A Youth Perspective: Collaboration for Youth Development within Aotearoa New Zealand

10.26686/wgtn.16992961 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Amy Lavini

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Alternative Education ◽

Youth Development ◽

Phenomenological Approach ◽

Relationship Building ◽

Youth Services ◽

Frontline Workers ◽

Collaborative Processes ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Youth At Risk

Collaboration is an increasingly popular approach to addressing the multi-faceted needs of youth-at-risk both within academic literature and government policy in New Zealand. Due to being a relevantly new concept, there is limited evidence in the literature regarding how it is being implemented and whether implementations are successful. There is aparticular gap within the literature regarding the experiences of frontline workers and youth themselves. As youth are the key benefactors of youth services it seems important to understand whether and how they perceive the collaborative approach to be working to assist them in their development. To determine this, the following study explores the experiences of nine youth in New Zealand regarding collaborative processes used by services they have been privy to over recent years. Youth participants came from across New Zealand and altogether have experienced a range of youth interventions, from alternative education to Family Group Conferences, aimed at addressing anti-social and criminal behaviours. Taking a phenomenological approach, the study is carried out using concepts from the framework of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). The use of AI ensured the study was strengths focussed and allowed youth to become active agents rather than subjects of enquiry. Furthermore, it has allowed a positive paradigm for discussing ways to ensure that youth services are better focussed on youth's needs, feelings and understandings. Along with the findings regarding collaboration a common theme arose when youth were invited to share their stories which highlighted further areas for discussion when addressing successful service outcomes. That is, the importance of relationship building.

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The Five Cs of Positive Youth Development in an Aotearoa/New Zealand Program Context

Journal of Youth Development ◽

10.5195/jyd.2019.774 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 36-58 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jayne Mercier ◽

Catherine Powell ◽

Georgina Langdon-Pole ◽

Daleki (Fole) Finau ◽

Karen Hicks ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Young People ◽

Youth Development ◽

Positive Youth Development ◽

Education Program ◽

Outdoor Education ◽

Future Research ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Five Cs

This study took a qualitative look at an Aotearoa/New Zealand-based positive youth development outdoor-education program in schools using the 5 Cs model of positive youth development. The viewpoints of young people, parents, and teachers were gathered, providing an opportunity to explore additional perspectives of the 5 Cs. All 5 Cs were seen to be present in the program and the 6th C of contribution was also observed. The Cs of competence, confidence and connection featured strongly, whilst the C of connection appeared to be important to young people’s experience of the program. Young people and adults prioritized different outcomes, with adults focusing more on future impacts and young people identifying more immediate benefits. The findings of this study add to an understanding of the 5 Cs model beyond the American context and highlight areas for future research.

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Reading Between the Lines: Representations and Constructions of Youth and Crime in Aotearoa/New Zealand

10.26686/wgtn.16920796.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Fiona M Beals

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

New Zealand ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Young People ◽

Family Environment ◽

Sociological Theory ◽

Young Person ◽

Similar Reasoning ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Youth At Risk

In this thesis, I examine constructions of youth deviance in Aotearoa/New Zealand, 2002. In 2002, New Zealand had a national election in which adult commentators and observers concentrated and speculated on the reasons for a supposed increase in youth deviance and a spate of extraordinarily violent youth crimes. Youth-at-risk, early intervention, the family, and education were words that emerged continuously in commentator discussions. There was no critique of these words, or the practices they implied, and very little discussion of the implications the use of these words and practices posed for young people. In this thesis, I address this gap in the discussion by critically exploring the ways in which authors in institutional contexts constructed deviant youth and the implications of these constructions for youth. In this research, I sampled published texts in 2002 from academia, government, and media; three institutions which produce and reproduce knowledge in New Zealand. I applied a form of discourse analysis to the texts to explore and contextualise evident constructions. This analysis involved a bricolage of poststructural methodologies in the attempt to make an accessible argument, which effectively addressed the purposes of the research. I found that authors did not apply a knowledge devoid of power. Whether used to construct a picture of the deviant youth, or to describe necessary interventions into deviance, they used knowledge to construct the deviant youth as powerless effects of development and risk. Authors used knowledge to divide young people into the abnormally-deviant youth-at-risk and the normally-deviant adolescent. Applying knowledge allowed those writing about youth crime to construct and position young people as powerless. Authors reinforced this when they used knowledge to inform practices and interventions, which allowed adults to control the young person’s access to, and use of, power. In particular, authors and other experts saw mass education as a powerful practice of control and socialisation. Through education, adult society could remove the abnormallydeviant youth from the dysfunctional family environment and re-socialise the young person into conformity. Those writing applied a similar reasoning in other described interventions such as surveillance, conferencing, and early intervention. Interventions allowed adults to control the deviance of youth. I finish this thesis by arguing that interventions and contradictions in constructions show that power is not one-sided. That is, power is not always in the hands of adults. Rather, sociological theory can be applied to demonstrate and explore a power struggle between adults and young people where resistance coexists with power. I argue that resistance can provide an alternative explanation to the dominant ideas held by those working with, and talking about, deviant youth. Resistance allows for a concept of agency in which both deviance and non-deviance can be seen as a reactive response by the young person.

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Exploring Critical Alternatives for Youth Development through Lifestyle Sport: Surfing and Community Development in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su9122298 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 2298 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Belinda Wheaton ◽

Georgina Roy ◽

Rebecca Olive

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Community Development ◽

Youth Development ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand

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‘Warm Eyes’, ‘Warm Breath’, ‘Heart Warmth’: Using Aroha (Love) and Warmth to Reconceptualise and Work towards Best Interests in Child Protection

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci9040054 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 54

Author(s):

Susan Young ◽

Margaret McKenzie ◽

Cecilie Omre ◽

Liv Schjelderup ◽

Shayne Walker

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Child Protection ◽

Young Person ◽

Relationship Building ◽

Best Interests ◽

Rights Of The Child ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Current Events ◽

United Nations Convention ◽

Practice Framework

The attributes ‘warm eyes’, ‘breathe warm air’, ‘heart warmth’ and aroha (love) guide our work in child protection. These quotes are from a young person from the Change Factory 2020, a MFAMILY student in 2020 and Jan Erik Henricksen Key Note at the 4th International Indigenous Voices in Social Work Conference, Alta, Norway 2017 respectively, to describe the way young people and families want workers to be. We reflect on the child rights and family inclusion provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRoC), and the Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ) legislation Children, Young Persons and their Families Act (1989), in contributing to the best interests of the child. We examine current events in our locations, Aotearoa New Zealand, Norway and Western Australia, as demonstrating that these joint principles are far from universally used in child protection practice. The sole use of Article 3 of the UNCRoC, in particular, often results in excluding families as legitimate stakeholders. In seeking to achieve the best interests of the child, we apply a practice framework to example vignettes. Here, we have added micro-practices to address the identified gaps in relationship building, engagement and enabling practices in working towards the practice of best interests.

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"The Elderly"

The New Zealand Annual Review of Education ◽

10.26686/nzaroe.v26.6852 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 ◽

pp. 5-10

Author(s):

Diana Amundsen

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Older People ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

The Elderly ◽

Public Spaces ◽

Relationship Building ◽

Online Media ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Intergenerational Exchanges

Older people in Aotearoa New Zealand too often experience negative attitudes or behaviours towards them based on their age. A pertinent example of this is the term “the elderly.” The objective of this research was to understand how stereotypes of “the elderly” are portrayed in the online arena in social and public spaces. Within Aotearoa New Zealand, 155 online media items using terms like “the elderly” and “elderly” were tracked, recorded and analysed during 2019 to determine stereotypical meanings of “the elderly.” Results revealed use of the term “the elderly” reflected various stereotyping and ageist discourses in the message. Labelling older people as “the elderly” may perpetuate social exclusion and discrimination faced by older people. As educators, we have a responsibility to create opportunities for meaningful intergenerational exchanges and relationship building within our teaching and learning activities.

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Reading Between the Lines: Representations and Constructions of Youth and Crime in Aotearoa/New Zealand

10.26686/wgtn.16920796 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Fiona M Beals

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

New Zealand ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Young People ◽

Family Environment ◽

Sociological Theory ◽

Young Person ◽

Similar Reasoning ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Youth At Risk

In this thesis, I examine constructions of youth deviance in Aotearoa/New Zealand, 2002. In 2002, New Zealand had a national election in which adult commentators and observers concentrated and speculated on the reasons for a supposed increase in youth deviance and a spate of extraordinarily violent youth crimes. Youth-at-risk, early intervention, the family, and education were words that emerged continuously in commentator discussions. There was no critique of these words, or the practices they implied, and very little discussion of the implications the use of these words and practices posed for young people. In this thesis, I address this gap in the discussion by critically exploring the ways in which authors in institutional contexts constructed deviant youth and the implications of these constructions for youth. In this research, I sampled published texts in 2002 from academia, government, and media; three institutions which produce and reproduce knowledge in New Zealand. I applied a form of discourse analysis to the texts to explore and contextualise evident constructions. This analysis involved a bricolage of poststructural methodologies in the attempt to make an accessible argument, which effectively addressed the purposes of the research. I found that authors did not apply a knowledge devoid of power. Whether used to construct a picture of the deviant youth, or to describe necessary interventions into deviance, they used knowledge to construct the deviant youth as powerless effects of development and risk. Authors used knowledge to divide young people into the abnormally-deviant youth-at-risk and the normally-deviant adolescent. Applying knowledge allowed those writing about youth crime to construct and position young people as powerless. Authors reinforced this when they used knowledge to inform practices and interventions, which allowed adults to control the young person’s access to, and use of, power. In particular, authors and other experts saw mass education as a powerful practice of control and socialisation. Through education, adult society could remove the abnormallydeviant youth from the dysfunctional family environment and re-socialise the young person into conformity. Those writing applied a similar reasoning in other described interventions such as surveillance, conferencing, and early intervention. Interventions allowed adults to control the deviance of youth. I finish this thesis by arguing that interventions and contradictions in constructions show that power is not one-sided. That is, power is not always in the hands of adults. Rather, sociological theory can be applied to demonstrate and explore a power struggle between adults and young people where resistance coexists with power. I argue that resistance can provide an alternative explanation to the dominant ideas held by those working with, and talking about, deviant youth. Resistance allows for a concept of agency in which both deviance and non-deviance can be seen as a reactive response by the young person.

Download Full-text