Youth Provision Research Articles

Towards Inclusive Learning Environments (TILE): Developing the ‘Roadmap for the Inclusion of Students with Special Educational Needs in Vocational Education and Workplace Settings’

Twenty years after UNESCO's Salamanca Statement enshrined international action for provision for children, youth and adults with special educational needs within the regular educational system, this article presents the current underpinning international and national UK context for developing inclusion in vocational education and training and workplace settings. This context is explored through the justification for developing an EU‐funded project entitled ‘Towards Inclusive Learning Environments (TILE)’ and the creation of an associated audit tool, the ′Roadmap for Inclusion′, by a partnership group consisting of universities and VET settings from Finland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and England.

Getting Away from it All

Residential trips have formed a core part of youth provision over many years. Joe Lepper explores how these sometimes life-changing experiences have evolved to meet the needs of young people today

Negotiating Family Obligations and Educational Goals Among College‐Enrolled Youth on Jeju Island, Korea

This survey study examined the role of parents in the educational goals of 265 college‐enrolled youth (19–27 years; M = 22 years; 64% female students) on Jeju Island, Korea. A model of shared agency was applied to identify the processes through which associations between family assistance and adjustment can be explained. Four factors of parental educational involvement were found: coactivity (consisting of autonomy support and collaboration), accommodation, noninvolvement, and directing. Results indicated that family assistance was positively related to adjustment and only coactivity was positively correlated to both family assistance and adjustment. Mediation analyses also indicated that youth's provision of family assistance was associated with lower levels of depression and higher satisfaction with life and educational progress through coactivity.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Interventions to Improve the Employability and Employment of Young People in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Interventions to Improve the Employability and Employment of Young People in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: A Systematic Review

‘It felt like i was a black dot on white paper’: examining young former refugees’ experience of entering Australian high schools

Schools are often the first point of contact for young refugees resettling in Australia and play a significant role in establishing meaningful connections to Australian society and a sense of belonging in Australia (Olliff in Settling in: How do refugee young people fair within Australia’s settlement system? Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, Melbourne. http//: www.cmyi.net.au/ResearchandPolicy . Accessed 21 June 2010, 2007; Gifford et al. in: Good Starts for recently arrived youth with refugee backgrounds: Promoting wellbeing in the first three years of settlement in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne: La Trobe Refugee Research Centre. http://www.latrobe.edu.au/larrc/documents-larrc/reports/report-good-starts.pdf . Accessed 4 June 2011, 2009; Sidhu and Taylor in: Educational provision for refugee youth in Australia: Left to chance? Journal of Sociology, 43(3), 283–300, 2007). However, too little is known of how refugee youth encounter school in their new country. This article draws upon individual narratives of young former refugee’s experiences of high schools. It explores the stories told by the young people of being identified as different and of negotiating ways of belonging in schools both academically and socially. It argues that it is how the school positions the newly arrived refugee students within mainstream school culture that opens up or restricts opportunities for inclusion in all aspects of school (in culture and pedagogy).

Representing and Preventing Youth Crime and Disorder: Intended and Unintended Consequences of Targeted Youth Programmes in England

Drawing on a qualitative study conducted in England, this article argues that targeted youth projects often benefit participants, but over-stating their ability to prevent crime and ‘anti-social behaviour’ can be problematic. Voluntary services with limited resources ultimately focus on receptive young people, but pressure to justify funding encourages practitioners, programme managers and policy-makers to highlight the ‘riskiness’ of participants and publicize the most striking successes. Such practices can serve to consolidate negative representations of the risk posed by young people (or ‘define deviance up’) and give credence to the notions of choice and intractability that underpin punitive policies. Meanwhile, alternative justifications for youth provision are silenced.

Adolescent reproductive health services in Jimma City: Accessibility and utilization

BACKGROUN D: Accessibility of health services for reproductive health (RH) is an important factor in increasing use of reproductive health services. Reports show that reproductive health services access in Ethiopia varies by region. A better understanding of the accessibility and utilization of existing reproductive health services by adolescents will help to address gaps with respect to provision of youth friendly services. The objective of this study was to assess the access to and the utilization status of RH services by adolescents in the age group of 15-19 years in Jimma City. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Jimma City, Southwest Ethiopia from February to March 2004. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the sampled population. Adolescents aged between 15 to 19 years were interviewed about their accessibility and utilization of reproductive health services. The data were entered into two different computers using SPSS for windows version 12.0.1 and analyzed using STATA 9.1. Descriptive, bivariate analysis and logistic regression were employed to analyze the data. RESULTS: Ninety five percent of adolescents could access Information, Education and Communication with very easy access and easy accessibility. However, 465(43%) of adolescents had difficulty (difficulty and great difficulty) to access abortion care. Almost all mean index of the variables were close of the mean and midpoint of the accessible average index (2.09±SD=0.52). Among 1082 adolescents, 445(41.1%), and 375(34.7%) were ever and current users of reproductive health services, respectively. Among socio-demographic and economic predictors, age and means of communication in the households showed a significant association with utilization of reproductive health services (p

The Effects of Health Education on Sexual Behavior and Uptake of HIV Counseling and Testing Among out of School Youths in a Nigerian Border Market

Background: This intervention study assessed the effectiveness of health education and provision of free Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) counseling and testing services on sexual behavior and uptake of HIV counseling and testing (HCT) among out of school youths (15 24yrs) in a Nigerian border town market using Seme border as the study group and IdiIroko border as the control group.Methodology: One in two systematic sampling techniques was used for selecting 120 respondents in each border town market. Data was collected using a standardized validated questionnaire.Result: Both groups had similar demographic pattern, mean age of the respondents was 19 years while mean age at sexual debut was 16 years. Condom use increased from 60% to 74%, consistency of use from 15% to 19% while multiple partners decreased from 26% to 19%. Relationship was demonstrated between sexual debut and regular attendance at religious activities, alcohol consumption, having sex and multiple sexual partners. Statistically significant increase in number of youths who had done HCT post intervention from 18%to 59% (P = 0.05) was also observed.Conclusion: Provision of accessible youth friendly voluntary counseling and testing VCT services at the border as well as health education for out of school youths will help in improving uptake of VCT services and condom use among those that are sexually active.

The Health and Health Care of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents

Adolescents face a variety of challenges in their transition to adulthood; lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents face these typical challenges as well as additional challenges that are related to the social stigma of their sexual orientation. For some lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents, this stigma may induce psychosocial stress, leading to increased health risk behaviors and poorer health outcomes. In this article, we review data on the health and health care of LGB adolescents. We examine health indicators and health risks for LGB youth, including substance use, eating disorders, suicidality, risky sexual behaviors, violence exposure and victimization, and homelessness. We also examine health care provision and utilization for LGB youth. Lastly, we discuss ways in which researchers and clinicians can improve LGB adolescent health and health care.

Helping teenagers stop smoking: Comparative observations across youth settings in Cardiff

Objective This paper presents comparative observations between schools/colleges, youth centres, and specialist youth provision, in relation to delivery of the 2tuff2puff six-week smoking cessation and awareness programme to young people in Cardiff. Design A six-week smoking cessation programme was delivered to 12—23 year olds in various youth venues, using weekly records of attendance and compulsory questionnaires delivered by the group facilitator at week one and week six. Setting Twenty-two groups were delivered in 14 youth settings across Cardiff. These settings were categorized into three types: schools/ colleges; youth centres; and specialist youth provisions. Method Data collected from 179 young people at week one and 84 young people at week six were used to measure changes in weekly smoking behaviour, weekly expenditure on cigarettes, knowledge about smoking and smoking cessation, attitudes toward smoking, motivation to quit/ cut down, and attrition. These were compared across the three different setting types. Youth Health Development Officers rated the three setting types on five factors (ease of access/communication with venue; suitability for sessions/acceptability to young people; supportiveness of environment for making a quit attempt; recruitment of young people; and data collection and evaluation) to reflect their practical experiences of delivering the six-week smoking cessation programme across the different youth settings. Results Schools/colleges and specialist youth provision had the highest levels of attendance, and positive change in attitude toward quitting was greatest in specialist youth settings (79 per cent of attendees were more determined to quit). Conclusion Overall, when both practical delivery issues and young peoples' outcome measures were considered, specialist youth provisions were the most effective settings for delivery of this programme. Delivery of smoking awareness as part of a wider health curriculum for groups of excluded young people is also recommended.

Intersections between public and private: community gardens, community service and geographies of care in the US City of Buffalo, NY

Abstract. This paper discusses issues of public space, citizenship, gender, and race in the light of public relocation of responsibility for social services and care to private communities due to the elimination, privatization or devolvement of such services by state restructuring and welfare reform. The presented case studies are taken from a larger study of community gardens in Buffalo, NY. This mixed methods study found connections between community organizations' commitment to community gardening and their involvement in the provision of social, youth, and emergency services, including after school programs, tutoring, refugee services, and winter coat drives. The paper concludes that the everyday lives of Buffalo’s residents within the social, political and economic conditions cannot be separated from the effects of larger structural processes, such as deindustrialization, privatization, and state restructuring.

First-Episode Psychosis in Rural, Coastal and Remote Australian Communities

The aim of this study was to investigate access to care and service delivery for first-episode psychosis (FEP) in rural, coastal and remote regions. Routine clinical outcome data were analysed for patients aged 10-25 years who presented to mental health services in either a rural, coastal or remote region of New South Wales over a 3-year period. The results showed rural region FEP patients travelled significantly further to access services than non-FEP patients. Remote region FEP patients were older and more likely to be male and Aboriginal than non-FEP patients. Alcohol and drug problems were significantly more likely for FEP than non-FEP patients across all regions. Utilization of mental health services was more frequent for FEP than non-FEP children and adolescents. The study highlights the importance of identification of FEP, particularly in the 10-18-year age group, where cognitive problems are likely to adversely affect schooling as well as be detrimental to social relationships. Service provision for FEP youth in rural areas requires innovation and coordination of limited resources, including better provision of training and ongoing clinical supervision.

Educational provision for refugee youth in Australia: left to chance?

This article investigates how education bureaucracies in Australia use languages of categorization and promote community partnerships to construct and govern the refugee subject. We use a framework of governmentality to analyse education policies and statements emerging from two levels of government — Commonwealth and state. Drawing on web-based materials, policy statements and accounts of parliamentary debates, the article documents the ways in which refugee education continues to be subsumed within broader education policies and programmes concerned with social justice, multiculturalism and English language provision. Such categorizations are premised on an undifferentiated ethnoscape that ignores the significantly different learning needs and sociocultural adjustments faced by refugee students compared with migrants and international students. At the same time, educational programmes of inclusion that are concerned with utilizing community organizations to deliver services and enhance participation, point to the emergence of `government through community partnerships' — a mode of governance increasingly associated with advanced liberal societies.

Stories of working with homeless youth: On being “mind-boggling”

This study examines the narratives of 15 youth workers on their experiences with service provision for homeless and street-involved youth. Workers discussed a need to have a versatile approach which can be tailored to an individual youth's circumstances. Establishing a connection based upon valuing, respecting, and liking a youth allows for the development of a trusting relationship which is essential for effective interventions. Also addressed was the social context of this work including relationships among staff, agency structure, and the impact of the stigmatization of homelessness. Lastly, the process of becoming an effective worker was addressed, including the establishment of clear boundaries, recognizing the rewarding aspects of the work, and avoiding burnout.

Rationale and design of the MEMA kwa Vijana adolescent sexual and reproductive health intervention in Mwanza Region, Tanzania

Large-scale innovative, integrated, multifaceted adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) interventions are urgently needed in sub-Saharan Africa. Implementation through schools and health facilities may maximize intervention coverage and sustainability, however the impact of the use of these structures on intervention content and delivery is not well documented. This paper describes the rationale and design of a large-scale multifaceted ASRH intervention, which was developed and evaluated over three years in rural communities in Mwanza Region, North West Tanzania. The intervention comprised community mobilization, participatory reproductive health education in primary schools, youth-friendly reproductive health services and community-based condom provision for youth. We examine the effect of socioeconomic, cultural and infrastructural factors on intervention content and implementation. This paper demonstrates the means by which such interventions can be feasibly and sustainably implemented to a high standard through existing government health and school structures. However, the use of these structures involves compromise on some key aspects of intervention design and requires the development of complementary strategies to access out-of-school youth and the wider community.

Trends in HIV seropositivity among young adults in the Niger Delta of Nigeria: a five-year survey

HIV infection is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. This paper describes the seroprevalence rates of HIV infection in young people (10–24 years) tested at a hospital centre in Port Harcourt, a cosmopolitan city in the Niger Delta, the heart of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. Subjects for this descriptive study included a total of 2033 consecutively recruited young symptomatic persons referred from the outpatient clinic and wards for retroviral screening at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital for the period 1999-2003. HIV antibody test was carried out using the commercially available double enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of Immunocomb and Genscreen HIV I and II kits. The overall seroprevalence rate was 34.7%. The rate of HIV prevalence increased gradually with age (X2 = 73.82; p = 0.001). The seroprevalence of HIV was significantly higher in females compared to males comprising 41.2% and 22.3% respectively (X2 = 72.90; p = 0.01). Data indicated that HIV prevalence declined from 34.5% in 1999, to 29.7% in 2000, 22.7% in 2001, increased subsequently to 35.5% in 2002 and peaked at 42.2% in 2003. HIV–1 was the predominant viral serotype (92.2%). This study suggests a rising prevalence of HIV among young adults in Nigeria. This calls for an urgent need for government, non-governmental organizations and faith-based organizations (FBOs) to embark on interventional measures with emphasis on behavioural and social changes coupled with the provision of youth friendly health services. Keywords: HIV, seropositivity, young adults, Niger Delta, NigeriaNigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 48(4) 2005: 95-97

The amusement arcade as a social space for adolescents: an empirical study

A questionnaire survey of 460 children undertaken in 1990 gathered data on arcade use in adolescents aged between 11 and 16 years. More of the children surveyed visited arcades regularly than any other leisure provision for youth. The primary motivation was to "hang out and/or meet friends". "Regular" arcade visitors ( n = 117) varied sufficiently from the more "casual" visitors ( n = 197) in their orientation to, and experiences in arcades, to support Fisher's (1993 a) observational finding of a distinct social group. Regular visitors were also more likely to score positively on indices screening for "addiction." Their own comments on amusement arcades are reported here. The study raises important questions about the unrestricted access of children to potentially addictive technologies, the exposure of children to socially unacceptable activities in some arcades and the perceived lack of relevant alternatives. Suggestions are made for future research in this field.

Constructing commonsense—young people's beliefs about AIDS

Abstract There is growing interest amongst social researchers in enquiry related to lay beliefs about HIV infection and AIDS. Research of this kind is important not only theoretically, in that it may help us to understand more clearly the interface between professional and lay beliefs about health and illness, but also practically, in that it may lead to more effective policy interventions.This paper reports on findings from a series of in‐depth interviews carried out with young people participating in local authority and voluntary sector youth provision and in youth training schemes. It identifies lay beliefs about the nature, causes and origins of AIDS amongst young people in lesbian and gay youth groups, and contrasts these with the beliefs of young people in undifferentiated forms of youth provision.

Participation of Young Adults in Youth Organisations in the United Kingdom: A Review

The low participation of older teenagers and ‘young adults’ in non-formal youth provision has been a longstanding matter of concern in Britain. The aim of this paper is to generate some hypotheses about this ‘fall-off in participation in youth organisations in the young adult years (16-20) through selective review of research and other significant literature on the involvement of young adults in educational youth provision. A second paper reports the results obtained on testing of these hypotheses with a population of young people aged between 16 and 20. Statistical evidence of levels of attachment to youth organisations is reviewed in Section 2. In Section 3, patterns of involvement in youth organisations are investigated. Relationships between levels and patterns of involvement and the social and demographic characteristics are scanned, and a summary of the principal factors which appear to be associated with participation is produced. Section 4 identifies and discusses some of the available evidence concerning the effectiveness of various forms of organised youth provision as vehicles for the social education and development of the young adult. Finally, hypotheses concerning the ‘fall-off in participation are suggested. © 1987, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.