Voices and choices: how education influences the career choices of young disabled people

The changing British society with new commitments to educational inclusion for disabled people should mean increased individual freedom of choice and greater chance of participation. However, juggling this with the continuing emphasis on education for the economy brings the danger of new forms of social exclusion of those who do have different needs and require additional support to take advantage of opportunities and make informed decisions about their professional futures. This contradiction encourages the deteriorating academic and career-oriented foresight of special schools and the inclusion of all disabled students in mainstream education, without providing enough support to cater for the diversity and differentiation it generates. This paper adds to this debate by reporting on the work in progress of a project funded by the European Social Fund, concerning the educational experiences of a group of young disabled people still in full-time mainstream or special education. It presents some personal accounts of the young people's perceptions of how their educational environment influences their personal aspirations for future careers and post-school choices. This research strives to give a voice to young disabled people, informing policy concerned with young people, education and transitions to work.     

Regimes of risk: the need for a pedagogy for peer groups

Peer groups matter more than we think. In this paper we assert that peer group commitments and affiliations are often the primary social reference in determining the way young people think about and practice risk. It is, we argue, inappropriate to impose adult constructions of risk‐taking and anti‐social behaviour when trying to assert influence over the decisions and practices young people make in the context of their peers. Prominent in our discussion is a concern that mainstream educational theory and practice focuses disproportionately on the individual and their capacity to make rational and independent choices. We believe that within this individualizing framework, teachers have only a very limited capacity to influence the practices and decisions young people make in the presence of their peers, their friends. To ground this discussion we juxtapose the actions and interactions of two young male peer groups, to highlight their respective constructions of group identity.     

Youth,family and education: exploring the Greek case of parentocracy

Based on a qualitative study conducted in austerity-stricken Greece, the paper provides a micro-level exploration of the mechanics of intergenerational transmission of (dis)advantage. Utilising the Bourdieusian toolbox, the paper enquires into familial practices through the lens of young people’s perceptions, focusing on the mobilisation of capitals, the inculcation and transformation of habitus taking place in the Greek educational field. In-depth interview material unpacks the pedagogic efforts young people and their families make, indicating that these are contingent on the varied volume and composition of capitals and the distinct distances from necessity that in turn constrain or afford the exercise of agency and the investments in the academic market. Further, the analysis sheds light on young people’s accounts of educational and occupational expectations illustrating how these are tightly interweaved with familial legacies and parental wishes, and underpinned by the projects of distinction, mobility and respectability through education.     

楚雄师范学院大学生思想状况调查与分析

目前有关研究大学生思想政治素质状况的文章,多是纯理论方面的探讨,涉及问卷调查的很少。采取理论和实证研究相结合的方法,对楚雄师范学院1040名本科生进行问卷调查,分析大学生思想政治素质在年级和性别上的差异,探讨大学生思想政治素质的现状,并提出相应的教育对策,为高校的思想政治工作服务。     

青少年民族团结观及其结构研究

采用自编《民族团结观调查问卷》,对云南德宏民族乡镇、村寨的人群进行调查,了解青少年对民族团结的看法,分析青少年民族团结观的现状、心理结构和水平。为进一步从理论上研究民族团结的心理机制和规律奠定基础,也为我国改进和提高民族团结教育质量提供心理学的理论基础和支持。     

Setting responsible pathways: the politics of responsibilisation

Australian youth income support and educational policies have focused on increasing participation and retention in schools. The assumptions and rationales underpinning these policies assert a positive relationship between educational engagement, employment and social inclusion. This paper examines these assumptions and rationales and, drawing upon Australian and international research (particularly the UK) over the past decade, questions the efficacy of these policies in achieving their stated goals. Furthermore, the paper argues that the neo‐liberal philosophical underpinnings of these policies, particularly the emphasis on responsibilisation, can undermine disadvantaged young people’s engagement with school and does little to create positive pathways to employment. Moreover, it is clear that disadvantaged young people are not assisted by these policies to make empowered social transitions.     

The impact of parental young onset dementia on children and young people's educational careers

It is well established that having a parent with any illness or disability can have an adverse effect on individuals’ experiences of education and on their educational progress. Advances in medical knowledge are leading to more people under 65 being diagnosed with young onset dementias and, concomitantly, to more children and young people who are in education having a parent with this diagnosis. Hardly any research has asked these young people directly about their experiences, but the limited evidence suggests that there will likely be significant emotional, mental and psychological damage with enduring impact on their lives. This article, drawing on findings from a unique narrative, auto/biographical study involving 24 British 6 to 31‐year‐olds, focuses on the consequences of parental young onset dementia for educational careers. These dementias are untimely progressive terminal illnesses with unpredictable trajectories and timelines, throughout the course of which physical, cognitive and emotional functions and abilities are inexorably lost. Participants’ experiences show that living with a parent with young onset dementia, whilst negotiating the education system, can be extremely hard. Difficulties are exacerbated by the condition's distinctive characteristics, the current lack of any cure and anticipatory, pre‐death grief. Lack of public awareness and understanding, both of young onset dementias and of dedicated resources and support services, also result in many feeling isolated and ignored. We make suggestions for positive provision and actions that educational institutions can make to begin to meet the particular needs of these young people.     

Compliance through care and commitment: why young people do as adults ask

Although the behaviour of young people is often a focus for concern, most young people do as they are asked. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study across four educational settings that set out to explore reasons for this compliance. Forty-four young people (aged 12–21) participated in interactive focus groups and 21 practitioners were interviewed. A critical exploration of the authority relationships between the young people and the participating adults was undertaken. The research was designed to explore the relevance of the typology of authority relationships proposed by Dennis Wrong for educational settings. The findings confirmed the applicability of his work; however, the paper argues that an additional basis for authority relationships characterised by ‘care and commitment’ should be included. The results suggest the potential for long-term caring relationships, authenticity and professional competence as key factors in enhancing compliance in educational settings.     

谈公共图书馆在青少年校外教育工作中的作用——以鄞州区图书馆为例

社会的发展对青少年校外教育工作提出了更高的要求。公共图书馆的文化和教育职能决定了它应成为青少年参加校外教育活动的组织者和重要载体。以鄞州区为例,在对青少年如何利用图书馆进行调查基础上,探讨公共图书馆在青少年校外教育中的作用,希望有助于推进青少年校外教育工作。     

'Inclusion is more than a place': exploring pupil views and voice in Belfast schools through visual narrative

The research reported in this article by David Ryan, an adviser for special educational needs and inclusion in Belfast, was based on a participatory approach in which young people in a number of schools were encouraged to develop their ideas about inclusion. The project set out to explore any differences in perceptions between pupils with special educational needs and those without. The young people were equipped with cameras and were encouraged to generate 'visual narratives' expressing their views about the 'reasonable adjustments' that mainstream schools might make in order to become more inclusive. David Ryan concludes that education must be personalised so that schools take account of the perspectives of individual pupils in their endeavours to become more inclusive. He also notes that young people appear to have strongly-held views about some of the sensory aspects of the school environment.     

Opportunity structures and educational marginality: the post-16 transitions of young people outside education and employment

This paper reports on findings from a three-year ethnographic study of 24 young people in northern England who were classified as not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of becoming so. Drawing on conceptions of opportunity structure and educational marginality, the paper discusses the processes leading to young people becoming NEET after leaving school. It presents findings concerning the family backgrounds, school experiences, and educational attainment of participants, and traces their initial post-16 destinations and their pathways to NEET status. Although most participants did not become NEET immediately after leaving school, restricted labour market opportunities and a lack of high-quality education and training for middle- and low-attaining young people exacerbated social and educational disadvantage. Over time, participants became increasingly restricted to marginal forms of learning. The paper argues that a focus on opportunity structures provides a powerful way of understanding these processes, and that alongside sustained NEET status, educational marginality should be of equal concern to policy makers.     

昆明青年环境价值取向与生活方式的调查分析

采用英国研究者在吉尔弗得社会调查中的同一问卷,对昆明市16～25周岁不同工种和学历的青年群体进行了问卷抽样和随机调查。调查集中于3个方面：1．探究昆明地区青年人在环境问题上的行为和意识;2．了解昆明地区青年人的基本生活方式和消费行为;3．分析昆明地区青年人的环境意识与物质主义的生活方式的关系。调查显示：昆明地区的青年人有较好的环境意识,大多数青年人对待环境的行为是友好的,但由于就业的难度,使得青年人在就业与环境保护之间处于两难境地;当所涉及的问题与所谓的“个人经济收入”有关时,青年们对这类问题的回答采取了犹豫的态度;在生活态度上昆明青年没有太强烈的倾向于物质主义的生活方式。     

Framing young people’s educational transitions: the role of local and contemporary economic contexts

Despite rates of participation in post-compulsory full-time education reaching approximately 84% in Wales, social class inequalities continue to shape young people’s transitions from compulsory to post-compulsory education. This article draws upon data from a project which explored how young people’s educational decisions and transitions in Wales, UK are influenced by national economic landscapes, the popular narratives framing them and the structure of local employment opportunities. The analyses revealed that young people from similar social class backgrounds, but living in different localities, make very different sorts of transition from compulsory to post-compulsory education; in essence, they are either ‘pushed’ or they ‘jump’ into post-16 education. The article aims overall to contribute both empirically and theoretically to understandings of the complexity of educational decision-making, revealing how class and location intersect to frame decision-making processes, in so doing producing and reproducing educational inequalities.     

Towards a spiritual pedagogy of pastoral welfare and care

Abstract

This paper considers the role of spirituality in the practice of pastoral welfare and care in English state schools. Set against an educational landscape of increasingly aggressive neoliberal interests combined with growing public disquiet over the mental welfare of young people, the author examines how spirituality might in response contribute to a pedagogy of pastoral welfare for pupil well-being. The paper begins by foregrounding the policy contexts for pastoral education in England and the challenges presented by the increasingly performative cultures that schools, children and young people have become subjected to. Highlighting concerns around the well-being of children and young people, the paper advances a spiritual pedagogy in pastoral care predicated on pivotal interrelated attributes of intrapersonal transcendence, care and educational practice. The paper then considers the possibilities presented by the spiritual realm in pastoral welfare and the positioning of this as an educational pedagogy and practice.     

The consequences of being labelled ‘looked‐after’: Exploring the educational experiences of looked‐after children and young people in Wales

The educational experiences and attainment of looked‐after children and young people (LACYP) remains an issue of widespread international concern. Within the UK, children and young people in care achieve poorer educational outcomes compared to individuals not in care. Despite proliferation of research documenting the reasons for educational disadvantage amongst this population, there remains limited empirical consideration of the lived experiences of the educational system, as perceived by LACYP themselves. This paper draws upon qualitative research with 67 care‐experienced children and young people in Wales. The sample was aged 6–27 years, and comprised 27 females and 40 males. Participants had experienced a range of care placements. Findings focus on how educational policies and practices alienate LACYP from dominant discourses of educational achievement through assignment of the ‘supported’ subject position, where children and young people are permitted and even encouraged not to succeed academically due to their complex and disrupted home circumstances. However, such diminished expectations are rejected by LACYP, who want to be pushed and challenged in the realisation of their potential. The paper argues that more differentiated understandings of LACYP's aspirations and capabilities need to be embedded into everyday practices, to ensure that effective educational support systems are developed.     

Developing Resilience in Children Who are in Public Care: The educational psychology perspective

Significant adults who support and teach children are only too aware of the effects of adverse experiences on intellectual, social and personal development. Less easily predicted, however, is a small number of young people who, despite many negative experiences, seem to make a considerable success of their lives. In this paper, the intriguing notion of 'resilience' will be explored and some suggestions will be offered on how educational psychologists could use both the concept and the underpinning research to challenge current practice in childcare and education, and to generate strategies for carers and teachers that can enable them to enhance the resilience of vulnerable children and young people.     

Continuing educational participation among children in care in five countries: some issues of social class

Young people who have spent all or part of their childhoods in public care are at particular risk of social exclusion as adults and yet the pathway out of exclusion identified by policy-makers at both European and national levels, namely, education, is very difficult to access. Using data from a five-country study of the post-compulsory educational pathways of young people in public care, this paper examines the rates of participation of young people in further and higher education and considers what might account for the gap, looking at two factors: the impact of background social class on educational support and the educational intentions and practices of the care system. The paper concludes by considering the policy context and some possible tensions between policy aims and young people’s contexts and experiences.     

Second Chance Programmes: a response to educational needs in compulsory education

This paper asks whether the integrated training provision currently offered through the different Spanish Second Chance Programmes (SCPs) constitutes a valid response to the educational needs and deficits known to exist among those young people who do not satisfactorily complete the Compulsory Secondary Education stage (ESO). The objectives of the current Social Guarantee Programmes (SGPs) are examined, as are the characteristics of the young people who participate in them. The Programmes of Initial Vocational Qualification (PCPI) envisaged in the most recent educational legislation are also discussed. Having identified the key factors which the empirical studies suggest influence the effectiveness of these programmes in addressing the educational needs and training deficiencies of the young people involved, a number of proposals are presented in connection with the training needs of teaching staff. The paper concludes with a number of proposals for improving the educational response to the challenges that the new perspectives and expectations raise for the development of a system of inclusive education to overcome the education deficits of the young people concerned.     

Perspectives on HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination: voices of some young people in Ghana

This paper examines Ghanaian young people's perceptions of the determinants of HIV- and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, and how these perceptions may influence the de-stigmatisation process. Drawing on findings from an in-depth, multi-method qualitative study involving 104 school and street young people aged between 14 and 19 years, the paper presents young people's accounts of HIV and AIDS. The paper provokes discussion on how language and images associated with existing educational programmes on HIV and AIDS place young people in a dilemma. It also argues that fear and secrecy associated with the disease not only consolidate stigmatisation and discrimination, but also create the desire for retribution. It concludes by challenging health educators to pay particular attention to the language and images used in future educational programmes.