A new book examined the part played by technology in the lives of young people. The benefits of using technologies such as the internet and mobile devices far outweighed any perceived risks.
Source: Chris Davies and Rebecca Eynon, Teenagers and Technology, Routledge
Links: Summary | Oxford University press release
Date: 2012-Dec
A think-tank report examined the financial resilience of young people, their attitudes to saving, and their future aspirations for financial security. Young people faced a very uncertain future as a result of the double-dip recession, government spending cuts, and structural problems such as the high cost of housing. They might be the first generation since the second world war to fare worse economically than their parents.
Source: Tony Dolphin, Young People and Savings: A route to improved financial resilience, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | Friends Provident press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A new book examined youth participation in Europe. It looked at official and unofficial constructions of participation by young people in a range of socio-political domains; explored the motivations and rationales underlying official attempts to increase participation among young people; and offered a critique of their effectiveness.
Source: Patricia Loncle, Morena Cuconato, Virginie Muniglia, and Andreas Walther (eds), Youth Participation in Europe: Beyond discourses, practices and realities, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Oct
A new book examined the origins and outcomes of the Youth Empowerment Partnership Programme – an ongoing programme focused on disadvantaged areas in eight European countries. The programme was designed to empower young people and the communities in which they lived by making them central to new decision-making processes involving partnerships between public, private, and independent sectors.
Source: Peter Evans and Angelika Kruger, Youth and Community Empowerment in Europe: International perspectives, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Sep
A new book examined the economic, social, and political changes affecting young people in Europe.
Source: Jeremy Leaman and Martha Worsching (eds), Youth in Contemporary Europe, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Sep
An article examined the views of young people (aged 11–16) about economic inequality. Young people often felt very strongly about experiences where economic inequality was visible in consumption patterns. They interpreted economic inequality using ideas of neo-liberal meritocracy, saying that the existence of economic inequality was the fair result of different skills or effort: but at the same time they used a more egalitarian interpretation to claim that rich people and poor people were the 'same kind of people', and that luck played a great part in the different levels of wealth and possessions. This led them to argue that everyone should be treated the same and granted the same respect, regardless of whether they were rich or poor.
Source: Sarah Smart, 'Feeling uncomfortable: young people's emotional responses to neo-liberal explanations for economic inequality', Sociological Research Online, Volume 17 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2012-Aug
A think-tank report (authored by young people) examined the political and environmental crises facing young people. It made policy recommendations in areas including employment, skills and education, women, and housing.
Source: Lisa Nandy MP (ed.), Plan B for Youth, Compass
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jul
A think tank published an index that sought to systematically measure the impact that governmental policies had on younger people on an annual basis. The 'index of intergenerational unfairness' had deteriorated sharply over the previous decade. Starting at a level of 100 in the year 2000, the index had risen to a level of 128, based on the latest available data – indicating a much greater burden being placed on younger people. The rise had been most pronounced since the financial crisis of 2008.
Source: Jeremy Leach and Angus Hanton, Intergenerational Fairness Index: Measuring changes in intergenerational fairness in the United Kingdom, Intergenerational Foundation
Links: Report | Intergenerational Foundation press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Jun
An article said that the new generation of young people in the developed world were unlikely, for a range of economic and demographic reasons, to enjoy the same economic prosperity as the generations born following the second world war. It considered possible outcomes of this phenomenon, including intensified inter- and intra-generational conflict.
Source: Ken Roberts, 'The end of the long baby-boomer generation', Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 15 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An independent evaluation of the National Citizen Service found that for every £1 spent on the scheme, up to £2 was being returned to communities.
Source: NatCen Social Research/Office for Public Management/New Philanthropy Capital, Evaluation of National Citizen Service Pilots: Interim Report, Cabinet Office
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release | Labour Party press release | Civil Society report | Guardian report
Notes: The National Citizen Service is designed to bring together young people aged 16-17 from different backgrounds to undertake 'character-forming' community work. It is loosely modelled on military service but is voluntary.
Date: 2012-May
A collection of essays examined different aspects of intergenerational justice.
Source: Clare Coatman and Guy Shrubsole (with Ben Little and Shiv Malik) (eds.), Regeneration, Lawrence & Wishart
Links: Text of book
Date: 2012-May
A think-tank report said that an 'intergenerational democratic deficit' was emerging, whereby young cohorts were marginalized within the democratic process – with obvious negative implications for young people, but also for the legitimacy of representative democracy more generally. Although it might be premature or sensationalist to proclaim the rise of a 'gerontocracy', it was clear that young people had become relatively disenfranchised, both by the ageing of the electorate and by wider features of the democratic process that appeared to favour older cohorts.
Source: Craig Berry, The Rise of Gerontocracy? Addressing the intergenerational democratic deficit, Intergenerational Foundation
Links: Report | Intergenerational Foundation press release
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the role of gender and ethnicity in young minority-ethnic people's transition to adulthood. For some, the interplay of gender and ethnicity with religion was a crucial aspect of their transition, causing them to make choices to live their lives in a certain way: whereas for others it was more subtle and nuanced. Researchers and policy-makers needed to be aware of the similarities and differences of gendered experiences within various minority-ethnic groups, and the similarities between these groups and the majority ethnic group.
Source: Tehmina Basit, '" But that s just the stereotype": gender and ethnicity in transition to adulthood', Race, Ethnicity and Education, Volume 15 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A report (drawing on a cluster of five research projects on the social inclusion of young people in Europe) formulated the policy challenges involved in producing greater social inclusion through more opportunities and better access to education and the labour market, within the framework of solidarity between young people and wider society.
Source: Dagmar Kutsar and Helena Helve, Social Inclusion of Youth on the Margins of Society: More opportunities, better access, and higher solidarity, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
The children's watchdog for England published a report summarizing some of the key equality information that related to children and young people living in England. As well as the discrimination faced by specific groups of children and young people (for example, disabled children) it was notable that general perceptions of children and young people, particularly adolescents, were often negative, based on slim or prejudicial grounds.
Source: Lisa Davis, Children and Equality: Equality evidence relating to children and young people in England, Office of the Children's Commissioner
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book examined the relationships and networks – the social capital – that children and young people had in and out of school. It provided in-depth accounts of social capital being developed and used by children and young people.
Source: Julie Allan and Ralph Catts (eds.), Social Capital, Children and Young People: Implications for practice, policy and research, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book examined the importance of geographical processes for policies and professional practices related to childhood and youth, drawing primarily on examples from the United Kingdom.
Source: Peter Kraftl, John Horton, and Faith Tucker (eds.), Critical Geographies of Childhood and Youth: Contemporary policy and practice, Policy Press
Links: Summary | Leicester University press release
Date: 2012-Mar
A special issue of a journal examined the role of digital technologies in the lives of young people.
Source: Oxford Review of Education, Volume 38 Issue 1
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the literature on youth engagement in politics. Explanations for youth disengagement tended to emanate from two schools of thought: the traditional political science understanding of youth turnout based on life-cycle explanations; or the 'anti-apathy' approach, which failed to situate young people's political activity within the context of the political life cycle.
Source: Edward Phelps, 'Understanding electoral turnout among British young people: a review of the literature', Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 65 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the extent to which young people's levels of political engagement had changed over the period 2002-2011. Contrary to popular wisdom, the latest cohort of young people were keen to play a more active role in the political process: but their experience of the 2010 general election had left them feeling frustrated, and their aversion to formal, professional politics was as deep as it had been in 2002.
Source: Matt Henn and Nick Foard, 'Young people, political participation and trust in Britain', Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 65 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the extent to which political parties had sought to reform how they engaged with young people or reassert traditional modes of citizenship and political participation.
Source: Andrew Mycock and Jonathan Tonge, 'The party politics of youth citizenship and democratic engagement', Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 65 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
A survey found that many young people were dissatisfied with their portrayal in television and radio programmes, and that older viewers were concerned at the under-representation of middle-aged and older women.
Source: Clarissa White, Gareth Morrell, Clare Luke, and Penny Young (with David Bunker), Serving All Ages: The views of the audience and experts, Creative Diversity Network
Links: Report | BBC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Jan
A new book examined new methods and approaches that had become increasingly popular in recent years among youth researchers.
Source: Sue Heath and Charlie Walker (eds.), Innovations in Youth Research, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the strengths and weaknesses of the coalition government's 'Big Society' programme in the light of what was known about young people's politics – while youth participation in electoral politics had declined rapidly in recent decades, participation in issue-based forms of civic and political engagement had actually increased.
Source: James Sloam, '"Rejuvenating democracy?" Young people and the "Big Society" project', Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 65 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the ways in which minority-ethnic young people experienced the new climate of counter-terrorism, and its impact on their attitudes to citizenship and political participation.
Source: Ben O'Loughlin and Marie Gillespie, 'Dissenting citizenship? Young people and political participation in the media-security nexus', Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 65 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article drew on the 2009/2010 British Election Survey to explore the political engagement of young people. There was a structural problem stemming partly from a lack of effective representation and partly from a failure to appreciate the ways in which socio-economic changes had affected the lives of the younger generation.
Source: Andy Furlong and Fred Cartmel, 'Social change and political engagement among young people: generation and the 2009/2010 British Election Survey', Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 65 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
A report presented the findings of a study into the motivations, barriers, and facilitators of pro-social activity among young people.
Source: Lucy Lee, Gareth Morrell, Annalisa Marini, and Sarah Smith, Barriers and Facilitators to Pro-Social Behaviour Among Young People: A review of existing evidence, Research Report RR188, Department for Education
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jan