Disadvantaged Youth Research Articles

Reaching Adulthood: Persistent Beliefs about the Importance and Timing of Adult Milestones

Since 2000, transition to adulthood behaviors changed across gender and social class. Yet it is unclear whether these changes reflect a corresponding shift in beliefs. In particular, widening inequality and changes to higher education may differentially alter the opportunities available to young adults across gender and socioeconomic status, potentially changing attitudes about entering adulthood. Using the General Social Survey’s 2002 and 2012 waves, this paper explores beliefs about the importance and timing of six adult milestones, completing education, becoming financially independent, working full-time, living independently, getting married, and having children, across age, gender, and social class. We find that similarities in beliefs across gender and age groups persisted. In contrast, even though Americans from different social class backgrounds report similar beliefs about milestone importance, we continue to find social class differences in timing beliefs. Our findings highlight the continued need for institutional supports for disadvantaged youth moving towards adulthood.

Upper secondary education for youth at risk: A comparative analysis of education and training programmes in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) plays a key role in reducing early leaving from education and training, and integrating youth at risk in upper secondary education. To ensure that more young people complete upper secondary education, the OECD suggests designing interventions that address the specific needs of youth at risk like changes in the standard duration, preparatory or personalised support measures. Based on a comparative analysis of such programmes tailored to the needs of youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, the objective of this article is to identify different education and training models that these countries employ to include youth at risk in upper secondary education.Approach: The study is based on document analysis; the documents studied are public documents like law texts and white papers from the education authorities as well as research publications. The interventions proposed by the OECD to adapt training programmes to the specific needs of youth at risk were chosen as a basis for the comparative analysis. Further structural characteristics of the programmes complemented the analysis.Findings: The study found four different types of education and training models for youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland: Shortened (Norway, Switzerland), prolonged (Austria), individualised (Austria, Norway and Sweden) and preparatory programmes (Sweden). Preparatory and prolonged programmes aim to help young people to achieve ordinary upper secondary qualifications through preparatory measures, more time or more support. Individualised or shortened programmes aim to adapt education and training programmes to young people's needs by reducing the programmes’ demands. In all four countries, youths have the opportunity to conclude their education with a certificate at a level lower than 'regular' upper secondary education.Conclusion: The four countries surveyed differ widely in terms of educational traditions and the position of VET at upper secondary level. Regarding the integration of disadvantaged youth into education and work, the differences concerning access to upper secondary education, the importance of VET at upper secondary level and the recognition of training programmes for youth at risk may be of particular relevance. Further research is needed to empirically investigate the effectiveness of the identified education and training models as a means of integrating youth at risk into upper secondary education.

Upper secondary education for youth at risk: A comparative analysis of education and training programmes in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) plays a key role in reducing early leaving from education and training, and integrating youth at risk in upper secondary education. To ensure that more young people complete upper secondary education, the OECD suggests designing interventions that address the specific needs of youth at risk like changes in the standard duration, preparatory or personalised support measures. Based on a comparative analysis of such programmes tailored to the needs of youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, the objective of this article is to identify different education and training models that these countries employ to include youth at risk in upper secondary education.Approach: The study is based on document analysis; the documents studied are public documents like law texts and white papers from the education authorities as well as research publications. The interventions proposed by the OECD to adapt training programmes to the specific needs of youth at risk were chosen as a basis for the comparative analysis. Further structural characteristics of the programmes complemented the analysis.Findings: The study found four different types of education and training models for youth at risk in Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland: Shortened (Norway, Switzerland), prolonged (Austria), individualised (Austria, Norway and Sweden) and preparatory programmes (Sweden). Preparatory and prolonged programmes aim to help young people to achieve ordinary upper secondary qualifications through preparatory measures, more time or more support. Individualised or shortened programmes aim to adapt education and training programmes to young people's needs by reducing the programmes’ demands. In all four countries, youths have the opportunity to conclude their education with a certificate at a level lower than 'regular' upper secondary education.Conclusion: The four countries surveyed differ widely in terms of educational traditions and the position of VET at upper secondary level. Regarding the integration of disadvantaged youth into education and work, the differences concerning access to upper secondary education, the importance of VET at upper secondary level and the recognition of training programmes for youth at risk may be of particular relevance. Further research is needed to empirically investigate the effectiveness of the identified education and training models as a means of integrating youth at risk into upper secondary education.

Ongoing engagement in organized activities may buffer disadvantaged youth against increasing externalizing behaviors

This study examined whether dropping out of non-sport organized activities predicted increased externalizing behaviors and if youth attending socioeconomically disadvantaged schools were disproportionately affected. Adolescents in grade 8 who engaged in organized activities (n = 418, MT1 = 13.46, SDT1 = 0.31) nominated the activity in which they spent the most time and were categorized as dropping out, swapping into a different activity, or remaining in that activity 1 year later. Multinominal logistic regression indicated that lower socioeconomic status (SES) predicted dropping out of activities compared to both swapping and remaining. Additionally, we found that dropping out of organized activities predicted increases in externalizing behaviors for adolescents who attended schools of lower or moderate SES. Conversely, there were no significant differences among participation statuses for adolescents in higher SES schools. These results provide evidence that socioeconomically disadvantaged youth are both the most likely to drop out and the most likely to benefit from continued participation in organized activities.

THE NEW “YOUTH FOUNTAIN” OF ROMANIA: HOW TENNIS OVERTOOK GYMNASTICS AS THE PREMIER JUVENILE SPORT OF THE COUNTRY

Starting with the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, which saw then 14-year-old Nadia ComAƒneci book her place in the history of sport with the first perfect 10 ever recorded, gymnastics became a national craze in Romania, where thousands of young girls, as little as 3, would flock the Deva training complex in Transylvania, in a bid to become “the new Nadia”. Following the Romanian Revolution in 1989, gymnastics remained at the fore of sport in a society marred by corruption and poverty, acting as a unique springboard to stardom for disadvantaged youth from all over the country, second only to football prestige-wise. However, after peaking in the early 2000s, Romanian gymnastics eventually dwindled. We argue that this reverse in the history of the sport in Romania and its sharp drop in youth appeal come down not only to falling standards or the steady “bankruptcy” of the Communist-inherited sports system, but also to a change in mentality and the emergence of a new socio-economic class which embraced tennis as a positional good. Interest in the sport is today at an all time high thanks to the exploits of Simona Halep in particular, making tennis the new “youth fountain” of Romania.

Perspectives of the key stakeholders of the KickStart for Kids school breakfast program

AimTo explore the perceptions and experiences of key stakeholders involved in the implementation and delivery of the KickStart for Kids school breakfast program. BackgroundFood insecurity is where individuals or households do not have enough food to meet dietary needs. In Australia, depending on the measurement tool used, the prevalence of food insecurity varies from 4% to 36% of the population. In comparison to other OECD countries, Australia is ranked in the bottom third for the level of childhood food insecurity.In response to an identified need, the KickStart for Kids school breakfast program was implemented in 2009 to provide food to disadvantaged youth. Currently the program provides approximately 50,000 breakfasts daily in 350 South Australian schools. MethodsEleven key stakeholders representing program volunteers, board members and donors were recruited for this qualitative case study using a purposeful sampling strategy. Program volunteers were recruited from primary schools in socio-economically deprived areas in the north, south and west of Adelaide, South Australia. Data were collected through focus group and one-on-one interviews. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. ResultsData analysis generated three key themes related to the perceived program benefits to children, and perceived strengths and challenges to the program. Overall, the key stakeholders identified several benefits to the children and strengths of the program. However, there were significant challenges that may impact on the program’s ongoing sustainability and delivery of school breakfasts. ConclusionsThis qualitative study provides novel and valuable information on the perceptions and experiences of key stakeholders who are involved in the implementation and delivery of an Australian school breakfast program. Additional work could measure the program’s impact on children’s health and development outcomes. Further research could also be undertaken to add the voices of the school community, as well as the parents and children who participate.

Needs assessment for vocational skills training for unemployed youth in eThekwini Municipality, South Africa

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how the eThekwini Municipal Academy (EMA) conducts training needs assessments for vocational skills training for unemployed and disadvantaged youths, KwaZulu-Natal province. By examining the process of training needs assessment (TNA), the focus was on determining how it might influence the success in employment outcomes of the graduates.Design/methodology/approachThe researcher used mixed research methods of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative research method was a survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire helped produce a detailed description of respondents' opinions and experiences. The qualitative method in the form of semi-structured interviews helped to present the data from the perspective of the training managers on the process of TNA and opportunities in accessing employment for the graduates. Purposive sampling was used to select 24 training centre managers and 512 trainees. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS software, and data from interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.FindingsThe findings revealed that the most important aspect of the TNA process was that the EMA managers selected and design a training course after consulting and engaging the stakeholders who were also prospective employers to identify needs and job availability within the companies or government departments. The author concludes that the process of TNA involving all stakeholders helped to provide vocational training programmes, which were demand-driven. The process also might promote the best and most promising practices enhancing the transition from skills acquisition to skills utilisation in the labour market.Practical implicationsThe results of the study have shown the three main factors that affect the TNA process, which are an individual or person analysis, consulting key stakeholders and labour market assessment. It is hoped that the results of the study can be used by training practitioners for better understanding of factors that can contribute to the effectiveness of vocational skills training for unemployed youth.Originality/valueThe paper is unique because it contributes to the knowledge by explaining the link between the effectiveness of vocational skills training and a proper TNA for unemployed youth. It also provides knowledge on key factors in conducting the TNA process by involving all stakeholders. Existing TNA research focuses on competency-based need analysis for employees of companies, organisations and institutions. Therefore, this paper is significant because it helps to understand the role of TNA in enhancing the effectiveness of vocational skills training for unemployed and disadvantaged youths.

The Drug Business as a Field of Struggle in Turkey

ABSTRACT The organization of the street-level drug business has been a central concern of many contemporary urban crime ethnographies in the West; however, it has never been researched in Turkey. Addressing the literature gap, this article examines the methods of a local drug enterprise in Ankara through offender-based research. Ethnographic data demonstrates that the local drug trade tends to be structured as a field of struggle in which agents make affective investments and wrestle for material and symbolic rewards, characterized by fast cash and notoriety. Resultantly, two main ranks emerge, of drug enterprise owners and dealers/lookouts. Enterprise owners journey far in their criminal trajectories and thus hold a higher level of street capital dependent on their prestige and infamous reputations. However, lookouts consist of lower-class, disadvantaged youths lacking any experience aside from daring and physical prowess. Their search for recognition and an ethos of criminal cultural consumerism create a potential source of conflict and therefore nourishes the dynamism of the field. Unless the marginalized youths’ such psychosocial dynamics are considered, anti-drug policies will go wide of the mark due to their ignorance.

Leadership, empowerment and coaching: how community sport coaches in the UK can effect behavioural change in disadvantaged youth through incrementally given roles of responsibility

ABSTRACTGrowing evidence outlines how sport can assist with community regeneration and other social policy objectives. Given that the impact of austerity measures within the UK has impacted significantly on funding patterns for sport, it is perhaps somewhat surprising that statements by the Conservative government continue to emphasise that sport and inclusive sport programmes have a crucial role to play in an effective society.The focus of this research was to understand how, in the context of austerity, experienced community coaches view good practice in sport intervention programmes. The research was undertaken by interviewing ten sport coaches with significant experience of community coaching in the south of England. Using Jennings et al.’s (2006) Critical Youth Empowerment (CYE) model to interpret the data, the findings suggest that developing leadership roles and community level empowerment facilitates changes in individual behaviour and more sustainable projects. Overall, the research demonstrates that the role of the coach is paramount to the success of these programmes. In particular, the research findings indicate how developing trusting, boundary-enabled relationships with participants is key to the success of the programmes.

The potential of Accelerated Learning Programmes (ALPs) for conflict-ridden countries and regions: Lessons learned from an experience in Iraq

Accelerated learning programmes (ALPs) provide a fast-track second-chance opportunity to complete formal education, enabling disadvantaged children and youth to catch up with their peers. In 2005, after a preliminary pilot phase, the Government of Iraq, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) implemented an ALP initially in 10 of Iraq’s 18 governorates with the intention of providing an estimated 50,000 out-of-school, often traumatised and disenfranchised children aged 12–18 years with an opportunity to complete the six-year primary cycle in three years. This experience generated some insights which may still be of practical use today in other conflict-ridden countries and regions. In order to highlight how the lessons learned just over 10 years ago are relevant to similar situations elsewhere today, this article discusses the findings of an independent evaluation of the programme in 2008. The available evaluation data imply that this ALP addressed a significant need and was appreciated by the target group, with 75 % of learners stating that they liked the ALP very much. Around 90 % of ALP graduates continued either in secondary education, or studying in other programmes, joined an apprenticeship scheme or found employment. Both survey and interview data suggest that this ALP did more than create educational opportunities for young persons; it also helped young people obtain a confident perspective for their own future. Consequently, this made them less vulnerable to participation in subversive activities (such as, for example, being recruited into militias). This is a lesson not just relevant to Iraq at the time, but to a wide range of unstable contexts across the world.

Disadvantaged youth’s participation in collective decision making

This study examines the fulfillment of disadvantaged youth’s participation rights in collective decision making. It was conducted in participatory frameworks operating under the auspices of a municipality in Israel that implemented a national program aiming to improve the living conditions of children and at-risk youth. The qualitative research design was based on semi-structured interviews conducted with nine youth at risk, aged 16–18, who had participated in collective decision-making processes and with 10 adults who facilitated these participation processes or held senior administrative positions. The findings showed that disadvantaged youth’s participation in collective decision making is encumbered by unique barriers relating to parents’ livelihood challenges, the absence of family support, difficulties in persevering and in complying with timetables, a derogatory attitude expressed by adults not involved in the facilitation process, and youth’s apprehension regarding these attitudes. Factors surmounting these barriers included relational participation, allowing the participants a sense of belonging; adapted participation, based on flexibility and mediation; and counter participation, which stands as a positive alternative to being marginalized at school. The findings also showed that the influence of the youth’s participation encompassed various collective and personal domains, including the ways it transformed the social construction of the youth. The conclusions are grounded in Foucault’s writings on heterotopia (1967). This conceptualization highlights the dual role of the examined participation as an other space for the youth, which provided them with hegemonic cultural capital and narratives, but was also intertwined with their daily lives in their urban environment context.

Digital Street Culture Decoded: Why criminalizing drill music is Street Illiterate and Counterproductive

AbstractAuthorities in the United Kingdom censure ‘drill rap’, the artistic expression of disadvantaged urban youth, citing its connections to serious violence. This is shown to be based on a thin, ‘street-illiterate’ understanding of the genre that ultimately rests on stereotypes of young black men as violent ‘gang’ members. In place of this misreading, a street-literate interpretation of drill is offered from a deep and nuanced analysis of YouTube videos and below the line discussions. It is demonstrated that it is inaccurate and unhelpful to view drill videos as evidence of violent crime or as attempts to glorify or precipitate it. Instead, the stylized videos and violent lyricism are shown to be forms of artistic performance that reveal an ambiguous relationship to criminality. Marginalizing the excluded further, video removals and restrictions on performance are shown to be counterproductive from a crime-reduction perspective. New developments in technology and culture can take shape around existing patterns of criminalization.

Neighborhood poverty predicts altered neural and behavioral response inhibition

Socioeconomic disadvantage during childhood is associated with a myriad of negative adult outcomes. One mechanism through which disadvantage undermines positive outcomes may be by disrupting the development of self-control. The goal of the present study was to examine pathways from three key indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage – low family income, low maternal education, and neighborhood poverty – to neural and behavioral measures of response inhibition. We utilized data from a representative cohort of 215 twins (ages 7–18 years, 70% male) oversampled for exposure to disadvantage, who participated in the Michigan Twins Neurogenetics Study (MTwiNS), a study within the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR). Our child-friendly Go/No-Go task activated the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and activation during this task predicted behavioral inhibition performance, extending prior work on adults to youth. Critically, we also found that neighborhood poverty, assessed via geocoding, but not family income or maternal education, was associated with IFG activation, a finding that we replicated in an independent sample of disadvantaged youth. Further, we found that neighborhood poverty predicted response inhibition performance via its effect on IFG activation. These results provide the first mechanistic evidence that disadvantaged contexts may undermine self-control via their effect on the brain. The broader neighborhood, beyond familial contexts, may be critically important for this association, suggesting that contexts beyond the home have profound effects on the developing brain and behaviors critical for future health, wealth, and wellbeing.

Dreamless futures: a micro-sociological framework for studying how aspirations develop and wither

ABSTRACT For some youth, thinking about the future – let alone expressing aspirations for the future – is a daunting task. This incapacity to aspire is problematic in itself, but particularly as neoliberal societies widely expect young people from adolescence onwards to have a plan for their own future. In our research among disadvantaged youth in Europe, we observed such dreamless predicaments countless times, prompting us to wonder: how and when do aspirations emerge? Why do they flourish or wither away over time? Why do youth from similar backgrounds, facing comparable levels of adversity, relate so differently to their future potential? Although the capacity to aspire is largely conditioned by one’s social, economic and cultural background, it is not a given: its development depends on how individual life trajectories and the accumulated experience of social interactions become resources to explore the future in a productive way. Examining the micro-sociological processes through which the capacity to aspire unfolds is critical for understanding how young people learn to aspire and act on their aspirations in the long run. Building on insights from Appadurai, Bourdieu and research in continental Europe, this article proposes a conceptual framework for understanding how aspirations develop and wither.

A silver lining for disadvantaged youth on the apprenticeship market: an experimental study of employers’ hiring preferences

ABSTRACT In dual vocational education and training (VET) systems, school-leavers in their mid-teens who wish to pursue vocational certificates through in-firm apprenticeships are subjected to the training providers’ quite selective hiring-processes. Previous research shows that youth with weak school performances are one of the groups that have the largest difficulties being hired as apprentices. Less investigated in the literature is what employer characteristics that are conducive for their willingness to hire a disadvantaged apprentice: both on the level of the organisation and of the recruiter. I draw on organisational and institutional literature and on person-organisation fit and ethical decision-making theory to formulate expectations regarding the preferences of the organisations and recruiters. The applied method is a factorial survey experiment administered to in-firm vocational trainers with recruitment authority in the commercial occupation in Switzerland. The findings show that public sector employers are more lenient towards candidates with weaker academic achievements than employers in the private sector. Moreover, respondents with a more egalitarian outlook on the access to vocational training for disadvantaged youths tend to lower their thresholds for the candidates’ academic achievements.

What kinds of career options do rural disadvantaged youth want to know about? Career needs assessment framework and findings from two different contexts in India

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present a framework to examine the kinds of careers that rural disadvantaged youth would like to know about in a career guidance intervention as also related findings from two different rural disadvantaged contexts in India. Differences across gender, age group, region, and participation/non-participation in youth programmes are also explored. The results validate the importance of comprehensive career needs assessment and provide specific directions for designing and adapting career guidance interventions for rural disadvantaged youth. Implications for research and practice are discussed in general as well as for the specific contexts included in this study.

Falling on Deaf Ears? An Analysis of Youth Political Claims in the European Mainstream Press

There is a growing body of work on the ability of young people and minorities to have their voices heard in the public sphere, particularly with advances in information and communication technologies and the emancipatory expectations that ensued. Are all young people, in all their diversity, equally likely to have their political claims relayed by the mainstream press? Is the growing prevalence of social media communication reflected in mainstream media agenda setting? Does it contribute to political equality in terms of representation in the mainstream press? This article aims to answer these questions through a large-scale political claims analysis in 45 newspapers across nine European countries. It comes to confirm the theoretical underpinnings laid out by scholars like Herman and Chomsky with their analysis of media agenda setting and power relations or Chantal Mouffe and her notion of agonistic pluralism and the need to address unequal access to the public sphere. Overall, our findings suggest that young people in general—but even more so disadvantaged youth socioeconomic groups—are misrepresented in mainstream newspapers and that the increasing prevalence of social media communication does not seem to be reflected in mainstream media agenda setting.

Health Promotion in Socially Vulnerable Youth: Sports as a Powerful Vehicle?

Community sport has emerged in the past decades and uses sports as a lever to improve health and well-being among socially disadvantaged youth. Despite this premise, we do not know whether and to what extent health promotion aims are achieved within community sports practice. Measurable actions are needed, but it can be hard for researchers or practitioners to know how to approach this. This study aimed at developing a health-promoting intervention targeting youth attending community sports. To this aim, we used a planned approach for intervention design within a community-based participatory research design. The result is a group-based program promoting health-supportive behavior among community sport coaches, as we found coaches to be quintessential in fostering motivation toward health behavior change in vulnerable youth attending community sports. The design of such a complex intervention is difficult, yet tractable, when using a planned approach. Of importance, community engagement was the core of our work and we provide the reader with detailed examples on the combined use of participatory research and planned intervention design. This article provides an exemplar of how to approach the development of a health-promoting intervention in hard-to-reach populations.

Generalized self-efficacy of youth in the new territories

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the generalized self-efficacy (GSE) of youth in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Youth issues have been at the forefront of political discourse in the region and often youth are presented in the media as having fundamental deficits, which are tied to growing inequality and lack of social mobility. This study offers more perspective of the characteristics of Hong Kong youth to contribute to the literature as well as influence the discourse on youth and youth issues. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a community survey of youth in the New Territories of Hong Kong with over 2000 respondents. The survey was based on a valid and reliable instrument on GSE to measure the GSE of youth in the region. GSE characteristics are analyzed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s α for internal consistency, factor analysis to verify the dimensional nature of the scale. The relationships between GSE and age and gender were analyzed using multiple linear regression model. Findings Findings indicated that despite a slightly higher, yet statistically significant GSE scores for females, and little impact of age on GSE, Hong Kong youth have normal levels of GSE. This finding offers a counter to the pathologizing of youth’s individual characteristics, and implies the need for a shift in discourse toward more targeted examination of the structural issues that act as barriers to social mobility of today’s young people in Hong Kong. Research limitations/implications The study focused on GSE, which is correlated with other constructs such as confidence, but not established in causal relationships with other variables. More research is needed to link GSE and confidence in these groups, as well as links to structural issues that may impact various youth characteristics. Practical implications The study offers insight, which could be used to inform Non-Governmental Organizations and educational programs targeting disadvantaged youth. Programs that pathologize youth characteristics may be able to employ the findings to shift approaches toward more targeted skills-building as well as programming addressing structural barriers. Social implications The study offers a counter-narrative to the contemporary deficit view of today’s youth in Hong Kong. This study provides basis for shifting the discourse away from situating social issues in Hong Kong at the individual level with youth, and toward structural, societal level influences on inequality and social mobility of younger generations. Originality/value Although GSE has been measured across the globe, this study sought to target the GSE of a group that has been framed in the media and political discourse as lacking in a variety of important characteristics. This study’s findings offer a counter-narrative to the generally negative attitudes toward youth as shy, lacking in confidence, antisocial and without a strong work ethic.

Implementing an outreach headspace mental health service to increase access for disadvantaged and rural youth in Southern Tasmania.

Barriers, including distance and lack of transport, make it difficult for young people to access mental health services such as headspace. A collaborative mental health outreach service initiative with outcome measures assessed at baseline and after 2years. The service was designed and implemented by headspace Hobart and Pulse Youth Health Service based in Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. Number of rural and socio-economically disadvantaged young people accessing the outreach service. Wait time to see a mental health clinician. Organisational leadership and adoption of co-design principles. Staff and youth from both services were engaged in planning and implementation. Regular service reviews were undertaken by representatives from both organisations. Numbers of young people from rural and socio-economically disadvantaged areas accessing the service increased. Wait times to see a mental health clinician were reduced by a minimum 10 working days. Staff engagement was vital in supporting and promoting the new outreach service. The risk of diluting the headspace model fidelity was ameliorated by collaborating with an existing, complimentary youth health service. The success of the service has resulted in four more outreach sites. Although administration resources are stretched, the outreach model offers an opportunity to increase access to youth-friendly mental health services for young people from disadvantaged and rural areas of Southern Tasmania.