Stanley Tucker

Every Child Matters: change for children in schools

Concerns about how best to safeguard children from abuse and neglect have long occupied the thoughts of academics and practitioners alike in the UK. At the heart of much of the debate has been a concern to understand why the lifestyles, parenting practices and socio-economic circumstances of some families appear to place children ‘at risk’. In more recent times attention has turned from the mere detection of abuse and neglect to a position where a more preventative agenda is advocated (Lord Laming, 2003). In turn, it is argued that the life of a child must be understood and responded to from an ‘ecological perspective’, a perspective that builds on the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner and his Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). As a seminal text, his work is as important today as it was then for its identification of the need to consider not only the various environmental layers surrounding a child and his/her subsequent development, but also the quality of such environments for their interaction with and impact upon growth and development. Indeed, such interactions become ever more multifarious: as the child develops, their involvement in increasingly complex connections between home, school, parental workplace and wider societal requirements presents a series of opportunities and threats to which both they and those charged with their care must attend. In short, Bronfenbrenner’s theory necessitates debate about how the world that surrounds the child helps or hinders development. Even though the Ecological Systems Theory is over 25 years old, its importance cannot be ignored today. Indeed, within the ever changing nature of contemporary society it is propitious that theory offers a mechanism for critique and debate. Ours is a fast paced, exacting world in which marketplace and global business venture requirements at times seem to offer a dichotomous menu of, on the one hand, technologically enhanced flexibility juxtaposed by, on the other, workplace cultures which engender increased pressure and bureaucracy. We might well be in a postindustrial era regarding job type and communication patterns, but such changes have brought with them increased levels of risk and uncertainty where children are exposed to life worlds undercut by violence, poverty, exploitation, cruelty and neglect. This, then, is the ‘real’ world that parents have to make sense of in creating the social, health and economic conditions that will produce safe environments in which children can grow and thrive. Education 3–13 Vol. 35, No. 3, August 2007, pp. 209 – 211

Extending the Social Exclusion Debate An Exploration of the Family Lives of Young Carers and Young People with Me

In this article the authors explore the day-to-day lives of two groups of young people. Both were the subject of research activities carried out between 1997 and 2000. The outcomes of that work into the lives of young carers and young people with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) have been extensively documented elsewhere; here we draw out some of the common factors that serve to socially isolate and exclude young people who are heavily reliant on, or are drawn into supporting, home-based caring relationships. We argue that the current social exclusion debate’s primary focus on the public sphere (with an emphasis on such matters as homelessness and school exclusion) neglects the ways in which young people can experience similar forms of disadvantage in the private sphere. A more critical analysis of the impact of social exclusion on young people requires a wider perspective, which examines and clarifies the interconnectedness of the public and private domains of young people’s lives. The research presented in this article highlights the ‘common experience’ of young people’s exclusion in the private and public sphere and raises further issues regarding young people’s invisibility and professional practice and unease when faced with the complexity of young people’s lives.

Making the Link: Dual ‘Problematization’, Discourse and Work with Young People

ABSTRACT This article seeks to establish a specific connection between the experiences of young people and those who work with them in the UK. Building on the work of Griffin (1993), the concept of dual ‘problematization’ is developed to demonstrate how a state-sponsored ideological agenda of surveillance, control and regulation has been extended beyond its original focus on ‘problematic youth’, in an attempt to influence the priorities and strategies of youth working. Direct comparisons are drawn between the range of discursive constructs used to justify intervention into the lives of the young and others that have been utilized to ‘problematize’ the nature and intentions of work with young people. Many of those working with young people have been seen as a threat to the dominant ideological agenda attached to the period of youth and recent sociopolitical pressures for change can be viewed as a direct reflection of state concern to reorganize and restructure work within this area.

Developing an interdisciplinary framework for the education and training of those working with children and young people

The need for the development of a core interdisciplinary framework that will influence the education and training of those involved in work with children and young people is examined. The aim in producing the framework was to outline and explore the common issues, knowledge areas and skill requirements that are demanded of those working with children and young people across differing occupational boundaries and contexts in the fields of health, social care and education. The framework has been developed by a group of people drawn form academic disciplines and employment within these fields. The stimulation for producing this paper was triggered by recent changes that have occurred both in practice settings and education and training arenas.

Challenging dominant representations of residential childcare in Romania: an exploration of the views of children and young people living in the care system

This study explores perceptions of risk commonly shared by children and young people living in care system in Romania. The original data, reported here, were gathered through direct interviews with children and young people living in public and private care. In undertaking the research, the authors wanted to challenge dominant, largely media created, representations of the care system in Romania. The aim was to explore the real risks that young people face arising out of their daily experiences. Research data were gathered using a narrative interview approach. Specific forms of risk are identified including: risks arising out of peer and staff relationships, care system policy and practice, external perceptions and beliefs and young peoples fear of the future.

Interprofessional education: A curriculum response to work with children and young people

This paper charts the development of undergraduate teaching material produced at the Open University in the United Kingdom. The School of Health and Social Welfare at the University has a long history of providing open and distance learning and multiprofessionally focused education and training opportunities. In this instance two courses, entitled ‘Working with Young People’ and ‘Working with Children and Families’, were created to meet the needs of a diverse student audience working across the public, voluntary and private social care, health and education sectors. The materials produced were underpinned by the desire of their academic authors to challenge long-established assumptions about the nature of children and young peoples lives. Crucially though, both course developments reflected a requirement to demonstrate how policies and services for children and young people might be significantly improved. Accordingly, the paper offers some useful indications as to how interprofessional working with children and young people could be fostered. Copyright

Every Child Matters: ‘tinkering’ or ‘reforming’—an analysis of the development of the Children Act (2004) from an educational perspective

This article presents an analysis of the factors shaping implementation of the Children Act (2004). Specific attention is given to examining the reoccurring themes and debates generated through a number of child abuse inquiries. A connection is made between these themes and debates and the emergence of the Every Child Matters agenda. The implications of the Act are considered from an educational policy and practice perspective. Three specific areas of development concerned with multidisciplinary work, workforce reform and ‘extended schools’ are considered, demonstrating how aspects of the Every Child Matters agenda appear to be unfolding in practice.

Beyond Problematisation—Young People, Citizenship and a New Approach to Service Delivery

ABSTRACT This article considers the citizenship claims of young people and the consequences of these claims for the delivery of services to young people. In doing so, an analysis is offered as to how various problematising discourses of youth have shaped matters of policy formulation and service delivery. Although recent responses to service development have argued for the introduction of participative and empowering forms of practice, it largely remains the case that representations of the period of youth, which depict young people as ‘troubled’ and ‘troublesome’, predominate; these representations underpin ideologically driven commitments to control and regulate youthful behaviour. In turn, problematising discourses have produced problematising service responses. Change will only occur when such discourses are strategically challenged, resisted and responded to. In order to achieve this a different socio-political style and approach to developing policy and practice is required that actively promotes the citizenship rights of young people.