Participation Of Young People Research Articles

Children's Participation in Brazil – A Brief Genealogy and Recent Innovations

AbstractThis paper provides an overview of significant developments in Brazil in regard to children and young people's rights and participation in the public sphere. The paper addresses the importance of historically contextualizing particular practices and policies towards children and young people, in order to understand present manifestations of their "participation". Outlining the Brazilian context of deep inequality, the paper reflects how different childhoods, that of the rich and of the poor, have been differently categorised and acted upon. The paper goes on to give an account of the important movements of mass participation that emerged through the 1970s, in particular those concerning Popular Education, that sought to dismantle repressive institutions and relationships within the country, including those towards the children of the poorest sectors of the population. Important here is the influence of Brazilian pedagogue and activist Paulo Freire, whose ideas around 'conscientization' and their subsequent impact on participatory practices with children and young people are also addressed. The paper concludes with a brief overview of recent research on the multiple spaces of participation young people are engaged in, offering some possible avenues for future research.

Exploring social and environmental factors affecting adolescents' participation in physical activity

This study explores the social factors that influence young people's participation in school and out of school physical activities. Fifty-two 16-year-old adolescents from different socioeconomic backgrounds in one suburban and one inner-city secondary school in the Midlands, UK, participated in group interviews which explored their perceptions about physical activity and the constraints they had experienced. The study suggests that involvement in physical activity is linked with students' social class, home environment and economic status. The level of participation of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds was limited compared to their higher socioeconomic counterparts. Furthermore, adolescents' `cultural', physical' and `economic' capital were salient factors in their involvement in physical activity settings. This study stresses the need for better and wider provision of structured physical activity in schools in economically deprived areas to compensate for lower participation levels.

Young people's participation in extracurricular physical education: A study of 15—16 year olds in North-West England and North-East Wales

This paper examines the levels and forms of participation in extracurricular physical education (PE) of a cohort of 1010 15—16 year olds attending seven state schools in north-west England and north-east Wales. The data reveal that extracurricular PE provision in all schools retained a particular focus on competitive team sports alongside a number of recreational partner sports and individualized activities. At the same time, the study confirmed previous findings that young people's reported levels and forms of participation in different sports and physical activities in extracurricular PE varied significantly and differentially according to gender and, to some extent, social class. To this configuration, however, needs to be added the particularity of the schools young people attend. Schools evidently influenced patterns of participation, particularly among 15—16-year-old girls. It seems likely that the medium through which higher rates of female participation are realized —particularly in lower working class areas — is the particular blend of sports and physical activities available in extracurricular provision. In other words, the kind of sports and physical activities a school provides appears to be a critical factor in understanding school-level differences in participation. In this regard, it seems that becoming a Specialist Sports College is prominent among a number of developments which may result in a diversification of extracurricular PE opportunities.

Principles of youth participation in mental health services

Young people with mental illness face many barriers in accessing care and often have different needs to those of adult consumers. Young people's participation in mental health services is one way of addressing quality and access issues, through receiving feedback and implementing youth-driven and youth-friendly strategies. headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, established in July 2006, highlights the mental health care sector's commitment to young people. Existing youth participation programs provide examples of what can be achieved at national and local levels and with varying levels of financial and other support. These include: Ybblue, the youth program of beyondblue; Reach Out!, a web-based service; Headroom, providing health promotion and a website; and Platform Team (ORYGEN Youth Health), comprising current and past clients who advise the service and provide peer support. Current practice in youth participation in mental health services involves a variety of methods, such as ensuring information and education is appropriate for a youth audience, and participating in peer-support programs and staff selection panels. Challenges in the future development of youth participation in mental health services include avoiding tokenism, acknowledging that young people are not a uniform group, translating national strategies into local improvements in services, and gaining the support and cooperation of health care workers in genuine participation.

Children's and Young People's Involvement and Participation in Mental Health Care.

Accountability to service users and the wider public has become a guiding principle for the NHS and a central theme of consecutive pieces of policy that place participation and involvement at the centre of clinical practice and service provision. This paper will look at the background and objectives of children and young people's participation in two key policy areas: their own mental health care, and the planning and delivery of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). In doing so, the paper will highlight children and young people's unique contribution to clinical care and examine current knowledge and practice that encourages their involvement in clinical processes and service development.

Young people's participation in National Curriculum Physical Education: A study of 15—16 year olds in North-West England and North-East Wales

Drawing on data from a broader study which investigated the place of spor t and physical activity in the lives of 15—16 year olds in England and Wales, this paper examines a relatively neglected dimension of research in physical education, namely, young people's par ticipation in spor t and physical activity through National Curriculum Physical Education (NCPE). The paper repor ts upon data generated by questionnaires completed by 1010 15—16 year olds who attended six secondar y schools in the Nor th-West of England and one secondar y school in the Nor th-East of Wales during 2003 and 2004. The study revealed strong inter-school variations in the mixes of spor ts that pupils experienced within NCPE. More specifically, the findings revealed that NCPE was largely dominated by competitive team-based spor ts that tend to be gender-stereotyped, alongside more individualized and less-competitive physical activities. It was also clear, however, that the repor ted levels and forms of participation in different spor ts and physical activities in NCPE during Years 10 and 11 varied significantly and differentially according to gender, social class, the school which young people attended, specialist spor ts college status and whether youngsters studied GCSE PE. The paper concludes by suggesting that inter-school variations are probably explainable in terms of a combination of traditions, facilities and the enthusiasms and perceptions of PE teachers.

Response to Review of Children, Young People and Social Inclusion: Participation for What?

245 Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 17 No. 3 (2007) ISSN: 1546-2250 Response to Review of Children, Young People and Social Inclusion: Participation for What? Kay Tisdall University of Edinburgh Citation: Tisdall, Kay. (2007). "Response to Review of Children, Young People and Social Inclusion: Participation for What?." Children, Youth and Environments 17 (3). Read this Book Review As editors, we appreciate the careful and complementary attention the reviewer has given to the book. We indeed hope that it will make a contribution, in the inter-related areas of social inclusion and participation. There have been a number of subsequent activities that may be of interest to readers: The Children and Young People"s Participation Learning Network has been formed. This network seeks to stimulate thinking, policy and practice concerning children's and young people's participation. It brings together practitioners, policy-makers, academics and other researchers, as well as children and young people. For further information, seehttp://www.uwe.ac.uk/solar/ChildParticipationNetwork/Home.ht m Last year, a further seminar was held at the University of Edinburgh on Theorising Children's Participation. This intensive seminar brought together UK experts from such disciplines as community development, development studies, social anthropology and politics, with colleagues from Brazil, India and South Africa. Further information on this seminar is available athttp://www.childhoodstudies.ed.ac.uk/research.htm#part 246 A special issue will be published in 2008 by the International Journal of Children"s Rights. Groups of young people have come together, starting in England and now expanding across the UK, for their own seminar initiative. They have titled the initiative “Don"t Just Tick the Box.” The results of their meetings will shortly be available (links will be made from www.childhoodstudies.ed.ac.uk). Dr. E. Kay M. Tisdall is Programme Director of the MSc in Childhood Studies, and Reader in Social Policy, at the Universityof Edinburgh. Previously, she worked as Director of Policy and Research at Children in Scotland, the national umbrella agency for organizations and professionals working with children and their families. Current and recent research includes: pupil councils, training on research methods with children and youth, children"s views in family law proceedings, and inter-agency services. She has recently published journal articles in Children and Society, Critical Social Policy, the European Journal of Social Work, and the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family. ...

Children and Young People's Participation Rights in Education

AbstractThe paper outlines a new orientation towards constructing childhood arising out of children's rights discourse, sociology of childhood and sociocultural theory. Children have traditionally lacked voice and visibility, but slowly a recognition of children's role as social actors who are active co-constructors of meaning and "experts" on childhood is emerging. The paper looks at how the childhood studies paradigm highlights the importance of participation rights for children and young people. The paper describes how these theoretical paradigms are being reflected in educational policy and practice. It analyses examples of research and practice on how children are encouraged and supported to be active participants and social actors in their early childhood, primary and secondary education settings. The paper argues that having participation rights and being a citizen are part of an ongoing learning process, and that what happens in educational settings give meaning to children's understanding of what it is to be an active and involved citizen.This paper examines the application of the new paradigm of 'children's studies' to the development of policy and practice relating to children's participation rights in education. Theory and research is used to develop a framework for the principles of effective participation, and then an example at each level (early childhood, primary and secondary) of how these principles have been put into practice in education analysed.

Where Are Young People in Youth Program Evaluation Research?

This article is written from the perspective of program evaluation and addresses young people's participation in evaluations of programs meant to benefit them. The positive youth development paradigm and evaluation research with youth programs are potentially complementary, but the intersection of the two is still narrow. Some reasons are that young people are not always seen as assets to the field of evaluation research, the funding and activities of evaluation and youth development remain separate, and evaluators are pressed to meet the demands of “accountability” within limited timeframes. However, deeper and broader participation of youth in program evaluation could benefit both youth and evaluations, and we discuss some possible benefits in this article. We also reflect on what may happen in program evaluation as it moves in a more participatory direction. Finally, we suggest changes that will need to happen in program practice and evaluation in order for desired outcomes to take place.

Youth Participatory Evaluation: Strategies for Engaging Young People

251 Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 17 No. 3 (2007) ISSN: 1546-2250 Youth Participatory Evaluation: Strategies for Engaging Young People Sabo-Flores, Kim (2007). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 164 pages. $45. ISBN 0787983926. Meaningful youth evaluation is necessary to maintain the legitimacy of the programs through which youth are served. This principle is especially relevant in light of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), adopted in part to promote the self-reliance of the world's children by furthering their development, education and community participation. Writing in a language accessible to everyone interested in young people's participation, evaluation expert Kim Sabo-Flores offers a timely yet reliable handbook on the “whys and hows” of youth participatory evaluation (YPE). Divided into two parts, the book first provides a survey of the surprisingly limited history of YPE and its underlying principles before detailing its practical applications. Each chapter provides a handily outlined introduction to its concepts, contents and intentions, and includes practical personal anecdotes. The theoretical framework for Youth Participatory Evaluationis rooted in Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, in that the value of an activity is more than just the individual action, but the interaction with other people throughout the process of engagement as well. By interacting with others who are more competent, a person raises his or her own level of development: a process of learning, leading and development that is essential throughout the life cycle, not just in the phases of youth.Sabo-Flores examines the concept of the ZPD further in Chapter Two when she connects YPE and the role of performance. She explores this relationship throughout the rest of the guide, with an emphasis on both the responsibility of the performance director and the collective practices of character role-playing. Traditional evaluation often seems irrelevant or of little use to program stakeholders. YPE, however, encourages explorative play among all participants, 252 recognizing that neither problems nor solutions are known in advance, all the while fostering a genuinely participatory environment. A strategic component to program success, youth participatory evaluation strengthens relationships while supporting youth empowerment and civic engagement. Youth participants experience increased social, civic and personal competencies, while adult participants witness an enhanced sense of community and greater awareness of youth needs and concerns. One caution with regard to the adult personal growth and transformation that Sabo-Flores credits to YPE is that the willing adult participants of youth evaluations may be more open to new experiences than other adults who are not involved in these projects—a risk similar to the validity threat posed by self-selection in study designs. While SaboFlores offers remedies for the dilemma of self-selection among youth participants, she does not address this issue where adult stakeholders are concerned. The second part of the book offers a practical application of YPE, from starting a YPE project to selecting a team and assembling a plan. Sabo-Flores does note, however, that rather than presenting the process as a whole, she has chosen to offer arange of activities from which to choose in conducting a YPE initiative. Each of the constructive activities includes intentions, steps and guidelines to facilitate the YPE process. Universal in scope and application, many of the role-playing endeavors could just as easily be applied during community engagement projects or organizational capacity building, with or without youth. The activities are initially presented as unconnected suggestions that help facilitate an evaluative process, though they seem to be cumulative and interdependent. Youth Participatory Evaluation creates agents of social change, empowering youth to manifest qualities that they and others around them may not have previously recognized. The strongest and most successful YPE projects are those with stakeholders—youth included—engaged in every stage of the evaluation process. Based on many of her own experiences, Sabo-Flores is able to provide the optimal conditions for YPE, which include a supportive, stable 253 organization committed to meaningful youth input and evaluation. At the end of the book, the author offers the disclaimer that it is easy to speak only of program achievements and that her experiences detailed throughout the book might imply that she has witnessed nothing but success...

The YouthPower Story: How Adults Can Better Support Young People's Sustained Participation in Community-Based Planning

This paper discusses the roles adults need to play to support youth as effective agents of change in their community. Case studies drawn from YouthPower, a community-service learning program in Holyoke, Massachusetts, demonstrate how the participatory planning and design work of young people can be extended, and adult behaviors and attitudes altered, through adult/youth collaboration on neighborhood and citywide improvement projects. The adult roles discussed include those of supporter, resource provider, power broker, and coordinator. We also consider how community planning involving youth can be realized and sustained through comprehensive and coordinated youth and youth/adult networks.

Preferences for active recreation and perceived constraints to regular active recreation participation: A cross‐cultural study of Hong Kong and Australian university students

The present study adopted the trans‐theoretical model of behavioural change (Prochasksa & DiClemente, 1984) as a conceptual framework to compare the extent of active recreation participation, preferences for active recreation, and the perception of constraints to participation in regular active recreation of university students in Hong Kong and Australia. A total of 1,336 Hong Kong and 1,282 Australian university students completed self‐administered questionnaires. Findings of the study indicated that Hong Kong students were generally less active, and had lower intention to become more active, lower preferences for active recreation, and higher levels of interpersonal constraints, physiological constraints, and competence constraints but had lower levels of financial constraints than the Australian students. For both cultural groups, enduring participants had a higher preference for active recreation, lower preference for time‐consuming sedentary leisure, and perceived lower levels of constraints to active recreation participation than the transitional participants and non‐participants. The transitional participants generally had a broad interest in a range of leisure pursuit whereas the non‐participants were characterized by low interest in and preference for active recreation rather than a broad leisure interest. The study suggests that social and cultural environments were important factors that influence young people's leisure interest and active recreation participation.

Caribbean families, social capital and young people's diasporic identities

This article investigates the ways in which second- and third-generation young people of Caribbean descent in Britain engage in processes of constructing ethnic identity, and the ways in which they utilize family and kinship networks and relationships. The article begins by reviewing some of the key ideas of social capital and the inter-relationship between social capital and ethnicity. It then provides descriptive accounts of the young people's views concerning the particular ways their transnational family/kin relationships influence ethnic identity formation. I suggest that Caribbean young people's participation in transnational family and kinship events and celebrations encourages them to be part of globally dispersed family networks. I then consider how their lives in multi-ethnic Britain influence them to ‘bridge’ into cross-ethnic networks developed through friendship and social relationships. This allows them to develop alternative models of ethnic identity that take into account local/regional identities and make connections with the black diaspora in the Caribbean and USA in defining group identity.

An Argument for Teaching Deliberative Collective Action Skills in the Political Science Classroom

The roots of the political science discipline are intertwined with developing the skills required for democratic citizenship. Teaching and research efforts in this admirable tradition are still a prominent focal point of our academic tradition, as evidenced by the work of the APSA Task Force on Civic Education, reoccurring arguments about the most effective pedagogy for promoting participation, and works assessing the effects of civic education interventions. Moreover, this tradition has become increasingly relevant as political participation in the United States, especially among young people, continues to decline. Panel studies of college freshmen indicate that young people's participation in an array of political indicators—including thinking that keeping up with politics is important, discussing politics with friends, and acquiring political knowledge—have all declined by about half since the 1960s (Sax et al. 2003). Far more young people voted in 2004 than in the past, as turnout by 18–24 year-olds increased from 36% in 2000 to 42%, but younger citizens' appearance at the polls still lagged behind prior cohorts of young Americans, as well as their current elders (CIRCLE 2005). Educators and policy makers have come to the conclusion that intervention through formal civic education is necessary (Carnegie Corporation of New York and CIRCLE 2003; Galston 2003). Spurred on by works such as Educating Citizens (Colby, Ehrlich, Beaumont, and Stephens 2003) and Civic Responsibility in Higher Education (Ehrlich 2000), many colleges and universities have reinvigorated their mission of grooming students for civic leadership. Most of the skills identified as essential to such efforts could be labeled as deliberative communication skills. As the Colby et al. (2003) note:

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY NETWORKS IN THE (RE)MAKING OF ETHNIC IDENTITY OF CARIBBEAN YOUNG PEOPLE IN BRITAIN

This paper examines how Caribbean young people utilize community and family networks to re-affirm notions of cultural, ethnic and family belonging. At a community level, this occurs through Caribbean young people's participation in black-led institutions and agencies within their local communities and neighbourhoods. At a family level, the young people are involved in kinship activities and practices that develop and maintain social networks at localized and transnational levels. Bonding social capital operates as a valuable social resource, which embeds the young people within their family and community networks. It also provides a platform from which they can bridge, and access relationships and resources, across diverse ethnic groups. The analysis shows that these young people's desire for kinship and cultural belonging must be understood within the wider context of social exclusion and disadvantage in British society. However, there are some negative consequences associated with bonding social capital for the individual, family and society. The discussion is based on qualitative interviews with 30 second and third generation Caribbean young people (age between 16 and 30 years old), and their views concerning family and community in ethnic identity formation. Cet article examine la manière dont les jeunes d'origine caribéenne utilisent les réseaux de famille et de communauté pour ré affirmer des concepts d'appartenance culturelle, ethnique et familiale. Au niveau de la communauté ceci se fait à travers la participation des jeunes aux institutions et organismes dirigés par des Noirs à l'intérieur de leur communauté locale et son voisinage. Au niveau de la famille, les jeunes sont impliqués dans des activités et des pratiques de parenté qui développent et maintiennent en vie des réseaux sociaux au niveau local et transnational. La formation de liens affectifs en tant que capital social constitue une ressource sociale appréciable qui incorpore les jeunes dans les réseaux de famille et de communauté. Ceci fournit également une plateforme d'où ils accèdent à des relations et des ressources à travers divers groupes ethniques. L'analyse démontre que le désir d'appartenance culturelle et familiale pour ces jeunes doit être compris dans le contexte plus large de l'exclusion sociale et la discrimination dans la société britannique. Cependant il existe quelques conséquences négatives associées à la formation de liens affectifs en tant que capital social pour l'individu, la famille et la société. Cette discussion est fondée sur des entretiens de qualité avec une trentaine de jeunes du deuxième et troisième génération d'origine caribéenne (âgés entre 16–30 ans), qui expriment leurs idées en ce qui concernent la famille et la communauté dans la formation d'identité ethnique. Caribéen, famille, communauté, formation de liens affectifs en tant que capital social, identité, ethnique, jeunes

Recreational Gambling: Young People's Gambling Participation in Rural Australia

Gambling research is largely focused on problem and pathological gambling by adults, while young people's gambling pursuits and the social context in which gambling knowledge and skills are established are less well researched, despite it being acknowledged that young people participate in and start their gambling activities at an early age. This paper explores young people's experiences of gambling activities within a social and family recreational framework in two Australian rural communities. The gambling construct is used in a wide inclusive context ranging from buying of raffle tickets to participation in casino gambling. The empirical data were collated through a self-administered questionnaire distributed during school time to high school students between the ages of 14 and 21 years in 2003. The research shows that young people are introduced to social and recreational gambling within the family context where parents, siblings and older friends facilitate the financial transaction process. Young males are more active overall than females in pursuing gambling activities in all areas except horse betting and keno gambling.

Developing Children and Young People's Participation in Strategic Processes: The Experience of the Children's Fund Initiative

The extent of children's and young people's participation activities has increased considerably among statutory, voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK in recent years. The Children's Fund, a major government initiative launched in 2000, represents a systematic drive towards promoting children and young people's participation in planning, implementing and evaluating preventative services within all 149 local authority areas in England. Based on research carried out by the National Evaluation of the Children's Fund, this paper explores the experience of Children's Fund partnerships of engaging children and young people in strategic processes.

Towards a Humanistic Theology of Youth Development: growing through the work of the Romanian theologian Dumitru Staniloae

This article will introduce to an international and ecumenical audience the Romanian Orthodox theologian Dumitru Staniloae and the Eastern Orthodox approach to salvation. By then correlating Staniloae's theology with current development theories it will demonstrate Orthodoxy's importance for issues young people's development and participation in society, primarily in developing countries. This will be accomplished by correlating Staniloae's Trinitarian theology with two increasingly important development test cases: increasing social capital and reducing corruption. A critical theme to be explored is Orthodoxy's ability to bridge the conceptual chasm between humanistic concerns of the development world (natural theology), and those of salvation and redemption (revealed theology) with several concomitant practical implications for youth work spelled out.

Pushing the Boundaries: Critical International Perspectives on Child and Youth Participation Series Introduction

Children, Youth and Environments. Vol 16, No.2 (2006) ISSN 1546-2250 Pushing the Boundaries: Critical International Perspectives on Child and Youth Participation Series Introduction Caitlin Cahill University of Utah Roger A. Hart Children's Environments Research Group, Environmental Psychology Program Graduate School of the City University of New York Citation: Cahill, Caitlin and Roger A. Hart (2006). “Pushing the Boundaries: Critical International Perspectives on Child and Youth Participation—Series Introduction.” Children, Youth and Environments 16(2): i-iii. Participatory research and practice offers a promising new framework for researchers, youth workers and child rights advocates of all kinds who are committed to social justice and change around the world. In this international volume of Children, Youth and Environments we offer an opportunity to read about work on child and youth participation from nine regions of the world, each of which will be represented in its own installment published throughout this year: Africa (Dipak Naker and Rakesh Rajani, editors); Australia and New Zealand/Aotearoa (Anita Harris, editor); Europe (Barry Percy-Smith and Alison Clark, editors); Japan (Isami Kinoshita, editor); Latin and South America and the Caribbean (Yolanda Corona and Maru Linares, editors); Middle East and North Africa (Maha Damaj, editor); North America (Caitlin Cahill and Roger Hart, editors); Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Pacific (Joachim Theis, editor); and South and Central Asia (Claire O’Kane and Ravi Karkara, editors). Participatory approaches to community research, development and governance with children and youth have demonstrated that engaging the perspectives of young people challenges their social exclusion, and builds their capacity to analyze and transform their own lives and to partner in the building of more sound, democratic ix communities. However, not enough attention has been given to systematically evaluating and critiquing these participatory practices. This special issue of CYE offers an international forum to review and advance the field, developing its potential through crosscultural dialogue, self-reflexive critique, and critical synthesis. Forefronting contextualized knowledge and personal experiences, participatory research and practice has necessarily placed an emphasis upon the local, often failing to theorize connections to broader social processes. By contrast, this issue will offer a global perspective on participatory work with young people that is grounded in local practice. While the papers are divided into world regions, we hope this issue will stimulate a truly global crosscultural dialogue. To this end, we invite you to revisit this special issue at the end of the year where an epilogue, authored by all of the regional editors, will offer a critical lens across global participatory practice with young people. Both theoretical and practical insights are offered in the papers of this wide-ranging issue, addressing key critical questions including:  What are the different guiding theories of participatory practice that are in use?  How has the practice of young people's participation been developing in innovative ways in different cultures as a result of particular cultural views of the appropriate roles and activities for young people?  What different domains of research and action are young people involved in or excluded from?  At what ages do young people take an active role in development in different parts of the world?  How have gender-related considerations been incorporated in participatory approaches?  Is young peoples' research taken seriously by formal government and official agencies? What are the different strategies by which this has been achieved in different parts of the world?  For what types of issues has the research of young people been able to contribute to social change? viii  What is being done to help young people make deeper connections between their local research and action and broader global conditions?  What critical roles do adults play in supporting and facilitating youth participation?  What do we know about the significance of different institutional, governmental and legislative contexts at the local and national levels in supporting young people's participation?  What are the distinctive issues in young people's participation in planning and design?  What are the relevant historical antecedents in the evolution of participatory approaches involving children and youth? We invite you to read the dozens of papers in this issue, written by scholars and practitioners, as well as young people themselves, from over 37 countries around...

Young People's Participation in the Renaissance of Public Space—A Case Study in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Young People's Participation in the Renaissance of Public Space—A Case Study in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK