Evaluation and Treatment of Pathological Gambling

The aim of this article was to describe a model for evaluating and implementing cognitive-behavioral treatment for pathological gambling. The model takes into account the fact that pathological gamblers form a heterogeneous group with varied biopsychosocial characteristics.     

Skills and professional practices for the consolidation of the support group model to foster families

The research presented here is justified by the lack of tradition in Spain with regards to socio-educational intervention programmes based on training and group support, as well as the proven benefits of these methods in foster care. It addresses the need to go deeper into the acquisition and consolidation of the core professional competences for running socio-educational groups with foster families. After a process of participatory action-research with 39 professionals from the Child Protection System from different regions of Spain, we see an improvement in the development of the competences necessary to establish a supportive relationship with families, management and group dynamics, as well as the crystallization of attitudinal changes in professional practices. Data have been collected on the basis of methodological complementarity and a pre-test–post-test design that has identified and explained the changes in the evolution of competences and professional practices.     

The EU youth guarantee – a critical analysis of its implementation in Spain

The significant increase in youth unemployment in different parts of Europe caused by the economic crisis has led to the European Council Recommendation on Establishing a Youth Guarantee (2013). This Guarantee addresses the so-called ‘NEET’ (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) younger than 25 years of age and stipulates that employment, education or training shall be provided within a period of 4 months. As the initiative is relatively recent, in-depth analyses of its contents and implantation in the Member States are still missing. This paper analyses the European Recommendation and its implementation in Spain, evaluating its potential to improve the situation of the young people and society as a whole and its risks in provoking undesired side-effects. Our results question if the whole target group will be reached and highlight the measures’ low potential to promote a real and durable change. Increasing precariousness and insecurity and the tendency to only redistribute existing labour make it conceivable that the Guarantee may contribute to converting precariousness into a new labour paradigm for the whole population. The insufficient and retroactive funding of the Youth Guarantee can provoke negative side-effects for other social policies and the country's development. We conclude with several recommendations on how to improve the Youth Guarantee and its implementation.     

Analysing the dimensions of social pedagogy from an international perspective

Over recent years, social pedagogy has emerged or undergone transformation processes in many countries, justifying the need to understand how it is being shaped and transformed throughout the world. However, conceptual ambiguity and lack of a homogenous and unified theoretical body accentuate the dilemma of whether social pedagogy is a specific area of knowledge, a professional field, a research field or all of these at once. We have moved into a stage where we do not have an immediate answer as to what social pedagogy is, what kind of knowledge it is or what its specific working methods are. This research aims to provide a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of social pedagogy from an international perspective. The methodology employed herein is the Delphi method, using three questionnaires in three different phases. Based on the individual contributions of a group of renowned experts from different countries, our aim is to build a global, current and integrated view of social pedagogy.     

The social support in kinship foster care: a way to enhance resilience

This paper analyses how social support enhances family resilience in kinship foster families by involving the families in an educational group programme. Sixty‐two kinship foster families from Spain participated in the research. The data were collected before the programme (interviews) and after the programme (interviews and focus groups), and these were analysed by content analysis with the programme Atlas.ti. The results show that the factors that contribute most to the development of family resilience are as follows: (i) feeling able to look for solutions when facing problems; (ii) an increase of their network of formal support; (iii) being able to offer support to other foster families; and (iv) feeling that the support they give to parents' foster children is socially recognized.     

The right to education of children and youngsters from refugee families in Europe#

Abstract

The right to education of children and youth from asylum seeker and refugee families is currently being threatened in Europe. Two factors explain this: the sudden and disorganised arrival of large numbers of asylum seeker families, and the inconsistent integration of those seeking refugee status and those who have gained such status. The actual implementation of the right to education for asylum seekers and refugees is a result of a complex combination of factors related to the asylum seeking process: demographic, psychological, economic, legal and sociological. Asylum seeker and refugee education are impacted significantly by these factors. This paper tries to explore whether EU Member States are coping successfully with such dimensions. We provide information on the current situation in Europe, as well as a summary of the latest policy recommendations aimed at improving the present situation.     

Listening to children: Evaluation of a positive parenting programme through art-based research

This paper presents data from a unique programme evaluation of the parenting programme titled ‘Learning together, growing as a family’ applied in 14 cities in Spain and targeting families at risk of neglectful behaviour. The programme evaluation is based on the voices of children using the qualitative methodology of art-based research. Eighty-six children 6–12 years of age were interviewed in groups. The outcomes of the evaluation reveal that children perceive improvements in the parental competencies of their parents and in themselves and that these changes serve as a catalyst for positive family change.