent, and influenced by individual relationships, both positive and negative. It is framed by policies that subjugate children within disciplinary technologies that determine a regime of ‘truth’ about effective and appropriate participation. Drawing on data gathered as part of a wider study on the relationships between services users and services providers in special educational needs, this paper demonstrates that active inclusion of the voice of the child can be illustrated to be at least variable, and at worst prejudiced. It is suggested that the notion of participation produces tacit forms of ‘government’ that further classify and divide young people, magnifying their marginalization.     

Promoting participation at a time of social and political turmoil: what is the impact of children’s and young people’s city councils?

Youth councils are examined as spaces of citizenship education where young people are educated as political subjects. At a time of political and economic instability data were collected in a Catalan city through tests and focus groups involving 112 students, three teachers and two youth council managers during one academic year. Students’ political trust decreased and their cynicism towards politics increased; there were no changes in students’ anticipated future participation. The article avoids drawing simplistic causal links between students’ involvement in a council and the expression of their views. The participants also discuss the councils as performance sites. It is speculated whether, in students’ views, this metaphor of performance applies not only to the councils but to the wider political context in which they live. It is argued that youth councils are, in some ways, potentially valuable for promoting participation and recommendations are made in light of the findings.     

Young people’s and parent’s perceptions of managed moves

The current research aimed to increase understanding of the experiences of young people and their parents of managed moves, what contributed to success and the nature of the challenges experienced. The study was conducted in one English Local Authority, where five young people and their parents were interviewed. Five superordinate themes emerged from the interviews, relating to: the initial process (people, trail period, managed moves as a positive solution); the reasons for the move (bullying/social isolation, breakdown in relationships with staff); conceptions of success (happiness, improved self-perceptions, learning and progress), factors contributing to success (fresh start/clean slate; home–school communication; pastoral support, school suitability) and problems arising (moving a problem, narratives around young people, timing and family stress). The findings are discussed in relation to implications for practice.     

Young people’s perceptions of advice about sexual risk taking

Sexual and reproductive health indicators for young people in the USA have improved in recent decades, but teenage pregnancies remain high, and large differences between Whites and non-Whites persist in teenage births, abortions, and the acquisition of sexually transmitted infections. Prior research shows that young people are receptive to communication about sex from parents and friends, but peers have been found to be more influential on sexual risk taking. In this study of 617 young people aged 13–20 years in high-risk neighbourhoods for teenage pregnancy in New Jersey, we asked whether sexually inexperienced young people differed from sexually experienced young people in their level of receptivity to the recommendations from their parents, friends, and others about whether to have sex before marriage and whether to use a condom if sexually active. The results showed that the sexually inexperienced were more receptive to messages from figures of authority in their life than those sexually experienced. We also found that stronger message intensity from parents, friends, and others to delay sex until marriage and to use a condom if sexually active was associated with lower sexual intentions in the next six months and the use of a condom if sexually active in the last three months.     

Barriers to older people’s participation in local governance: The impact of diversity

Creating opportunities for inclusive participation by older people in local governance is made more complex by their diversity, which can shape who participates, in what ways, and how effectively. The existing research, however, largely focuses on the impact of socio-demographic characteristics or of individual barriers on participation, without considering how interactions between these may shape pathways to participation among older people. This quantitative study explored the relationships between participation by older people, barriers to participation, and socio-demographic characteristics. The results indicate that socio-demographic diversity impacts on the importance attributed to barriers as well as the strength and direction of their relationships with participation. The findings problematize the dominant approaches to understanding barriers to and patterns in participation. A more sophisticated understanding of inclusive governance in ageing communities needs to consider the iterative and interactional nature of pathways to participation in the context of the complexity of the “older population.”     

Young people’s perceptions of the mathematics involved in everyday activities

This paper describes a study exploring young people’s perceptions of the mathematics involved in five everyday activities. It is based on individual interviews with pupils in Years 7 and 10 in four English secondary schools. Results suggest that young people are more aware of the mathematics embedded in everyday activities than previously thought. There was no evidence to support existing theories that young people have particular difficulties identifying mathematics within practical activities or those traditionally performed by women. However, participants did seem to restrict the label mathematics to activities involving a problem with a single or limited solution, and to activities which require a formal rather than experimental or intuitive approach. Some participants also seemed to relate their discussion of mathematics only to the aspect of each activity which takes most time and attention.     

Young people’s perceptions of the ‘Love Hurts’ programme: Is theatre an effective means of addressing teenage relationship abuse?

Domestic abuse prevention education programmes have been found to be effective in bringing about attitudinal and behavioural change. However, there is limited research on theatre-based interventions developed in the UK. This study aimed to assess pupils’ responses to a theatre production called ‘Love Hurts’. A mixed-methods approach, which incorporated an online survey and focus groups, was used to understand the pupils’ perceptions of the play. The survey was completed by 294 pupils aged 11–19 years in five schools. Four focus groups were conducted in two of the schools involved. The pupils were generally very positive about the play, girls more so than boys. One of the strengths was that the young people reported being able to relate to the situations, and they found the use of theatre very engaging. They seemed to respond well to the use of a positive male role in the play, but reported that more could be done to highlight that women can be abusive too. Another theme was around the issue of trust, with some young people reporting feeling cautious about entering relationships following the play. The findings suggest that the young people responded well to the messages conveyed and felt that theatre was an effective means of addressing the issue. However, care is needed as to how to address the issues of gender and trust.     

Articulating injustice: an exploration of young people’s experiences of participation in a conflict transformation programme that utilises the arts as a form of dialogue

This paper reflects on a study that explores young people’s engagement with the Art: a Resource for Reconciliation Over the World (ARROW) programme. The programme utilises the arts to promote critical dialogue amongst young people growing up in divided communities around the world. Dialogue has been criticised for its inability to tackle structural inequalities and for failing to include multiple voices and perspectives due to dominant languages and agendas. However, dialogue has also been heralded for its potential to promote democracy and resist narratives of discrimination that contribute to intercultural conflict. This paper focuses on the voices of young people involved in the Plymouth UK ARROW youth group. It proposes that arts approaches can complement verbal dialogue through their ability to transcend verbal language barriers, allow previously silenced narratives to be articulated and encourage people to think critically about themselves, humanity and the world.     

How is technology seen in young people’s visions of future education systems?

This research captured the views of young people regarding their views of ‘how learning should be in the future’. Four focus groups were run with different groups of school‐age pupils. The ways in which technology was seen within these discussions were analysed. The findings noted that the explicit use of technological innovations, and predicted innovations, was rarely seen as having a significant impact on learning, rather that the technology was used in line with the models of learning derived from the participant’s best current experiences of learning and education. Technology was, therefore, seen as something which could make current learning practices more efficient but did not transform the learning process.     

Research League Table: is there a better way?

The results of the 1996 Research Assessment Exercise were presented in several places, notably in The Higher, in the form of a league table. The article discusses how this table was compiled and points to a number of fundamental problems in the way in which the data were handled. It goes on to discuss some more general issues in the calculation of league tables and shows the extreme sensitivity of the RAE data to certain arbitrary assumptions that have to be made. It concludes by urging caution on any who may be tempted to draw conclusions from such tables as well as on those who might compile such tables in the future.     

Young people’s academic buoyancy and adaptability: a cross-cultural comparison of China with North America and the United Kingdom

Abstract

We investigated academic buoyancy (a response to challenge) and adaptability (a response to change) among a sample of 12–16-year-olds in China (N = 3617) compared with same-aged youth from North America (N = 989) and the United Kingdom (UK; N = 1182). We found that Chinese students reported higher mean levels of buoyancy and adaptability. We also found that correlations between buoyancy and adaptability, and between these two factors and motivation and engagement outcomes, were significantly higher for Chinese students than for North American and UK samples. In path analyses, buoyancy and adaptability positively and significantly predicted motivation and engagement (typically at p < .001) in all three regions; however, buoyancy effects were significantly stronger for the Chinese students.     

Young people’s perceptions of relationships and sexual practices in the abstinence-only context of Uganda

The Ugandan government has been criticised on several grounds for its abstinence-only policies on sexuality education directed towards young people. These grounds include the failure to recognise the multiple realities faced by young people, some of whom may already be sexually active. In the study reported on this paper, students’ perceptions of relationships and sexual practices were analysed to obtain an understanding of how young people construct and negotiate their sexual agency in the context of abstinence-only messages provided in Ugandan secondary schools and at the wider community level. Ten in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions were conducted with students aged 15–19 years (N = 55) at an urban co-educational secondary school. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using grounded theory. Findings show that students engage in sexual activity despite their belief that contraception is ineffective and their fears for the consequences. Students’ age, gender, financial capital and perceived sexual desire further increase risk and vulnerability. To improve their effectiveness, school-based sexuality education programmes should support students to challenge and negotiate structural factors such as gender roles and sociocultural norms that influence sexual practices and increase vulnerability and risk.     

Older people’s participation in political organizations: The role of generativity and its impact on well-being

Aging population has increased a global concern to keep seniors active and healthy. Civic participation, in particular, has been highlighted for its social and community benefits and its impact on elders’ health and well-being. To date, however, most studies have explored volunteering; other types of civic activities, such as political participation, are largely overlooked. This study analyzes the relationship between older people’s active involvement in political organizations, generativity, and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. We selected two samples of Spanish older people: a sample of elders actively involved in political organizations (n = 97) and a comparison group (n = 85). Measures of generative concern, hedonic well-being, and eudaimonic well-being were applied. Results showed that politically active elders obtained higher scores on generative concern than comparison group individuals. Furthermore, generative concern predicted higher scores on both eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. However, active involvement in political organizations was not related to higher levels of well-being in the multivariate analyses. Translating generative concerns into effective behaviors, for instance political activities, may imply sacrifices and efforts, such that higher levels of well-being do not necessarily result from these activities. Thus, results from this study call into question the positive effect of civic participation on elders’ well-being, showing that this may not be necessarily the case for those who are actively involved in political organizations. Future research may build on these results to compare the differential effect of different kinds of generative activities on older people’s well-being.     

Young people and alcohol – where’s the risk? Changing the focus of school-based prevention initiatives

Research statistics highlighting the social costs of widespread excessive alcohol consumption have led to a proliferation of school-based prevention programmes that aim to give young people the skills and knowledge necessary to resist social pressure to drink alcohol and avoid potentially ‘risky’ consumption. Such interventions offer, however, limited evidence of long-term success. Drawing on a case study of a pilot programme developed by Alcohol Focus Scotland this paper illustrates the promotion of a critical social perspective motivating young people to consider instead the risk posed by the marketing techniques of the alcohol industry. It is argued that a pedagogical approach focusing on developing critical awareness rather than shaping individual behaviour has the potential to reframe our understanding of this type of preventive health education as a form of political literacy or citizenship education.     

Roma women’s higher education participation: whose responsibility?

There are striking gaps between Roma and non-Roma higher education (HE) participation rates, with less than 1% of Roma possessing a tertiary-level qualification [United Nations Development Programme, World Bank and European Commission. 2011a. “The Situation of Roma in 11 EU Member States.” Accessed 3 April 2015. http://issuu.com/undp_in_europe_cis/docs/_roma_at_a_glance_web/1#download]. As the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005–2015) closes, this renders the present a salient moment to reflect on Roma students’ HE experiences. Widening educational access for marginalised groups raises specific questions about where responsibility for doing so lies – with tensions between individualised articulations of raising aspiration and notions of collective responsibility framed in a social justice agenda. Drawing on interviews with five Roma women students, this paper unpacks the contradictions between desiring access to HE for individual self-betterment and concurrent pulls towards educating for the wider benefit of ‘improving’ Roma communities. Using Ahmed’s [2012. On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press] work on institutional belonging, we explore the specifically gendered nature of these narratives in how ‘doubly’ marginalised bodies are positioned as outsiders, in receipt of an educational gift.     

Young people’s views of the constraints on sex education in Bangkok,Thailand

This article explores how Thai culture, gender and age influence sex education in Thailand, and how online sources and social media have emerged as an alternative source of sex education among young people. Qualitative data was gathered by means of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions from 99 young people aged 15–24 years of various genders and sexualities living in Bangkok. Age and gender/sexuality have a powerful influence on how students perceive sex education in Thailand. Younger people of all genders/sexualities were interested in the changes occurring in puberty and defining their gender/sexual identity, while older informants were more interested in sexual health issues including prevention and self-assessment. With respect to sexual relationships, different genders/sexualities showed varying interests, some were interested in the emotional aspects, while others were more interested in the physical dimensions of sex. Overall, Thai culture constrains the success of sex education by limiting learning opportunities and discussion, and by the provision of inauthentic knowledge to students. Online sources and the social media offer possible solutions to these inadequacies in sex education.