An article examined changes over the previous twenty years in the living arrangements of young men and women aged 16-34, and how the proportions living with their parents differed by geographical region, education, and economic activity.
Source: Ann Berrington, Juliet Stone and Jane Falkingham, 'The changing living arrangements of young adults in the UK', Population Trends 138, Winter 2009, Office for National Statistics
Links: Article | Southampton University press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Dec
A think-tank report set out proposals for a 'national civic service'. It said that service schemes boosted the employability of the young people who took part, as well as bringing real benefits to the community. In order for these benefits to be maximized there needed to be a structured approach through a national scheme.
Source: Sonia Sodha and Dan Leighton, Service Nation, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | Demos blog | NUS press release | BBC report | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2009-Dec
An article examined issues raised by the academic and political use of the concept of social capital, and its perceived value as a guide to policy – focusing on young people.
Source: Janet Holland, 'Young people and social capital: uses and abuses?', Young, Volume 17 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Nov
A new book examined the lives of young people aged 16-18 growing up in socially deprived urban areas of Glasgow in Scotland. Many had became disenfranchised by educational failure, unemployment, and poverty: but there were also young people who had overcome great challenges. Many resisted, or moved quickly out of, gangs – especially when there were attractive alternatives to engage them and offer them opportunities to build social capital in legitimate fields such as sport and civic participation.
Source: Ross Deuchar, Gangs, Marginalised Youth and Social Capital, Trentham Books (01782 745567)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Nov
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales called for greater transparency over budget setting on issues that affected children and young people.
Source: Children's Budgeting in Wales, Children and Young People Committee/National Assembly for Wales (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Oct
A new book examined children's lives at both national and international levels, with a focus on the interplay between theory and practice. Contributors looked at issues such as young people and the law, children's rights, child protection, sexuality, participation, politics, and family life.
Source: Heather Montgomery and Mary Kellett (eds.), Children and Young People's Worlds: Developing frameworks for integrated practice, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Jul
A report said that citizenship education was 'the single biggest government investment in youth citizenship', and called on the government to ensure that the delivery of citizenship education was more consistent and effective.
Source: Making the Connection: Building youth citizenship in the UK, Youth Citizenship Commission (ycc@justice.gsi.gov.uk)
Links: Report | Citizenship Foundation press release
Date: 2009-Jul
A new book examined youth transitions, focusing on the question of how gender identities were formed, based on in-depth accounts of four young lives.
Source: Rachel Thomson, Unfolding Lives: Youth, gender and change, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Jul
A report examined the proportion of young people who experienced different forms of risk leading to social exclusion, and how this varied for young people in different circumstances; how risks overlapped, and which young people were prone to multiple disadvantages; how risks varied over time; and what drove social exclusion for this group.
Source: Linda Cusworth, Jonathan Bradshaw, Bob Coles, Antonia Keung and Yekaterina Chzhen, Understanding the Risks of Social Exclusion Across the Life Course: Youth and Young Adulthood, Social Exclusion Task Force/Cabinet Office (020 7276 1234)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Jul
A report said that young people in deprived areas would be hit hardest by the economic recession, as unemployment rose and local youth services became vulnerable to cuts. Youth charities might be unable to keep up with demand, as their services faced spiralling demands from disadvantaged young people.
Source: Jenny Harrow and Cathy Pharoah, Rethinking Recession: Needs and opportunities for sector change, Prince's Trust (020 7543 1234) and ESRC Centre for Giving and Philanthropy/Cass Business School
Links: Report | Prince's Trust press release | CASS press release | Guardian report | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2009-May
A new book examined the politics of children's communication – how children communicated and engaged, how they organized themselves and their lives, and how they dealt with conflict in their relationships and the world around them. It considered how adults could interact with children and young people in ways that were sensitive to children's feelings, and empowering and supportive of their attempts to be autonomous.
Source: Nigel Thomas (ed.), Children, Politics and Communication: Participation at the margins, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-May
The government announced a new programme for young people aged 16-19, under which 20,000 school-leavers each year would undertake full-time community service. It said that its longer-term ambition was for all young people to contribute at least 50 hours of community service by the age of 19.
Source: Press release 24 April 2009, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Cabinet Office press release | PM podcast (transcript) | Groundwork press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2009-Apr
A report examined how social mobility related to equality, and how it affected children's and young people's life-chances, aspirations, and personal and social development – focusing on the role of the voluntary and community sector.
Source: Children and Young People's Social Mobility, National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (020 7278 1041)
Links: Report | NCVYS press release | YMCA press release
Date: 2009-Apr
A report highlighted widespread discrimination against children and young people – for example, children being unfairly refused entry to public services such as libraries and museums, babies and parents being refused access to public transport, and ambulance services failing to take children's calls seriously. It called for the Equality Bill to be extended to cover children and young people.
Source: Making the Case: Why children should be protected from age discrimination and how it can be done, Young Equals, c/o Children's Rights Alliance for England (020 7278 8222)
Links: Report | CRAE press release
Date: 2009-Apr
A new book provided an overview of some of the key methodological challenges facing youth researchers, and an introduction to the range of methods used in youth-orientated research.
Source: Eleanor Ireland, Rachel Brooks, Elizabeth Cleaver and Sue Heath, Researching Young People's Lives, SAGE Publications Ltd (020 7324 8500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Mar
A new book examined a wide range of issues that affected and shaped youth and young adulthood, and set out future research agendas.
Source: Andy Furlong (ed.), Handbook of Youth and Young Adulthood: New perspectives and agendas, Routledge (01264 343071)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Mar
A report examined how young people aged 13-18 were portrayed in the media, and what impact this had on them. Most media stories about young people were negative – stories involving young people were most commonly about crime, gangs, education, and social exclusion. Most young people felt that the media represented them as anti-social and as a group to be feared.
Source: Catherine Clark, Amrita Ghosh, Emrys Green and Naushin Shariff, Media Portrayal of Young People: Impact and influences, National Youth Agency (0116 285 3700)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2009-Jan