5 research outputs found
How young people experience the imprisonment of a family member: critical reflections on policy
The
research
question
is:
How
do
young
people
experience
having
a
family
member
in
prison?
This
question
is
posed
within
the
Scottish
policymaking
context,
in
which
high
rates
of
imprisonment
and
reoffending
are
entrenched
problems
for
the
Scottish
Government.
In
relation
to
children
and
young
people,
there
has
been
a
focus
on
the
performance
measurement
of
holistic
policies
accessed
through
the
universal
services
of
health,
education
and
social
work.
Although
there
has
been
a
growing
awareness
of
some
key
issues
that
affect
families
affected
by
imprisonment,
concern
tends
to
be
focused
on
parental
imprisonment,
ignoring
wider
family
relationships.
In
addition,
older
teenagers
and
young
adults
have
largely
been
overlooked.
This
stage
of
development
is
an
important
one,
because
it
represents
the
time
when
young
people
make
the
transition
into
adulthood.
As
such,
it
is
highly
intertwined
with
issues
relating
to
self-Ââidentity.
The
thesis
addresses
the
policies
that
are
most
relevant
to
young
people,
as
well
as
the
policies
that
more
generally
relate
to
families
affected
by
imprisonment.
It
takes
an
approach
informed
by
critical
discourse
analysis
to
critique
the
construction
of
young
people
and
families,
arguing
that
Scottish
policymaking
fails
to
address
the
core
needs
of
these
young
people,
and
that
the
Scottish
Government
only
deals
with
families
affected
by
imprisonment
at
arms
length.
This
leaves
a
policy
gap,
which
third
sector
organisations
step
in
to
fill.
The
research
includes
empirical
data
from
young
people,
who
described
their
experience
in
open-Ââstructured
interviews.
A
thematic
analysis
of
the
interview
data
shows
the
complexity
of
the
emotional
state
that
young
people
enter
when
faced
with
the
imprisonment
of
a
parent,
sibling
or
partner.
A
discussion
of
the
resultant
psychological
effects,
with
reference
to
classic
sociology
of
imprisonment
literature,
demonstrates
that
imprisonment
is
potentially
traumatizing,
causing
feelings
of
isolation
and
a
sense
of
being
ignored
or
even
silenced.
The
empirical
data
also
includes
semi-Ââstructured
interviews
with
professionals
from
third
sector
organisations,
whose
evidence
shows
that
the
policy
environment
presents
a
number
of
obstacles
that
block
the
way
to
providing
appropriate
services
to
young
people.
In
addition,
the
topic
of
family
imprisonment
is
under-Ââexplored
by
the
professionals
and
this
increases
the
risk
that
young
people
will
feel
the
need
to
stay
silent.
In
conclusion,
the
thesis
reviews
the
theoretical
framework,
the
policymaking
environment
and
the
lived
experience
of
the
young
people
and
the
professionals
who
work
with
them
to
conclude
that
there
is
a
pressing
problem,
which
is
inadequately
understood,
and
which
requires
the
more
insightful
approach
that
research
such
as
this
can
help
to
inform
Short report: Evaluation of wider community support for a neurodiversity teaching programme designed using participatory methods
Children with diagnoses such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and so on often experience bullying at school. This group can be described as neurodivergent, meaning they think and process information differently from most people. Previous research suggests that increasing people's knowledge can be an effective way to reduce stigma and bullying. Therefore, we decided to create a primary school resource to teach about neurodiversity - the concept that all humans vary in how our brains work. Working with educators, our research team - which included neurodivergent people - developed plans for a teaching programme called Learning About Neurodiversity at School (LEANS). Next, we wanted to know whether these plans, developed by our small neurodiverse team, would be endorsed by the wider community. To find out, we conducted an online feedback survey about our plans for the resource. We analysed feedback from 111 people who participated. Most of them identified as neurodivergent (70%) and reported being familiar with neurodiversity (98%), meaning they could provide an informed opinion on our plans. Over 90% of people expressed support for the planned programme content described in the survey, and 73% of them approved our intended definition of the resource's core concept, neurodiversity. From these results, we concluded that there was a high level of support for the planned LEANS programme content across those from the wider community who completed the survey. Consequently, we continued developing the LEANS programme in line with the initial plans from our neurodiverse team. The completed resource is now available as a free download