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A prominent feature of being a looked-after young person is that your life is overseen by a range of professionals, who make decisions that affect you (Golding et al., 2006). Whilst adults may assume these are in the best interest of the young person, there is a continuing lack of research into the experiences of looked-after young people to inform these decisions from the perspective of the young people. A need for research which allows looked-after young people to contribute to the literature what is important to them during adolescence was established. This exploratory study used a participant-led, photo-elicitation methodology to explore ‘what is important to looked-after young people during adolescence?’. The present study aimed to allow participants to meaningfully share what was important to them and contribute their perspective to the extant literature on looked-after young people. The study consisted of three phases: consultation, main study, and feedback. As a methodologically-led study, the research also aimed to evaluate the utility of the methodology with the participant group, whilst also considering what occurs when the findings of research are fed back to participants. Six young people who lived in foster care were recruited. A photo-elicitation interview was conducted in which participants brought photographs of what was important to them to the interview which they then discussed. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, alongside the use of photographs to inform and illuminate the analysis. A core theme and five main themes were generated to reflect what was important to participants. Participants described their experiences as being embedded in the place they lived, with their development being shaped by the possibilities this provided. Participants described what was important to them as: being seen and heard; a part of their place and being with others; finding space to escape to; relationships with their pets; and getting to know yourself. The research then returned to participants to explore their experience of the research process and to inform the literature about what happens when a researcher returns to participants to present their analysis. The present study concluded that looked-after young people have an opinion about what is important to them and when given the opportunity to participate were able to share this. Feedback appeared important to participants as it allowed them to see how their contributions were used, to feel heard and understood, and to reflect upon their experiences in relation to other looked-after young people.

No description available.

This thesis investigates faith-based youth work – establishing how it operates and what it does – in the context of the Big Society political initiative popularised during the period 2009-2013. Religion, politics and young people are subjects that promote lively debate, yet literature about faith-based youth work is limited. What is available does little to reveal the complex factors that underpin and portray such work. Whilst a variety of literature about youth work, young people, religion and social policy exists there is no body of work that brings these considerations together. Using a tripartite mix-of-methods approach, this study has developed an original contribution to knowledge in the form of an explanatory model for faith-based youth work: involving a scoping survey, focus group consultations and four case studies, a contemporary portrayal of such work has been established. Data was collected from faith-based youth workers from a variety of backgrounds and practices to develop the model, which establishes the foundational ethos of faith-based work, the grounding upon which it is developed, the philosophical shape of how it operates and the pedagogical intentions of what it does as it supports transformation in young people. The findings indicate that faith-based youth work is focused on helping young people flourish in pursuit to the common good; such work relates to the Big Society notion, but this is because of an overlapping consensus regarding mutual aspirations rather than any causal considerations. The place of faith within such work is motivationally foundational, but often not explicitly identifiable, in day-to-day operations. The investigation concludes that rather than perceiving young people as problems to be fixed, faith-based youth work offers a means of helping young people flourish for the collective good.

The research was motivated by social workers’ need to develop additional resources to address the problems of adolescents in disadvantaged communities. The main goal was to explore mentors as a potential resource. More specifically whether sports coaches could be considered natural mentors in terms of the social support they provided to their adolescent players. The types of social support the literature ascribed to mentors were used to analyze the experiences of a sample of 10coaches and 63 adolescents drawn from six schools. The data was gathered through individual interviews with coaches and single focus groups with the adolescents. The findings suggested sports coaches were competent to provide guidance on certain moral, social and educational topics in a group mentoring situation as well as one on one mentoring to individual cases as part of a multi disciplinary team. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Sciences (Mental Health))

The research was motivated by social workers’ need to develop additional resources to address the problems of adolescents in disadvantaged communities. The main goal was to explore mentors as a potential resource. More specifically whether sports coaches could be considered natural mentors in terms of the social support they provided to their adolescent players. The types of social support the literature ascribed to mentors were used to analyze the experiences of a sample of 10coaches and 63 adolescents drawn from six schools. The data was gathered through individual interviews with coaches and single focus groups with the adolescents. The findings suggested sports coaches were competent to provide guidance on certain moral, social and educational topics in a group mentoring situation as well as one on one mentoring to individual cases as part of a multi disciplinary team. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Sciences (Mental Health))

Social work / M.A. (Social Work)

Social work / M.A. (Social Work)