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Youth Practitioners’ Perspectives on Building Agency and Supporting Transitions with and for Young People Experiencing Disadvantage

Youth Practitioners’ Perspectives on Building Agency and Supporting Transitions with and for... Despite the policy and academic interest in helping disadvantaged young people into employment and education, and towards a more positive future, little is known about the process of supporting positive transitions for young people. In Australia and internationally, youth work is increasingly considering alternatives to the traditional deficit-oriented and risk-averse approach to supporting young people experiencing social or material disadvantage. With an outset in youth practitioners’ perspectives on their work and underpinned by key concepts drawn from the Positive Youth Development approach, this paper seeks to improve understandings of how best to support disadvantaged young people’s ability to thrive, facilitate practitioner dialogue and strengthen practice. Qualitative interviews were conducted with twelve youth practitioners and a focus group run with an additional eight. The paper explores three concepts emerging from the analysis that were identified as key to understanding the unique potential youth work practitioners have to support positive transitions with and for disadvantaged young people: having an ecological focus, encouraging personal agency and fostering alternative possibilities. The findings propose new possibilities for working with young people with whom mainstream services struggle to engage. The paper concludes by discussing the practical implications and limitations of this approach. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Applied Youth Studies Springer Journals

Youth Practitioners’ Perspectives on Building Agency and Supporting Transitions with and for Young People Experiencing Disadvantage

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References (2)

  • AM Aviles (2018)

    229

    Child Youth Serv Rev, 84

  • J Batsleer (2013)

    287

    Oxf Rev Educ, 39

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
ISSN
2204-9193
eISSN
2204-9207
DOI
10.1007/s43151-020-00026-0
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Despite the policy and academic interest in helping disadvantaged young people into employment and education, and towards a more positive future, little is known about the process of supporting positive transitions for young people. In Australia and internationally, youth work is increasingly considering alternatives to the traditional deficit-oriented and risk-averse approach to supporting young people experiencing social or material disadvantage. With an outset in youth practitioners’ perspectives on their work and underpinned by key concepts drawn from the Positive Youth Development approach, this paper seeks to improve understandings of how best to support disadvantaged young people’s ability to thrive, facilitate practitioner dialogue and strengthen practice. Qualitative interviews were conducted with twelve youth practitioners and a focus group run with an additional eight. The paper explores three concepts emerging from the analysis that were identified as key to understanding the unique potential youth work practitioners have to support positive transitions with and for disadvantaged young people: having an ecological focus, encouraging personal agency and fostering alternative possibilities. The findings propose new possibilities for working with young people with whom mainstream services struggle to engage. The paper concludes by discussing the practical implications and limitations of this approach.

Journal

Journal of Applied Youth Studies – Springer Journals

Published: Oct 30, 2020

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