A review of enabling factors in support intervention programmes for early school leavers: What are the implications for Sub-Saharan Africa?

One of the major problems facing education systems in Sub-Saharan Africa is the phenomenon of young people who leave school before completion. Research has shown that this phenomenon disadvantages young people and exposes them to various forms of social exclusion. Accordingly, there have been increasing calls for the scaling up of support intervention programmes for young people who leave school early. This paper analyses literature on support intervention programmes for early school leavers (ESLs) to identify enabling factors that can be promoted in future or in current less effective interventions. The review revealed that programmes that address the multiple disadvantages and needs of young people through flexible, holistic and intensive support approaches tend to be more attractive and beneficial to the participants. The findings from this review are crucial to policy makers and teachers working in support intervention programmes for ESLs.     

Promoting young people’s musical identities to facilitate recovery from mental illness

The new ‘youth mental health paradigm’ (IAYMH. 2015. “International Association for Youth Mental Health.” Accessed February 15, http://www.iaymh.org/) promotes the need for youth-friendly mental health options. Music therapy initiatives offer innovative modes of working towards young people’s recovery in ways that align with the ethos of these services (McCaffrey, Edwards, and Fannon. 2011. “Is There a Role for Music Therapy in the Recovery Approach in Mental Health?” The Arts in Psychotherapy 38 (3): 185–189). This paper details a participatory research project investigating how and why promoting young people’s musical identities can facilitate their recovery from mental illness. Young people accessing a music therapy programme in a youth mental health service in Australia participated in collaborative qualitative interviews that were analysed using constructivist grounded theory techniques. Cycles of action and reflection resulted in a grounded theory explaining the recovery of musical identity, and mapping young people’s community-based music needs for wellbeing. We propose that promoting young people’s musical identities facilitates recovery through: the construction of a health-based identity; facilitating meaning-making; and supporting social participation. Findings are discussed in relation to recovery literature and social justice issues that arise in response to findings about young people’s needs for appropriate music access.     

Young people's explanations for youth suicide in New Zealand: a thematic analysis

New Zealand has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the developed world and dominant approaches to prevention do not always take into account the views of young people. The purpose of this research was to update our understanding of young people's explanations of suicide in order to inform suicide prevention efforts. Focus groups were conducted with 38 young people, including 30 young women and 8 young men aged 15–22. The data was analysed thematically to identify the range of explanations young people ascribe to youth suicide. Five themes were identified by the analysis including that suicide could be explained by inescapable difficulties, constant pressure, emotional distress and could also be seen as a cry for help. In contrast to these normalised experiences, participants also expressed the view that mental illness might also account for suicide. The findings suggest that young people recognise suicide as a complex problem with multiple causes. While they recognised mental health problems as contributing, youth suicide was primarily understood by young people as a normal response to emotional distress and pressure. Prevention programmes should address the full range of explanations that young people give for suicide in order to promote their engagement in prevention programmes.     

Interactive Family Music Therapy: Untangling the System

Interactive Family Music Therapy can have a unique role to play when working as part of a multidisciplinary team by demonstrating a capacity to ‘surprise’ a client/patient when they least expect it. It provides a positive shared experience that can add to multidisciplinary assessment and treatment planning. This article will illustrate the role Interactive Family Music Therapy has at Redbank House and includes case material.     

The Strengthening Families Programme (SFP) 10‐14 and substance misuse in Barnsley: the perspectives of facilitators and families

The aim of this study was to evaluate the Strengthening Families Programme for young people aged ten to 14 and their parents (SFP 10‐14) in Barnsley, a northern English city, based on the experience of facilitators and families who had participated in the programme. A mixed methods design blending both quantitative and qualitative data was used in the study carried out in two phases over a nine‐month period in 2005. Quantitative data were collected through: the SFP 10‐14 Parent/Caregiver Survey Questionnaire, the SFP 10‐14 Young Persons' Survey Questionnaire and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Questionnaire data were compared at the beginning of the SFP 10‐14 programmes (weeks 1–2) and at the end of the programmes (week 7). In addition, two focus group meetings were held with families who had undertaken the SFP 10‐14 programme; and three focus group meetings were conducted with facilitators of SFP 10‐14 programmes. Once quantitative and qualitative data had been analysed separately, a synthesis of the main findings from both approaches was then completed. Following the programmes, parents reported significant changes in communication limit setting, emotional management, prosocial behaviour and drugs/alcohol use. Total difficulties scores were also significantly different pre‐ and post SFP 10‐14 programmes. For the young people, communication, and emotional management were improved and their drugs/alcohol use was less. Their total difficulties scores were also significantly different. Qualitative evidence indicated that families who participated in the study found the SFP 10‐14 useful in preventing young people's alcohol and drug use in terms of: learning more about alcohol and drugs, using knowledge and skills to reduce behaviours that might lead to alcohol and drug use and, for young people, dealing with peer pressure that might lead to drug and alcohol use. Parents/caregivers and young people reported that the SFP 10‐14 had played a part in improving family functioning through strengthening the family unit. The findings from this exploratory study suggest that the SFP 10‐14 may be a useful primary prevention intervention in helping to prevent drug and alcohol misuse in young people. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Procedures when young people leave care — Views of 111 Swedish social services managers

In western societies, there is a general tendency towards a protracted transition to adulthood for young people, who thereby may become increasingly dependent on support from family. Young people leaving a placement in out-of-home care often lack such support, and will thus have a disadvantageous position compared to their peers. With the purpose of looking into the procedures when young people leave a placement in out-of-home care, telephone interviews were performed with 111 managers of social service units in two Swedish regions (West Sweden, and Stockholm Region), using a structured interview schedule. Answering rate was 99.1%.Only 6% of the managers had information of the young people's whereabouts once they had left care. 86-88% had general support programmes for all young people concerning housing, employment etc. but only 2-4% had specific programmes for young people leaving care. A majority of the managers were attentive of the difficulties the young people leaving care may encounter, but displayed little awareness of the consequences of a prolonged transition to adulthood, and the need for continued support after leaving care. Several managers referred to the general support of the Swedish welfare state, meaning that young people leaving care had the same access to support as all other young people in Sweden. Consequently, young people leaving care are at risk of being invisible in the welfare system and facing a compressed transition to adulthood.     

从“摇滚”到“佛系”:流行歌曲中的青年亚文化流变解读

音乐是文化的符号,流行歌曲根植于所处时代的现实土壤之中。改革开放以来,不同时期的流行歌曲以一种鲜明的风格记录时代声音,为我们透视青年亚文化流变提供了独特的视角。“摇滚”歌曲反映了改革开放初期,青年释放自我与现实抗争的文化情结;“怀旧”音乐是青年人在“前面无路想回头”境况下的一种心理调节;以“自我”为主题的歌曲是青年主体意识增强的现实回应;“佛系”歌曲映射了青年人自由空间被挤占后的一种养心策略。     

Music and Social Movements

Music is a key component of social movements. This article addresses the relationship between music and social movements through four foci: collective identity, free space, emotions, and social movement culture. Collective identity is developed and nurtured within free spaces through the use of music. These spaces are often rife with emotions that are instrumental in development of collective identity. A social movement culture may develop as these processes unfold. Music is part of this culture and serves as an important mechanism for solidarity when participants move beyond free spaces to more contested ones. Examples of song lyrics demonstrate these processes. Research on music and social movements, it is argued here, can be enhanced by addressing technology and popular culture.     

Music listening: its effects in creating a healing environment

Older adults face challenges in function, cognition, and isolation as they age. Nurses are responsible for providing a healing environment to promote health and well-being. Music listening is an intervention that could be used to facilitate a healing environment. This article provides examples of evidence that music can improve the healing environment for older adults, both physiologically and psychologically. Music can connect individuals with their emotions and bring about a sense of self-awareness that improves the quality of life for older adults. Music is a safe, inexpensive, and easy-to-use intervention that nurses can implement independently to help older adults cope with pain, acute confusion, and functional deficits. Examples of ways nurses can use music to provide a healing environment are also included.     

Generating recognition,acceptance and social inclusion in marginalised youth populations: the potential of sports-based interventions

In recent years sport-based interventions have been implemented as a mechanism via which to target marginalised youth in relation to the development of social inclusion. Much of the political rhetoric surrounding social inclusion programmes highlights engagement with education, employment, or training, as key metrics. This has led some scholars to observe that conceptualising social inclusion in this way can act to further marginalise young people who fail to engage with these metrics. In contrast, this paper seeks to employ an alternative understanding of social inclusion, which uses the concepts of recognition and acceptance, to infer how participation in sports-based programmes may enable marginalised youth to meet mainstream societal expectations and aid with social assimilation. Drawing upon findings from two small-scale studies of sport-based interventions located in three UK cities, this paper places participant accounts at the centre of the analysis to explore broader notions of pro-social development in relation to recognition and interpersonal acceptance. The paper concludes by suggesting that within contexts in which young people are able to generate strong interpersonal relationships with key personnel (such as coaches), and which are built upon trust, recognition and developing self-worth, there is clear potential for sport-based programmes to incubate social assimilation.     

Constructing citizenship at the margins: the case of young graffiti writers in Melbourne

Young people engaging in graffiti are often portrayed as the anti-thesis of the ‘good citizen’. As politicians and the media fight the ‘war on graffiti’, these young people are tagged as criminals and misfits, overlooking the ways this arts practice reclaims their ability to tell stories and unhinge traditional ways of practicing citizenship. Using ideas from Michelle Fine et al.’s social psychology of spatiality as a conceptual lens, this paper explores the tensions, contradictions and binaries these young people find themselves caught between, particularly; art or vandalism, professional or amateur, artist or criminal, and legitimate or illegitimate citizens as young people and transgressors of ‘normal behaviour’ in public spaces. Using multiple methods, including ‘hanging out’ and participatory visual methods, this study explores how young graffiti artists’ experiences in and out of a legal ‘street art’ programme, speak back to ‘normative’ conceptualisations of citizenship. Their experiences of differential belonging and contested citizenship, which are played out in public spaces (and beyond), highlight the importance of alterative arts programmes and the creation of sanctioned spaces in negotiating young people’s ‘right to the city’.     

Sex Education Programmes for Students with Severe Learning Difficulties in Further Education and the Problem of Evaluation

This paper is based on a qualitative study of the evaluation of sex education programmes for young people with severe learning difficulties. In an area so fraught with dilemmas and controversies, any such research will be problematic and tentative. The approach to evaluation described here is one which attempts to realise the right of people with learning difficulties to make informed choices. The course aims both to provide students with information which has traditionally been denied to them and to promote greater self-confidence. The evaluation methodology which has been developed embodies principles which seek to empower young people with learning difficulties. The questions which arise reach not only into the lives, feelings and values of individuals, but also confront the oppression of people with learning difficulties in our society.     

Arts policy and practice for disabled children and young people: towards a ‘practice spectrum’ approach

This article argues for an approach to the evaluation of arts policy and practice for disabled children and young people that goes beyond the dialogic antagonism between Disability Arts and community arts, and towards a ‘practice spectrum’. Little is known about the extent to which a Disability Arts perspective has extended into arts policy and practice for disabled children and young people. The article aims to redress this knowledge gap. It is based upon two sets of data collected in relation to the East Midlands region of England during 2014. First, a critical evaluation was conducted of official and institutional attitudes to arts practice with disabled children and young people. Second, interviews exploring contemporary practice were conducted with 24 arts organisations. Their practice represents a diverse range of art forms and programmes undertaken in the region, and a range of attitudes and positions taken towards disabled children and young people. We argue that the best way to conceive of current practice is as a spectrum, as opposed to an antagonism between community arts and Disability Arts perspectives. There is, however, little evidence of the penetration of a Disability Arts perspective into policy and practice for children and young people.     

Life's a Gas? The Training Needs of Practitioners and Carers Working with Young People Misusing Volatile Substances

Volatile substance abuse (the deliberate inhalation of substances such as gas fuels, glues, aerosols or other solvent‐based products) by young people does not attract high level attention within the broader arena of drugs education and prevention programmes. Given the prevalence of volatile substances in the lives of vulnerable groups of young people, however, and the risks associated with their misuse, social work education and training might justifiably give a higher profile to the associated needs of young people in need and/or in public care. This paper reports on the findings from a study in England of the training needs of social workers, residential and foster carers in relation to volatile substance abuse by young people, and identifies the implications for further development of training materials and resources.     

City of One: A Qualitative Study Examining the Participation of Young People in Care in a Theatre and Music Initiative

Young people's engagement with the arts can facilitate skills development, improve mental health and strengthen resilience. This article reports on a qualitative study exploring the experiences and involvement of ten young people in care in the development of a musical play exploring life in the care system. The project was viewed as successful in a number of ways: involving young people who had not previously taken part in drama; developing skills, confidence and resilience, and improving feelings of social connectedness. Extending work on participatory arts approaches, this study identifies factors that influence young people's ability to maintain involvement and the implications for carers and professionals supporting them.     

一袭汉服,一架古筝,湘妹子惊艳法兰西

彭静旋,一位自幼练习古筝的湘妹子,把古筝搬到了法国的街头,忘情演奏。古老的东方文化在法国街头绽放。无论是她的演奏还是装束,都惊艳了围观的路人。音乐没有国界。彭静旋希望她的演奏能让更多人外国人了解古筝,感受中国音乐之美。     

Self-determination within Australian school transition programmes for students with a disability

The concept of self-determination has gained prominence over recent years in parallel with the recognition of the rights of people with a disability. Services are being pressured to make radical changes to the restrictive philosophies and practices of the past. This paper reviews seven Australian transition programmes for young people with disabilities as they moved from school to adult options. It examines the extent to which self-determination principles are evident and whether they led to a wider range of opportunities and a reshaping of the service system. The studies showed that participation in decision-making by young people and their families resulted in increased service responsiveness and greater achievement of preferred outcomes. However, the restructuring of service systems to become more flexible and responsive has been slower than expected. One contributing factor appears to be that an increasing demand for resources creates pressures for more bureaucratic and less person-oriented approaches.     

Availability and accessibility of public health services for adolescents and young people in South Africa

Against the background of increasing international calls for the development and implementation of age-appropriate programmes that address both quality and access issues to improve adolescent and youth health, this paper explores the extent to which public health facilities are available and accessible to adolescents and youth in South Africa. The impetus for the study was the current evidence that there was generally poor utilisation of services offered at public health facilities by young people in the country. The overall findings are that despite the country's comprehensive legal and policy framework and commitment to improve the health of young people, there continues to be some structural and systemic factors that hamper effective provision and programming of adolescent and youth friendly services. The paper concludes with recommendations for policy and practice.     

Needs assessment of youths in residential child care in Portugal / Evaluación de necesidades de jóvenes en acogimiento residencial en Portugal / Evaluación de necesidades de jóvenes en acogimiento residencial en Portugal

Residential child care in Portugal is the most common protection measure in cases of family separation, since family foster care is still very rare. However, little is known about the needs of these children and young people. The purpose of this study is to describe the profile of adolescents close to legal adulthood who are in residential care, comparing it with a Spanish sample. The sample is composed of 345 young people aged 16 to 17 on whom information has been collected regarding their history of protection, family background, schooling, mental health and offending behaviour. A Spanish sample was selected as a comparison group (N = 384). The results reveal the complexity and special seriousness of the profile of young people in residential care in Portugal compared to a Spanish sample, highlighting a high presence of mental health problems and especially suicidal behaviours. Given these results, efforts should be focused on developing specialized residential care programmes adapted to the specific needs of these young people.