Social inclusion for whom and towards what end? A critical discourse analysis of youth and sport policies in Turkey

This article examines the social inclusion policy strategies of the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sport (MYS). Using a critical discourse analysis, based on Norman Fairclough’s work (2012), the aim is to analyse the discourses used within policy-related documents regarding social inclusion, youth, and sport. In order to achieve this objective, we analysed 15 key documents, including annual activity reports, national youth and sport policy documents, and strategic plans produced by the Ministry. Findings revealed that the dominant discourses about young people seem to be embedded within neoliberal and neoconservative ideologies in which depoliticised notions of ‘employment/apprenticeship’ and ‘the family’ are put forward as solutions for the social inclusion of young people. However, such a discourse risks further sustaining the social exclusion of youth, denying their full citizenship.     

“When the money's low”: Economic participation among disadvantaged young Australians

As a generational group, children and young people are rarely independent financial actors but are nonetheless active consumers of goods and services related to their social identities and enduring orientations to learning, work and community. Many young Australians, however, do not have adequate access to the financial resources that permit their engagement with youth cultures constructed around commodity consumption nor with services and activities that support their future workforce and civic participation. Furthermore, they negotiate this lack of provision in an overarching political climate that individualises responsibility for disadvantage and its outcomes. This paper draws on stories from over 70 young Australians (11-17) to illustrate how they experience and manage the economic demands of family, schooling and peer cultures. Their accounts add to the growing literature that demonstrates how young people mobilise material and discursive resources but also points to the need for social policy that addresses the multiple material, social, discursive and institutional barriers to their full social inclusion.     

Mainstream is not for all: the educational experiences of autistic young people

Abstract

This article highlights two current issues facing autistic young people in their pursuit of suitable education. First, mainstream education is advocated for all, from a rights-based perspective on inclusion, yet, as 12 autistic young people from Northern Ireland demonstrate, being academically able does not mean they are mainstream able. Second, autistic young people, who are largely missing from the debate on educational improvement, and in particular the inclusion debate, ought to be central to this discussion and have much to add. The social model of disability is considered relevant to autism. For the young people referred to in this article, inclusion is a feeling (a sense of belonging) not a place (mainstream or otherwise).     

PROMOTING RESILIENCE AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS IN THE CHILDREN'S FUND

As part of the broader prevention and social inclusion agenda, concepts of risk, resilience, and protective factors inform a range of U.K. Government initiatives targeted towards children and young people in England, including Sure Start, the Children's Fund, On Track, and Connexions. This paper is based on findings from a large qualitative dataset of interviews conducted with children and their parents or caregiver who accessed Children's Fund services as part of National Evaluation of the Children's Fund research.¹ Drawing on the notion of young people's trajectories, the paper discusses how Children's Fund services support children's and young people's pathways towards greater social inclusion. While many services help to build resilience and protective factors for individual children, the paper considers the extent to which services also promote resilience within the domains of the family, school, and wider community and, hence, attempt to tackle the complex, multi-dimensional aspects of social exclusion affecting children, young people, and their families.     

Jokes and routines make everyday life a good life—on ‘doing family’ for young people in foster care in Sweden

The aim of this article is to identify inclusion practices in foster families by studying the everyday life of young people entering various types of foster family. Structure and warmth in the family stand out as important dimensions of everyday life. What is not so evident in previous research is the way emotional ‘warmth’ is created. In particular, joking, gentle teasing and laughing, which in this paper stand out as important inclusion practices, seem to be rather unknown aspects in foster care, as is the importance of doing things together in everyday life. The young people's contributions in creating a good family atmosphere are visible in the study, as is their capacity to adapt to a new family. Daily routines normalise the adolescents' everyday life. Negotiations make them part of important decisions, and may strengthen them as social agents. Foster parents' positive attitude towards birth family facilitates birth parents' support to their children. In this case study, mixed qualitative methods are used: interviews, network maps, ‘beepers’ and video recordings in the foster home.     

Young people’s education biographies: family relationships,social capital and belonging

This paper examines complexities and interdependencies of key family relationships which anchor young people’s educational biographies. It is well recognised that young people’s education pathways in late modernity are strongly dependent on their ability to draw on the range of resources available, and that socio-economic status and family resources play a central role in this process. Less is known about how such relationships anchor young people’s education biographies. Drawing on theories of social capital and belonging in dialogue with qualitative interviews, and situated in studies of rural youth and education, this article considers how young people themselves talk and make decisions about their education in relation to complex family connections. These connections, contestations and negotiations between young people and central family members highlight how the late modern economy impacts on young people’s intimate relationships, and sheds light on the ongoing work of youth to resolve such tensions around their schooling in daily life.     

Higher education and civic engagement

This paper focuses on the relationship between social engagement, particularly civic engagement, and education. It is well known that more highly educated people are more likely to engage in voluntary work in formalized settings. It has been difficult to disentangle the effect of higher education from that of family origin and occupational socialization. This paper examines the effects of tertiary education on the social and civic engagement of young people, using the British Household Panel Study. The social and civic activity of young people is observed in their late teens, before entering the labour market or tertiary education, and compared with that of the same young people in their early 20s, after completing tertiary education courses or gaining labour market experience. It was found that the social and civic engagement of young people who would enter higher education was higher in their late teens than that of their peers who did not enter. However, higher education had a small additional effect on civic engagement, for both young and mature students. The children of professionals were the social grouping most likely to be involved in civic activities. The relationship of higher education, professional occupations and family socialization is discussed.     

The Role of Mobile Phones in Family Communication

Whilst there is a wealth of research into family communication and family relationships, there is little information about whether (and if so how) mobile phones have impacted on these processes. The authors’ study involved individual semi‐structured interviews with 60 families, including parents/carers and young people aged 11–17, to investigate this further. The interviews explored how mobile phones are used in family communication; participants’ views about the benefits and disadvantages of mobile phone use; and issues around safety, surveillance and privacy. The findings show that young people and parents see mobiles as a key way for families to keep in touch, and to monitor and ensure young people’s safety. However, some participants felt there was a downside to this, in relation to some young people either withdrawing into their own social worlds, or having a false feeling of security as a result of having a mobile. Gender differences in views and usage were also found. The paper concludes with some general comments about the role of mobile phones in family life.     

Language as an Exclusive or Inclusive Concept: Reaching beyond the verbal

Language is a primary means by which practices of inclusion and exclusion are determined in our society. As language is also the primary medium of most narrative family therapies, the politics of our practices with regard to inclusion and exclusion require examination, particularly when working with children for whom language is neither a strength nor a preferred processing mode. In this paper, some young people showing language-based learning difficulties will be introduced. Children's experiences with oppression and colonization will then be briefly considered, followed by the particular experiences of children showing language-based learning difficulties. The interrelationship between language, social-emotional development and social competence will be considered and ways to ‘scaffold’ these children during the therapy process to facilitate their inclusion will be addressed. Throughout the discussion, the implications for narrative family therapists will be explored as we consider whether our fascination with language is wielded in inclusive or exclusive ways and whether we can competently reach beyond the verbal in our practice.     

Children and Young People Living Through a Serious Family Illness: Structural,Interpersonal and Personal Perspectives

This study explores the experiences of children and young people in Britain living through a serious family illness. The study considers the interplay between social structures, social relationships and individual agency. We draw on data from the Millennium Cohort Study to estimate the number of children and young people affected nationally and on seven in‐depth interviews to understand young people’s experiences and the effects on their daily lives. Living through a serious family illness impacts on young people’s educational achievements, mental health and social relationships over long periods. Policy and service responses are suggested.     

Mapping the role of ‘transnational family habitus’ in the lives of young people and children

In this article, we develop the concept of ‘transnational family habitus’ as a theoretical tool for making sense of the ways in which children and young people from a migrant background are ‘doing families’ transnationally. Drawing on over a decade of cumulative research on Caribbean and Italian families in the UK, as well as on a new joint research project, we first investigate the opportunities and consequences of a transnational family habitus on family arrangements, kinship relationships and identity within a transnational context. Second, we analyse the role of these young people's structural location in Britain in shaping the boundaries of their transnational family habitus. We argue that one should see a transnational family habitus as an asset that can potentially disrupt conventional understandings of belonging and processes of inclusion and exclusion. However, we also detail how social divisions of class, race, and increasingly migration status, shape such a habitus.     

Developing Responsive Preventative Practices: Key Messages from Children's and Families’ Experiences of the Children's Fund

As part of the prevention and social inclusion agenda, the Children's Fund, set up in 2000, has developed preventative services for children at risk of social exclusion. Drawing on a large qualitative dataset of interviews conducted in 2004/05 with children, young people and their parents/carers who accessed Children Fund services, this article analyses key practices and approaches valued by children and parents. These included: specialist support tailored to individual support needs, family‐oriented approaches, trusting relationships with service providers, multi‐agency approaches and sustainability of services. Finally, the article draws out key lessons for the future development of preventative services.     

青年压力来源与社会支持系统优化策略

现代社会给青年提供了前所未有的发展机遇,也使青年承受着超出以往任何时代的生存压力．2011年,对山东城市在业青年进行的社会心态调查显示：当前青年的压力主要来自经济压力、工作压力、子女教育压力三个方面。研究表明：传统的家庭支持系统是青年应对经济压力和人生重大选择的主要支持力量,非正式社会支持系统和家庭共同构成青年情感支持的主要力量,正式的社会支持系统对青年的支持作用尚未得到充分发挥。建立相对完备的社会支持系统,需要从社会保障、组织覆盖、舆论影响、心理疏导等方面提升优化。     

The indelible ink of the special stamp: an insider’s research essay on imprints and erasures

The medical profession ascribes otherness to people with disabilities through diagnosis and expertism, which sets in motion discursive powers that oversee their exclusion through schooling and beyond. In this paper, I present a narrative pieced together from personal experiences of ducking and weaving the deficit discourse in ‘inclusive’ education, when seeking employment and in day-to-day family interaction as a person with severely impaired vision. This work builds on previous qualitative research I conducted in Queensland, Australia with a group of young people with impaired vision who attended an inclusive secondary school. I frame this discussion using Foucault’s conception of normalising judgement against the hegemony of normalcy, and consider that inclusion for people with disabilities is reminiscent of a haunting. Through this analysis, I demonstrate how my ideology is formed, and how it in turn shapes a research agenda geared toward seeking greater inclusion for young people with disabilities in schools.     

Speed Mentoring in Teaching and Learning: Young people with experience of the care system mentor social work students

The value of listening and talking to young people with experience of the care system has been recognised as a vital and positive contribution to social work students' learning. A model of co-production was used to develop a series of speed mentoring events whereby social work students placed in local authority children and family settings were mentored by young people with experience of the care system. This tentative review of this small-scale project shares the authors' critical reflections on the value and reliability of this model, for evaluating the outcomes of co-productive mentoring relationships between young people and social work students. The reversal of the power dynamic between student and service user contributed to the unsettling of assumptions about each other and empathy for each other's role. The student authors reflect on learning about the child's experience that has influenced their practice. The mentor authors welcomed the opportunity to participate in the development of ‘young people friendly’ social workers. Suggestions are made as to how this model could be developed to contribute to a more systematic approach to the role of service users in mentoring, advising and contributing to the supervision process of students and social workers.     

The variation in family background amongst young homeless shelter users in Denmark

This article analyses variation in the family background of young homeless people in a cohort of young Danes. The study is based on administrative data for individuals who were 18 years old in 2007 and their parents. Homelessness is measured by shelter use over a five-year period. Data also cover education, employment, mental illness, substance abuse problems and placement outside home in childhood for the young persons, and education, employment, civil status, mental illness and substance abuse problems for their parents. A cluster analysis identifies two groups, each comprising half of the young shelter users. In the first group, social marginalisation is transmitted between generations, as most parents have low education and mental illness or substance abuse problems, and are unemployed. In contrast, the young people in the second group come from wider socioeconomic backgrounds, with few of their parents having mental illness or substance abuse problems. These young people develop psychosocial problems and become homeless without strong predictors from their family background. Amongst the young shelter users from families with severe social problems a higher share are in the Not in Education, Employment or Training group. They also have more shelter stays, compared to young shelter users from families with fewer social problems.     

Moving the participation agenda forward

This article sets the scene for the other papers in this Special Issue on children's and young people's participation, by outlining the nature of the ESRC Seminar Series from which all are derived and by developing the main themes discussed at the seminars. The focus of this Issue is participation by children and young people as this relates to differing notions of social exclusion and inclusion. This article critically examines participation in the contexts of policy, practice, research and theory. In many respects the environments in each of these domains is supportive of increased participation, yet there is also much evidence of limited impact by recent participative measures and of disillusionment by many young people who have been engaged in consultation and decision‐making. A way forward is suggested, which entails collaboration among all the key stakeholders including children and young people, connects participatory and social inclusion aims and mechanisms, and is committed to achieving tangible outcomes based on the wishes of children and young people.     

Discovering parental drug dependence: silence and disclosure1

Children of drug dependent parents form a large and growing population at elevated risk of adverse developmental and social outcomes. In this study 36 children and young people described growing up in such families. Parents tried to shield children from exposure, however the majority of young people demonstrated a detailed awareness of their parents' problem with drugs whilst living with the parentally imposed fiction that drugs were not at the heart of their family dynamic. Children and young people are locked into a silence they find difficult to unburden to anyone. The policy imperative is recognition of the impact on children of living daily with parental drug dependence and means of ameliorating their living circumstances in ways that do not label them further.     

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.     

“Delinquent behaviour as a kind of body politics” against adult regulations — Young people's discourses in Hong Kong

Usually, discourses of young people, particularly for the voices of ‘youth-at-disadvantage’, are silenced no matter in the social construction of their experiences or in the social investigation of their behaviour. Without their voices, a discourse of individual deficits is usually constructed to talk about their delinquent behaviour. However, in the discourses of young people, they considered their problem behaviour as a kind of ‘body politics’ to work against adult regulations. Moreover, obvious gender differences were revealed. While female adolescents constructed their problem behaviour as a tool to rebel against the harsh parental control on their leisure time activities, their male counterparts referred it as an escape to avoid heavy conflicts with parents on their school-to-work situations. In the discourses of young people, what they could do in the face of the adult society was only to rebel or escape with their bodies. Thus, in view of young people's discourse construction of their experiences, gender specific and family based interventions are recommended to work with ‘youth-at-disadvantage’ in outreaching social work service in Hong Kong.