Exploring the conceptualization and research of empowerment in the field of youth

Xavier Úcar Martínez,Jaume Trilla Bernet,Manel Jiménez-Morales,Pere Soler Masó

doi:10.1080/02673843.2016.1209120

Abstract

The concept of empowerment has become increasingly widespread in recent years. Its use is still, however, somewhat controversial and diverse, particularly when referring to young people. This article presents a systematic analysis of how empowerment has been conceptualized over the past 15 years and has been applied to young people. A systematic search of the major databases filtered by relevance provided 297 bibliographical references. The results confirm the ambiguous nature of the concept and the imprecision with which it is used, although they do link its use to three common concepts: power, participation and education. The concept of youth empowerment needs to be defined in order to highlight any nuances that distinguish it from the generic use of the term. The main dimensions associated with youth empowerment have been identified as: (a) that of growth and well-being; (b) relational; (c) educational; (d) political; (e) transformative; and, finally, (d) emancipative.

Highlights

Since its first emergence in the field of social sciences, the concept of empowerment has slowly become much more widely used by a number of scientific and professional groups
We are working from the perspective of social pedagogy that when analysing this research, emphasis was placed on those models, policies and programmes designed to have an impact on youth empowerment that were conceived during the first few years of this century
This study has presented a systematic documentary analysis of research carried out over the past 15 years into the concept of empowerment and, its uses and applications in the field of youth

Summary

Introduction

Since its first emergence in the field of social sciences, the concept of empowerment has slowly become much more widely used by a number of scientific and professional groups. This study aims to analyse the complexity of the concept of empowerment. The first is related to the concept itself: we aim to discover how, and with what meanings, it has been used in research. Our aim is to see how research into youth has analysed and characterized the concept. It should be noted, we are working from the perspective of social pedagogy that when analysing this research, emphasis was placed on those models, policies and programmes designed to have an impact on youth empowerment that were conceived during the first few years of this century

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion