The purpose of this thesis was to explore views on consequences of Internet use among young people sampled at a Swedish university. Both quantitative and qualitative research designs were used. The quantitative data were gathered by a quantitative survey conducted among 50 university students at the University of Gävle. To broaden the picture, face-to-face interviews were conducted with two social workers (from Sweden and Russia). In order to analyze and interpret the data collected, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human development and learning theory were applied. Symptoms of Internet addiction proposed by Young (1998a) were used to examine whether the data collected demonstrated presence of Internet addiction among sampled university students. The results indicated that the majority of respondents had an excessive use of Internet, however, the female participants and different aspects of their everyday life seemed to be more influenced by Internet use compared to the male respondents. Another conclusion is that the field of social work has to increase the knowledge and competence in diagnosing the symptoms of excessive Internet use. Internet related disorders are problems of increased proportion and mental health counsellors need to be prepared to meet a growing demand in the area of social work.

Young people are currently affected in the realm of self-esteem, identity development and relational behaviour amidst advancing technology. There is the need for research in this area. Obstacles include fragmented homes, distance job–location and back-log parental education. There is the need for spiritual direction and for the formation of Christian spiritual principles. This is evident in the attraction of young people to cults and the influences of the New Age. The study will explore the complexity of relationships, identity and behaviour in young people. The empirical research will be obtained with permission from a school in the Eastern Cape; the focus group of this study is ages 11 – 18 years. The aim of this study will be to explore interventions which can help facilitate better personal, family and peer relationships in adolescents. The aim will further be to help bring about better integration in their personalities, relationships and communication. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

The continuous advancement of new technology, specifically in the area of internet technology, has led to an increase in concerns surrounding children and young people’s safety when online. The following thesis describes a study of protection and security on the internet from the perspective of children and young people and contributes and expands on the findings of my Masters Dissertation which examined parents’ perceptions of children at risk on the internet. The research focuses on young people’s perspectives about what risks they face and what would keep them safe and is set within literature on child sex abusers and internet grooming. The thesis is based on an online survey which gathered information about the behaviour and opinions of 859 children and young people living in Scotland. Findings were separated into four main topics: children and young people’s behaviour on the internet, children and young people’s perception of strangers both online and offline, children and young people’s opinion of education on internet safety and children and young people’s opinion of the government’s role in relation to their safety online. Respondents’ stated that they wanted to be protected when on the internet (whilst acknowledging their own responsibility when online), either by the government or through those responsible for the content of the internet. They also provided several suggestions on how schools and the government can do more to listen to their voices and improve internet safety education. There were a number of children and young people who reported that they disclosed personal information over the internet (their own and that of their friends and family) and that they were willing to meet people in the real environment whom they had been communicating with online: many respondents’ viewed internet ‘strangers’ as different from ‘strangers’ in the real environment. Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and Wood et al.’s (1976) development of the concept of scaffolding, which has been developed in an educational rather than criminological context, were identified as offering some promise for explaining the behaviour of both the victims and the offender as other theories of sexual offending (either specific theories or explanations developed from general theories) are incapable of fully providing an explanation that will encompass grooming in general and online grooming in particular. It is argued that if these theories are applied to internet safety education they have the potential to empower children and young people and make grooming tactics and approaches less effective. The findings also indicated that more child and young people-oriented protection measures may be needed. Perceptions of protection and security on the internet were wide ranging but respondents were keen to provide possible solutions and examples of how to improve their safety when online. This would suggest that communicating with children and young people when developing policy, legislation, research and educational materials is the way forward if we wish to improve their safety and eliminate or reduce the dangers they face when using the internet.

Using action research within a critical paradigm framework the author investigated young people’s ability to develop a programme of work that raises awareness of bullying in schools. The research group was made up of six young people, to whom the author and other specialists offered anti-bullying and participatory training techniques. The group eventually designed their own anti-bullying activity programme, which they delivered in creative workshop style sessions to other young people in schools. The author located this research in critical enquiry, engaging the group in a self-reflective process that aimed to be democratic, equitable, liberating and life enhancing. This report is written in the form of a narrative and evaluates the author’s practice as an educative theatre practitioner. Central themes to this research are bullying, power, creative activity and youth participation. Schools, teachers and adults are often described as sucking out the creativity of young people and thus not allowing many of them achieve their full potential. In this context young people are often powerless to deal with some of the difficult issues in their lives such as bullying. The author suggests that peer support is a key strategy to deal with bullying in schools. The author introduces a new concept of peer support called external peer support, which he has evaluated against the current literature. The definition of bullying is explored in depth, as is its relationship to power. The author suggests peer support to be a key strategy in youth participation and ultimately helping youth empowerment.

This small-scale study is positioned within a social constructionist interpretive paradigm using a mixed methodology employing principles of adapted grounded theory, simple scale-based questionnaires and action research. Fourteen disabled young people from one specialist and three secondary mainstream settings were interviewed using semi-structured interviews to gain their views on friendship and belonging in schools. Three groups of parents, TAs, SENCos and allied education professionals engaged in action research to examine these views, their own views and values and those of disabled young people in their families and schools in order to better understand the sensitivities and subtleties of successful social inclusion and to consider change to whole school practice. The limitations that non-disabled adults unwittingly ‘construct’ that act as barriers to friendship and social inclusion were explicitly recognised in this interpretive research as a contribution to informing practice and theory in this domain. Paper One focuses on the views of young people and the meaning and importance they placed on friendship and social relationships in their lives. Findings included that young people in specialist and mainstream setting highly valued friendships but that sustaining friendships in the wider community was often problematic for those participants who attended schools outside their local community. This mainly affected the specialist setting students but was also recognised as an issue by some of the mainstream parents who lived outside the catchment area. Findings also revealed that young people gained their sense of belonging from the positive relationships they formed with TAs and teachers as well as friends. In order for friendship and positive social inclusion to develop, however, participants required schools to provide a supportive environment of accessible rooms, doors and lifts and adults who trusted them to have the competency and agency to manage their social times and spaces with choice and autonomy. The issue of ‘surplus visibility’ was highlighted by disabled young people who spoke of an experience of school where lack of choice concerning where and with whom to spend break times limited their friendship opportunities and sense of well-being and inclusion. This was compounded by an expectation of compliance by adults and automatic assumption of their belonging to a disabled group despite differences of sex, gender or common interests. The participants valued genuine connection through humour, interests and social support and were active in seeking private time for talking with friends. Schools that provided a range of highly social or quieter, more private, locations for students were highly valued. Paper Two describes using these views as stimulus for action research to bring about change towards improved social inclusion. Groups of parents, senior management, SENCos, TAs and other education professionals met formally three times over a four month period. These groups examined vignettes selected from data from paper one, engaged in debate and discussions, interviewed disabled young people themselves, formulated key concept maps leading to revised theoretical frameworks, reflected and evaluated the process of the action research and considered practice change or further research. This stage was a continued process of seeking to hear authentic voices, in depth discussion and reflection on what we were learning from disabled young people combined with our own knowledge, values, and beliefs. This led to the development of conceptual models and practical change intentions to promote social inclusion. Intentions to change included •Developing alternative social rooms with minimal TA presence •Including disabled young people in TA selection processes •Involving parents in reviewing the school inclusion policy •Establishing a regular parents’ support group •A commitment to keep listening to young people’s voices and preferences on key matters rather than ‘assuming that we already know!’ •Lengthening the lunch break in the specialist setting to ensure time for socialising and friendship building These commitments to change demonstrated that schools were able to engage successfully in the action research process, valued parents’contributions further and were willing to change practice towards greater social inclusion of disabled young people and parents.

Paper 1: The process of engagement is essential in practice with young people at risk of social exclusion. The elements of success in building this relationship are explored to some extent in the therapeutic literature, but do not necessarily cross the discipline divide to provide clear guidance for youth work practice. This paper explored the elements of success in engaging with vulnerable young people from the perspectives of eleven vulnerable young people and ten practitioners using Personal Construct Psychology methods to elicit and compare perceptions of the process of engagement. Professionals’ personal theories of the causation and prevention of a commonly occurring case study were also investigated for their relationship to the personal constructs guiding their practice. It was found that young people prioritised the affective elements of the relationship, but that pragmatic considerations were also of high importance to them. In contrast, professionals prioritised a commitment to young person well-being, followed by factors supporting the well-being of the practitioner including self reflection. Implications for practice include an appreciation of the factors important to young people, such as genuine warmth and affect, and pragmatics that make a worker more accessible such as ad hoc availability and approachability. Paper 2: Vulnerable young people access services such as Youth Services and Youth Offending Services. Professionals in this sector have limited access to Educational Psychology. Educational Psychologists are increasingly working outside traditional settings in Community Educational Psychology roles, however more evidence is needed to illustrate the diverse possibilities of practice. This paper explores the role and perceived impact on practice of a Community Educational Psychologist coaching six, monthly sessions of Solution-Focused peer supervision with three professional peer groups from Youth Services, Youth Offending Services and Police Youth Intervention. Personal construct shifts regarding the elements of success in engaging with vulnerable young people were measured pre- and post-intervention along with role and impact themes identified through observation diaries and post-intervention semi-structured interviews. Findings included the importance of the non-intervention specific elements of the psychological supervision, the impact of Solution-Focused techniques as both a tool and process for professional development, and recommendations for further support for professionals working with vulnerable young people.

Dans les recherches québécoises sur l’insertion en emploi des jeunes et dans les considérations de la population en général, il est bien ancré que le fait de décrocher du secondaire sans avoir obtenu de diplôme mène éventuellement et inévitablement à des difficultés d’insertion dans le marché du travail. Toutefois, lorsque l’on entreprend de vérifier l’origine de cette considération, on ne trouve que très peu de réponses, puisque les enquêtes sur l’insertion des jeunes au Québec et au Canada ont presque toujours ignoré les jeunes sans diplômes et les recherches traitant du sujet citent souvent des sources non probantes. Dans ce mémoire, nous avons utilisé une enquête récente qui n’est pas restreinte aux seuls diplômés pour étudier l’insertion des jeunes, en faisant l’hypothèse que les jeunes décrocheurs du secondaire du Québec et du reste du Canada n’ont pas significativement plus de chances de connaître des insertions en emploi difficiles que les jeunes n’ayant que ce niveau de diplôme à leur actif. Nos résultats ne nous permettent pas d’affirmer que les décrocheurs ne connaissent pas plus de problèmes d’insertion que les diplômés du secondaire, mais ils montrent tout de même que d’autres variables sont bien plus déterminantes. L’intérêt de ce mémoire ne s’arrête pas à la comparaison statistique entre les deux groupes de jeunes à l’étude, il se veut être une réflexion théorique sur la notion d’insertion, sur les raisons qui expliquent son caractère restrictif, et sur les paradigmes qui inspirent ce champ de recherche. / In Quebec’s researches on the young people’s entry into the adulthood and in the beliefs of the population in general, it is well anchored that the fact of dropping out from high school without obtaining diploma leads eventually and inevitably to difficulties of entry on the labour market. However, when one undertakes to check the origin of this belief, one finds only very few answers, since the investigations into the insertion of the young people in Quebec and Canada almost always ignored the young people without diplomas and research treating of the subject often quotes nonconvincing sources. In this analysis, we used a recent investigation which is not restricted to the only graduates to study insertion of the young people, by making the assumption that the young high school dropouts of Quebec and the remainder of Canada are not likely significantly more to know difficult insertions in employment than the young people not having but this level of diploma to their credit. Our results do not enable us to affirm that the dropouts do not know more problems of insertion than the high school graduates, but they show all the same that other variables are much more determining. The interest of this analysis does not stop with the statistical comparison between the two groups of young people being studied, it wants to be a theoretical reflexion on the notion of insertion, on the reasons which explain its restrictive character, and on the paradigms which inspire this field of research.

Inledning: Svenska skolbarns hälsovanor visar på en ökning av den psykiska ohälsan men också att ungdomar skattar sin emotionella psykiska hälsa som god eller mycket god. Vårdkonsumtionen bland ungdomar i Sverige har ökat markant. WHO definierar åtta olika perspektiv som byggstenar för existentiell hälsa: hopp, harmoni, helhet, meningsfullhet, förundran, andlig kontakt, personlig tro och gemenskap. Syftet med denna studie är att ge en beskrivning av ungdomars existentiella hälsa idag.  Frågeställningar: Hur upplever fyra psykoterapeuter och en psykolog ungdomars/unga vuxnas existentiella hälsa idag? På vilket sätt kan terapi inkluderande existentiella perspektiv bidra till bättre livskvalitet och existentiell hälsa för ungdomar? Metod: Fyra psykoterapeuter och en psykolog har intervjuats. Studien utgick från en deskriptiv, kvalitativ forskningsmetod och bearbetningsmetoden var tema analys.   Resultat: Den existentiella hälsan visar på brister. Ungdomarna i dag beskrivs som existentiellt ensamma med en frånvaro av andliga tankar och med flykt och tomhet som sätt att hantera svårigheter. Ungdomar är mer socialt ensamma idag än tidigare. De blir mer lämnade av sina föräldrar och det finns för lite vuxenstöd. I psykoterapi är det viktigt att förmedla att det är normalt att känna psykisk ohälsa under ungdomstiden och att psykoterapeuten blir en bärare av hopp och mening. Diskussion: Resultatet visar på vikten av att ha längre terapier. Det tar tid att hitta ”sin” väg. Psykoterapeuten kan genom leken i psykoterapin tillsammans med tonåringen bearbeta de existentiella frågorna och skapa mening med livet. Studien visar på behovet av någon form av samtalsforum för tonåringar, enskilt eller i grupp, där de kan få en existentiell grund att stå på. Detta skulle kunna påverka den psykiska hälsan positivt. / Introduction: Swedish schoolchildren’s habits concerning health show a decrease in mental health, but also that adolescents rate their mental emotional health as good or very good. The consumption of psychological healthcare among young adults in Sweden has increased. WHO defines eight different dimensions as important parts for building an existential health: connectedness to a spiritual being or force, meaning of life, awe, wholeness and integration, spiritual strength, inner peace/serenity/harmony, hope and optimism, and faith. The object of this study is to give a description the mental health of young people today. Questions: How do four psychotherapists and one psychologist experience the existential health of young people/young adults today? In what way can therapy including existential perspectives contribute to better quality of life and existential health among young people? Method: Four psychotherapists and one psychologist have been interviewed. The 3 (31) examination method of the study was based on a descriptive and qualitative research. Processing method was the theme analysis. Result: There is a shortage of existential health. Young adults today are described as existentially lonely with an absence of spiritual thoughts and with escape and emptiness as means of dealing with difficulties. Young adults are more socially lonely today than before. They are more left alone by their parents than before and there is not enough grownup support. In psychotherapy it is important to show that it is normal to feel psychologically distressed during youth and that the therapist becomes a carrier of hope and meaning. This can be fulfilled trough the therapeutic relation. Discussion: The result shows the importance of having longer sessions of therapy. It takes time to find “their” way. The psychotherapist can through play in therapy together with thw adolescent work through the existential issues and bring forth a meaning in life. The study shows the need for some kind of forum for teenagers, alone or in a group, where they can find an existential base to stand on. This would affect the mental health positively.

<p>Cilj rada je da se utvrde potrebe dece i mladih bez roditeljskog staranja za<br />primenom modela programa učenja socijalnih ve&scaron;tina u funkciji razvijanja njihove socijalne<br />kompetentnosti i boljeg socijalnog funkcionisanja. Ovako definisan op&scaron;ti cilj<br />operacionalizovan je kroz određene teorijske i empirijske celine rada.<br />U prvom poglavlju teorijskog dela izložen je koncept socijalne kompetentnosti kroz<br />opis razvoja ovog koncepta i prikaz integrativnog modela socijalne kompetentnosti koji<br />pretpostavlja sagledavanje socijalne kompetentnosti na vi&scaron;e nivoa. Rukovođeni ovim<br />modelom, detaljnije smo prikazali determinante i korelate socijalne kompetentnosti koji se<br />odnose, sa jedne strane, na različite pokazatelje socijalnog funkcionisanja, a sa druge, na<br />socijalne ve&scaron;tine. Po&scaron;to je model programa razvijanja socijalnih ve&scaron;tina potrebno prilagoditi<br />ciljnoj grupi korisnika, ali i kontekstu obuke, posebna teorijska celina odnosila se na bliži opis<br />i definisanje pojma deca i mladi bez roditeljskog staranja. Polazeći od ekolo&scaron;kog pristupa, u<br />ovom poglavlju prikazana su teorijska i empirijska saznanja o uzrocima i faktorima<br />porodičnih odnosa koji utiču na razvoj i socijalno funkcionisanje dece i mladih, kao i oblici<br />socijalne za&scaron;tite dece i mladih bez roditeljskog staranja. U poslednjem teorijskom poglavlju,<br />opisane su karakteristike institucionalne za&scaron;tite, odnosno kontekst u kojem žive i dalje se<br />razvijaju deca i mladi bez roditeljskog staranja. Dat je prikaz dosada&scaron;njih istraživanja o<br />socijalnim odnosima i funkcionisanju dece i mladih u institucijama. Na ovaj način, kroz tri<br />teorijska poglavlja, polazaći od integrativnog modela socijalne kompetentnosti sagledani su<br />različiti pokazatelji socijalne kompetentnosti, njihove determinante i korelati, te diskutovani<br />protektivni i rizični faktori razvijanja socijalne kompetentnosti dece i mladih bez roditeljskog<br />staranja u institucionalnom kontekstu.<br />U empirijskom delu rada prvo je sagledana socijalna kompetentnost dece i mladih bez<br />roditeljskog staranja preko pokazatelja njihovog socijalnog funkcionisanja, a zatim sa aspekta<br />razvijenosti socijalnih ve&scaron;tina. Na oba nivoa analize, posebno su sagledane razlike u odnosu<br />na intelektualni i porodični status dece. Za procenu različitih pokazatelja socijalnog<br />funkcionisanja dece i mladih kori&scaron;ćene su: Skala oblika problematičnog pona&scaron;anja (Gresham,<br />Elliott,1990), Skala snage i te&scaron;koće (Goodman, 1997) i Upitnik načina re&scaron;avanja konflikata<br />(Rahim, 1983a). Za ispitivanje razvijenosti socijalnih ve&scaron;tina dece i mladih primenjene su Ček<br />lista socijalnih ve&scaron;tina (Goldstein et al., 1998) i Skala socijalnih ve&scaron;tina (Gresham &amp;<br />Elliott,1990). Ukupan uzorak činilo je 416 dece i mladih uzrasta od 12 do 18 godina, od toga<br />v<br />210 bez roditeljskog staranja i 206 sa roditeljskim staranjem. Poduzorci u komparativnoj<br />grupi dece i mladih sa roditeljskim staranjem bili su ujednačeni sa poduzorcima dece i mladih<br />bez roditeljskog staranja u odnosu na intelektualni status, pol, uzrast, sredinu i &scaron;kolski uspeh.<br />Rezultati prve faze istraživanja su pokazali da deca i mladi bez roditeljskog staranja<br />imaju slabije razvijene socijalne ve&scaron;tine i lo&scaron;ije socijalno funkcioni&scaron;u od dece i mladih sa<br />roditeljskim staranjem. Potvrđeno je da roditeljsko staranje ima značajniji uticaj na socijalnu<br />kompetentnost dece i mladih nego intelektualni status. Druga faza istraživanja se odnosila na<br />utvrđivanje povezanosti pokazatelja socijalnog funkcionisanja i razvijenosti ispitivanih<br />socijalnih ve&scaron;tina u cilju koncipiranja modela programa razvijanja socijalne kompetentnosti<br />dece i mladih bez roditeljskog staranja. Pored toga, ispitana je i povezanost institucionalnih<br />varijabli, kao i karakteristike dece i mladih sa pokazateljima njihove socijalne kompetentnosti.<br />Nalazi o visokoj povezanosti socijalnih ve&scaron;tina sa pokazateljima socijalnog funkcionisanja,<br />kao i visoka povezanost određenih varijabli institucionalne za&scaron;tite i karakteristika dece i<br />mladih bez roditeljskog staranja sa njihovim socijalnim kompetencijama, potvdili su teorijski<br />koncept iz područja socijalne kompetentnosti.<br />U delu pedago&scaron;kih implikacija dat je model programa učenja socijalnih ve&scaron;tina koje<br />mogu doprineti razvijanju socijalne kompetentnosti i efikasnijem socijalnom funkcionisanju<br />dece i mladih bez roditeljskog staranja, kao i preporuke vezane za institucionalni kontekst<br />obuke. Takođe, ponuđeni model programa pruža mogućnost daljih istraživanja u ovoj oblasti<br />vezanih za evaluaciju efekata ovako koncipiranog programa i njegove realizacije u uslovima<br />institucionalne za&scaron;tite, kao i pitanja same kompetentnosti i edukacije kadra za primenu<br />programa.</p> / <p>The aim of the work is finding out the needs of children and young people<br />without parental care and the implication of a modular programme for learning social skills<br />with the function of development of their social competency and better social functioning.<br />Defined in this way, the general aim has become operative through certain theoretical and<br />empirical parts of the work.<br />The first chapter of the theoretical part deals with the concept of social competency<br />through the description of development of this concept and the view of Integrative model of<br />social competency which includes the insight of social competency in several levels. Guided<br />by this model, we presented the determinants and the correlates of social competency relating<br />to different signposts of social functioning on one side, and social skills on the other. Since<br />the model of development programme of social skills needs to be adjusted to the target group<br />of users, and also to the context of the training, a specific theoretical part related to the closer<br />description and definition of the term children and young people without parental care.<br />Starting from the ecological point ,this chapter shows the theoretical and empirical knowledge<br />of the causes and the factors of family relations which have impact on developement and<br />social functioning of children and young people without parental care. The last theoretical<br />chapter deals with the institutional protection, that is the context where children and young<br />people without parental care continue to live and develop .There has been given a review of<br />the recent research on social relations and functioning of children and young people in<br />institutions. In this way, through the three theoretical chapters, starting from the Integrative<br />model of social competency, different indicators of social competency have been considered,<br />their determinants and correlates, and there have been discussed the protective and risky<br />factors of social competency development with children and young people without parental<br />care in the institutional context.<br />In the empirical part of the work first social competency of children and young people<br />without parental care has been reviewed through the indicators of their social functioning and<br />then from the aspect of their social skills. Both levels of the analyses consider the differences<br />relating the intellectual and family status of children. For the evaluation of different indicators<br />of social functioning of children and young people we used: Scale of forms of problematic<br />behaviour (Gresham, Elliott,1990, Scale of strength and difficulty, (Goodman, 1997) and the<br />Questionnaire for ways of solving problems (Rahim, 1983). For the research of social skills of<br />vii<br />children and young people we have applied Check list of social skills (Goldstein &amp; Glick<br />1987) and Scale of social skills (Gresham &amp; Elliott,1990). The total sample consisted of 416<br />children and young people of the age 12 to 18 years, out of which 210 without parental care<br />and 206 with parental care. The subsamples in the comparative group of children and young<br />people with parental care were identical to the subsamples of children and young people<br />without parental care, considering the intellectual status, sex, age and school achievement.<br />The results of the first phase of research showed that children and young people<br />without parental care have less developed social skills and weaker social functioning than<br />children and young people with parental care. It has been confirmed that parental care has a<br />more significant impact on social competency of children and young people than intellectual<br />status. The second phase of research related to stating the connections between the indicators<br />of social functioning and development of the studied social skills with the aim of making a<br />concept for a model programme of social competency development of children and young<br />people without parental care. It has also been studied the connection among institutional<br />variables, as well as the characteristics of children and young people with indicators of their<br />social competency. The evidences of strong connections of social skills with indicators of<br />social functioning, as well as strong connection of certain variables of institutional care and<br />characteristics of children and young people without parental care with their social<br />competency, have confirmed the theoretical concept from the area of social competency.<br />In the part dealing with the pedagogical implications there has been given a model of a<br />programme for learning social skills which can contribute to the development of social<br />competency and a more efficient social functioning of children and young people without<br />parental care, as well as the references connected to the institutional context of the training.<br />The presented model of the programme also offers a possibility of further research in this<br />area, connected to the evaluation of effects of a programme concepted in such a way and its<br />realisation in the conditions of institutional protection, as well as the issues of the very<br />competency and education of people for implementing the programme.</p>

This study investigates how young people in upper secondary school express them-selves about environmental issues. The aim of the study is to analyse how expres-sions about the environment can relate to policies of the concept of Education for Sustainable Development, ESD. The study put forward a view of environmental issues also being societal issues. Using a qualitative method of participatory model-ling, partakers creatively visualize their discussions in two workshop-assignments about either consumption or the future in the year 2050 in groups. Young peoples´ expressions about environmental issues can be described in accordance with two-parted ways of thinking about the environment and humanity, either as loosely or firmly connected. Not only do the two-parted ways of thinking apply to relation-ships between the environment and humanity, they are also used in describing a two-parted future trajectory towards either environmental collapse or sustainable futures. Moreover, ways of handling environmental issues are described as two-parted be-tween societal large-scale arrangements and individual efforts. Young people in the study express that they search for “right” things to do in order to reach a sustainable future. While not finding those prescribed solutions fulfilling or feasible either in education, or in society, feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness arise. Participants suggest there is one way to handle environmental issues and evade environmental collapse, which is to urgently turn negative trends into positive ones. Training young people in systemic and complicated ways of thinking open up for feelings of hope and may serve as empowerment in their comprehension of how they can live in the world today. The design, performance and discussions rendered by the study is first and foremost to be seen as a contribution to how young people in upper secondary school can be given time and space to participate in both cognitive and emotional meaning-making processes about environmental issues as societal issues.