Organizing youth work(ers) through the paradox of play

A recent focus among communication scholars, the study of contradiction and paradox illuminates the inherent irrationality of organizing. The following case study examines how youth labor – cast as play – functions as a series of tensions and contradictions in the day-to-day construction of work(er) between adults and youth. Mirroring the popular reality TV show, The Apprentice, the program under study communicated contradictory messages about youth work(ers) in terms of: (1) proving/discounting oneself as worker, (2) demanding confidence while orchestrating uncertainty and (3) playing along versus being playful in the organizationally prescribed framework, effectively dismissing work(ers) essential to the functioning of the organization. My analysis demonstrates how the framing of youth’s work as a game delegitimized youth work(ers) resulting in potentially exploitative working conditions, and serves as a call to communication scholars to better account for youth as workers, while pointing to similar implications for other types of provisional and contingent work(ers).     

青少年暴力成因及干预对策——一个花季少年为何走上犯罪的深渊

青少年时期是生理心理发育的关键时期,也是心理冲突和情绪、行为问题的高发阶段,攻击行为及暴力便是其中较为突出的问题之一。文章以一位正在服刑的青少年暴力犯的成长故事为线索分别从青少年个体、家庭、学校等视角探讨了影响青少年暴力攻击行为发生的因素,并在此基础上得出影响暴力的最本质的因素是青少年缺乏足够的社会能力和正确的自我认知观念。为此,本研究建议对青少年暴力行为进行生活技能的培训和认知行为的训练,以预防和减少青少年暴力行为的发生。     

我国体育传媒对青少年体育意识的影响

体育传媒近年来的规模和影响力都有长足的发展,分析了中国体育传媒的主要媒介情况,并结合青少年体育意识的形成特点,探讨了体育传媒对青少年体育意识的影响,提出了体育传媒应当注意的问题。     

共青团组织建设开放式、社会化、现代化的研究

本文主要对共青团组织建设开放式、社会化、现代化的意义及主要措施进行研究,为共青团组织建设的发展与共青团现代化发展目标的实现提供参考与借鉴。     

Problematic transitions from school to employment: freeters and NEETs in Japan and Germany

In the international debate surrounding transitions from school to employment, Japan and Germany are regularly cited as examples of success. This article draws on the Japanese concepts represented by two problematic groups – freeters and NEETs – to demonstrate that over recent years, young people in both countries have also been facing serious problems with the transition process. Interpretation of empirical data also, however, reveals a number of contrasts between them. We focus here on differences in their educational systems and on the role each system plays within its own society. The article also uses divergent recruitment practices and employment structures as vehicles for comparison and interpretation.     

Fostering Social and Emotional Skills for Well-Being and Social Progress

Children need a balanced set of cognitive, social and emotional capabilities to adapt to today's demanding, changing and unpredictable world. OECD countries and partner economies recognise the importance on the holistic development of individuals. However, there are big gaps between stakeholders' knowledge, expectations and practices on how to foster such skills. This paper presents evidence on the importance of social and emotional skills; on how policy makers and schools are currently enhancing and monitoring such skills; and, on the existing gaps between knowledge, expectations and practices to mobilise these skills. The paper concludes by pointing ways in which education stakeholders can do more to better develop and mobilise the skills that drive individual's well-being and social progress. The paper draws on findings and frameworks that are being published in a full OECD report entitled ‘Skills for Social Progress: the Power of Social and Emotional Skills’ in the first half of 2015.     

Pre-service and in-service teachers’ knowledge,attitudes and confidence towards self-injury among pupils

Teachers are ideally placed to identify and refer pupils who self-injure, but are often unaware when pupils self-injure or unsure how to respond. The aims of this study were to explore and compare pre-service and in-service teachers’ knowledge and attitudes towards self-injury, and their confidence responding to pupils who self-injure. Pre-service teachers (n = 267) and in-service teachers (n = 261) completed self-report questionnaires. Prior education regarding self-injury was positively related to knowledge and confidence, while pre-service teachers were more confident than in-service teachers in their ability to cope with legal and school regulations. Thematic analysis of open-ended questions indicated that although pre- and in-service teachers are concerned about pupils who self-injure and are willing to help these students, they feel ill-informed about self-injury and requested school policies and additional education regarding the behaviour. Results have implications for educational programmes that prepare pre- and in-service teachers to identify and respond to pupils who self-injure.     

Up or down and out? A systemic analysis of young people's educational pathways in the youth justice system in England and Wales

Many young people in the youth justice system in England and Wales are educationally marginalised and systemic barriers to their engagement with education persist. This article presents an analytical framework for understanding how education and youth justice practices shape young people's educational pathways during their time in the youth justice system with the aim of understanding the systemic dynamics that encourage or impede young people's engagement with education. It draws on data from a case study of 32 young people who were serving either a community or a custodial sentence under the supervision of one youth offending team in England and Wales. Using as analytical starting points Bourdieu's and Wacquant's conceptualisations of competing dynamics within the ‘bureaucratic field’ of state governance and Hodkinson's careership theory, this article discusses the interplay between exclusionary and inclusionary interests operating within and between the agencies of education and youth justice and the extent to which they play a role in sustaining young people's involvement in education or compounding their educational and social marginalisation.     

中国职业足球俱乐部青少年足球运动员培训质量管理与绩效评估指标体系研究

以全面质量管理理论为基础形成的职业足球俱乐部青少年球员培训绩效评估工具已广泛应用于比利时的职业足球俱乐部青少年球员培训绩效评估中。比利时体育行业协会通过“IK Gym”体操俱乐部的全面质量管理体系实现了对其培训质量的管理与评估。而在足球运动技能培训方面,培训质量管理与绩效评估的典范当属“Foot PASS”绩效评估系统,该系统是当前国际上较权威的青少年足球培训的全面质量管理与绩效评估工具。该绩效评估系统成为比利时足球协会管理职业足球俱乐部青少年球员培训工作的有效手段。基于以上,构建中国职业足球俱乐部青少年足球运动员培训质量标准与绩效评估指标体系,以期为中国足球协会及其职业足球俱乐部完善青少年足球运动员培训质量管理制度与绩效考核制度提供理论参考。     

Benefits for immigrant-origin and nonimmigrant-origin youth of discussing immigration in gender and sexuality alliances

In a time of unprecedented polarization in the United States, particularly concerning immigration, schools are uniquely positioned to help students understand the consequences of drastic policy changes. Beyond formal settings such as social studies classes, extracurricular activities may be important for fostering discussions about sociohistorical and policy issues. Such discussions could serve to empower youth from marginalized populations and raise their critical consciousness. Yet the potential outcomes of discussions in these extracurricular settings have not been studied in depth. Using data collected in school-based Gender-and-Sexuality-Alliances (GSAs) throughout Massachusetts during the periods leading up to and following the 2016 US Presidential election, we examined whether discussions of immigration issues in GSAs were associated with greater empowerment and critical consciousness among 580 youth (M _Age = 15.59, range = 10–20 years). Multilevel structural equation models showed that the frequency with which youth discussed immigration, relative to their fellow members, was positively associated with residualized change in perceived peer validation for members in general and with residualized change in hope for immigrant-origin members only. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find significant associations for critical consciousness. Findings suggest how groups addressing issues of equity and justice can promote members' empowerment.