Conclusion: The Future for Young People and Social Control – Learning from the Problems and Prospects

Abstract

In this final chapter, the authors look back across the collective insights outlined within the pages of the book in relation to the differing ways in which young people often feel stigmatised and oppressed by the most dominant control agents. Drawing upon the writings of Wacquant, Bauman and Foucault, they summarise the impact these experiences have in terms of the exclusionary closure and deepening marginalisation that many young disadvantaged people experience. The chapter also looks back across the collective insights from the outlined case studies and draw some conclusions about the role that educationalists, police officers, rehabilitation and support agencies can play in transforming the entrenched structures of oppression and nurturing emancipatory practices that empower. In drawing upon these collective insights, the authors highlight the key implications for future policy and practice in western societies in relation to young people and social control.