Perceptions of young offenders about the police: a qualitative study conducted in Brazil

The objective of this article is to better understand young offenders' perceptions of the police, as well as to investigate how the context of police violence is implicated in the process of criminalization of this group. A qualitative study was conducted with young offenders who have had experiences of being policed within their development contexts. From an ecological approach, we emphasize the psychosocial dimensions of adolescent experiences within a systemic model of violence. The findings highlighted the damaging effects of truculent police approaches in adolescents' lives and how such actions reinforce the social stigmas that accompany young people exposed to social exclusion, undermining the rights ensured by the Child and Adolescent Statute.Keywords: Adolescence. Police. Young offenders. Violence. Psychosocial

Socially transformative wellbeing practices in flexible learning environments: Invoking an education of hope

Objectives: Student wellbeing is closely linked to young people’s satisfaction with life at school. Wellbeing practices in an alternative learning environment take on a particularly significant role as they aim to re-engage young people who are disenfranchised from Australia’s education system. The Wellbeing Project, which is described and reported on here, aimed to capture young people’s perceptions to strengthen and create a Youth+ model of wellbeing in participating centres. Design: A mixed methods approach was employed to explore student experiences of wellbeing. A quantitative methodology informed the development of surveys, and focus groups adopted a semi-structured qualitative approach. Setting: Youth+ Flexible Learning Centres (Flexis) in various parts of Australia. Method: Students in the flexible learning centres were invited to complete a survey during class time. Young people from each centre were then invited to participate in focus group discussions. Four groups were held in Melbourne, two in Geelong and Adelaide and one each in Hobart, St Mary’s, Alice Springs, Wollongong and Geraldton. Results: Thematic analysis revealed that being supported by staff to learn and working towards long-term goals in an individual way were central to the development of wellbeing among young people involved in the centres. Relationships with staff were highly valued. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that wellbeing for young people in flexible learning centres is associated with staff support and respect. There is value in giving young people the opportunity to engage in a socially transformative education, enabling them to envision new learning and work opportunities. </jats:sec

Perceptions of young offenders about the police: a qualitative study conducted in Brazil

The objective of this article is to better understand young offenders' perceptions of the police, as well as to investigate how the context of police violence is implicated in the process of criminalization of this group. A qualitative study was conducted with young offenders who have had experiences of being policed within their development contexts. From an ecological approach, we emphasize the psychosocial dimensions of adolescent experiences within a systemic model of violence. The findings highlighted the damaging effects of truculent police approaches in adolescents' lives and how such actions reinforce the social stigmas that accompany young people exposed to social exclusion, undermining the rights ensured by the Child and Adolescent Statute.Keywords: Adolescence. Police. Young offenders. Violence. Psychosocial

The fibromyalgia syndrome

The present study employed person-centred analyses that enabled identification of groups of students separated on the basis of their perceptions of social support (home and community), academic support, academic adversity and academic buoyancy. Among a sample of 249 young people, including many from high-needs communities, cluster analysis revealed three distinct groups of students: the thriver, supported struggler and at-risk struggler. We compared the three groups on their academic motivation. Analyses revealed significant differences between groups in adaptive motivation outcomes, but no differences in impeding or maladaptive motivation outcomes. Combined, the results speak to the importance of support and academic buoyancy for positive student outcomes

Vulnerable Children, Young People, and Families: Policy, Practice, and Social Justice in England and Scotland

This chapter begins by highlighting the rise of vulnerability as a term in social policy, and the three-level approach that is used to examine it. The first level is definitional, examining the possibility of defining vulnerability and vulnerabilities through a consideration of relevant literature and a number of recent policy documents. The second looks at how policy developments in Scotland and England have diverged, particularly since 2010, and how vulnerability has become more central to education policy in England. The third level focuses on practice, presenting research undertaken by the authors into a programme developed to support vulnerable children, young people, and families in Northern England as a case study exemplifying some of the factors affecting the effectiveness of programmes in which schools played an important but not central part. This practice perspective is still too often overlooked in discussions of policy and definition, and it is suggested that its inclusion will contribute to the ongoing debate about both how best to support vulnerable families and the implications for education and social justice

Understanding 'marginal' perspectives: Towards a social theory of resilience

This article contributes to a social theory of resilience. It critiques aspects of developmental and individual-level analyses in the resilience literature, arguing for the signifi-cance of social identities and collective experience to resilience. Drawing on a study of the experiences of young people from an inner-city public housing estate in Sydney, key themes of the young people’s accounts engage with both classic and constructivist perspectives. Resistance based resilience is claimed to indicate the social constitution of indi-viduals in local relations, suggesting that interventions for resilience building need to recognize the embeddedness of resilience in social inequities, social processes and the differ-entiated societal and ideological expectations of young people. How resilience is conceptualized is central to resilience building interventions. Here the case is put for the importance of resources to support and strengthen the resilience of marginalized youth.KEY WORDS: individualization resilience social identities social theory yout