Issue 26 - November 2007 (PDF, 1.69Mb) - ESRC

teenagers and youths are frequently
portrayed as a threat to society, whether it
be their eating and exercise habits, or their
problematic behaviour in the classroom
and on the streets.
Though often couched in the language of
concern for young people’s future, the
notion of the danger of what they might
become is ever present. As a result,
concern with and for young people focuses
more on their futures than on the present.
Rarely are they considered as citizens in
their own right, but rather as citizens in
the making with citizenship education in
school being a means of equipping them to
be ‘good’ citizens.
Ambivalence about ‘youth’ has been
around at least since the time of Aristotle,
and probably long before, but never before
have British children and young people
been so surveilled and controlled – in the
home, in the school, in public spaces. Most
worryingly of all, our young seem to be
In pondering how young people can play
a full role in society, we must first
address the presumption that society is
somehow ours, an entity that we invite
them to join. We must collectively instil in
children from the outset that they are part
of society, too – society is theirs as much
as it is ours.
In latter years, we have made positive
shifts towards involving young people,
usually by asking them to comment on the
services provided for them. Now the
public sector is expected to bring users’
experiences more into the planning of our
various services – and rightly so.
We must encourage children and young
people to participate actively in the
development of those services, to help
design and build them, rather than being
passive consumers or recipients. And
where better to begin seeking the
contribution of young people than in
education?
Here, in our diverse settings, we can
empower children to be the co-creators of
their environment, to structure the
education system not for them, but with
feared. One group of young people most
often portrayed as a threat and making no
positive contribution are those involved in
criminal and anti-social behaviour. Anti-
Social Behaviour Orders, introduced
primarily to deal with difficulties between
adults, are now used most often against
young people, and the number of young
people in custody is at an all time high.
Whilst not denying the problematic
nature of some of their behaviour,
research which examines young offenders’
lives from their point of view reveals a
picture at odds with commonly held views.
Often living in areas of high deprivation
and high crime with disrupted families and
low family incomes, they have limited
opportunities and cope well with
frequently difficult lives. Limited space in
their homes, lack of local facilities and no
money to travel or join in activities
elsewhere makes it more likely they will
meet up with friends on the street and be
Giving students a louder voice
We must collectively instil
in children from the
outset that they are part
of society, too – society is
theirs as much as it is
ours
them. When I was Director of Children’s
Services for Oxfordshire, we did some
powerful work with four to five year olds,
gaining an understanding of their
experiences of entering a nursery setting. I
regularly discussed policy development
with groups of young people, who acted as
sounding boards for me and for whom I
acted as an advocate to local service
providers, including my own staff.
Many schools are already giving
students a greater voice in their education.
On a recent visit to Redbridge Community
School in Southampton I was delighted to
find among the usual information in the
induction handbook for new staff three
E S R C T H E E D G E | F E AT U R E 21
seen as a nuisance or a threat.
These young people are rarely given
credit for the strengths they display: the
resilience they show in coping with
difficult circumstances, the support that
they show for friends and the help that
they give to neighbours and family.
Contacts with formal services can be
unsatisfactory where the aims and targets
of organisations compete with the needs of
the most difficult children.
We need to present a more positive
approach to young people, show them that
we appreciate their strengths and believe
that they can and do make a valuable
contribution to society – something which
the vast majority of them (young offenders
included) want to do
Professor Jean Hine is Co-Ordinator for
ESRC’s Pathways into and out of Crime:
Risk Resilience and Diversity Network.
By Keith Bartley
letters from pupils to new teachers, setting
out their views of what makes an effective
teacher. What a powerful message about
the importance of the pupil’s voice!
At the GTC we are embarking on a
project to explore ‘pupil voice’ as one way
of placing young people closer to the
centre-stage in their learning. We need to
respect young people as young people,
rather than framing them as miniature
adults for whom “we know best” and find
ways to value more their perspective,
taking account of their skills and
experiences.
We all need to work towards the day
when children and young people are more
involved in shaping their own lives and
determining their futures. They need to
develop the confidence to feel they have a
secure place as citizens in their own right.
They are our future
Keith Bartley is Chief Executive of the
General Teaching Council for England
(GTC).