SUPPORTING THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR WORK WITH PUPILS WHO ARE VULNERABLE, DISSAFFECTED OR EXCLUDED

In this section you will find articles regarding children and young people’s challenging behaviour.

NEW - Clustering of internet risk behaviors in a middle school student population

Elizabeth B. Dowell, Ann W. Burgess, Deborah J. Cavanaugh
Journal of School Health Vol 79, No 11 - November 2009: 547 - 553
To better understand how early adolescents are using the Internet, a study was undertaken to more clearly identify the online general use, safety knowledge, and risk behaviors of middle school students. Students reported the beginnings of high-risk Internet behaviour such as giving out personal information, using the Internet to harass or embarrass another person, and chatting with strangers and starting relationships.

NEW - Territorialities in Scotland: perceptions of young people in Glasgow 

Christopher Peter Holligan, Ross Deuchar 
Journal of Youth Studies, Vol 12, No 6 - December 2009: 731 - 746 
This paper presents the results of an exploratory, small-scale qualitative research enquiry into the perceptions and experiences of young people in communities afflicted by deprivation in Glasgow. Most of the data collection took place in 'youth centres' close to the two stadiums of the football clubs Rangers and Celtic. Social capital theory is incorporated into the analysis of the results. The findings suggest that territoriality is the dominant parameter shaping their experience of and perceptions regarding neighbourhood areas, a conclusion endorsed by recent research about religious intermarriage.

Young people and territoriality in British cities

This Joseph Rowntree Foundation study by the University of Glasgow studies territorial behaviour by young people to see whether this imposes significant constraints on their lives. It considers the implications for communities. The negative impact of territorial behaviour on young people included constrained mobility, problems with access to amenities, and the risk of violent assault and criminalisation.

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School exclusions and masculine working class identities

This paper considers the experience of boys who have been marginalised by school in that they have been formally excluded for periods of between three days and four weeks.

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In this section you will find articles which consider trends within schools and how they could potentially impact on young people’s education.

NEW - Social and ecological structures supporting adolescent connectedness to school: a theoretical model

Stacey K Waters, Donna S Cross, Kevin Runions
Journal of School Health Vol 79, No 11 November 2009: 516 - 524   
Adolescence can be characterized by many health, social, and academic challenges. A student's feeling of connectedness to school helps meet these challenges. This article reviews the connectedness literature and integrates health promotion, adolescent development, and ecological frameworks to describe how a school context fosters this connection.

Social capital, social inclusion and changing school contexts: A Scottish perspective, McGonigal et al, British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol 55 No 1 (2007)

This paper offers a collaborative review of social capital theory, with particular regard for its relevance to the changing educational landscape within Scotland. The review considers the common and distinctive elements of social capital, developed by the founding fathers – Putnam, Bourdieu and Coleman – and explores how these might help to understand the changing contexts and pursue opportunities for growth. The article suggests schools need to reinstate values of trust and norms of co-operation and that discussion of these values should take place in the staffrooms, departmental bases and classrooms.

To read this article in full you will need to subscribe to the British Journal of Educational Studies or make a single article purchase. This journal is also available through the National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

In this section you will find articles regarding information on families.

‘Cultural Views affect STI rates’. (11 September, 2008).

An article on the BBC website, which examines how attitudes to sex education in the Netherlands differ from those in Scotland. In both Dutch and Scottish schools sex education is patchy, but parents talk to their children more openly about relationships and sexual issues.  NHS Dumfries and Galloway, and NHS Greater Glasgow have programmes to encourage this parental involvement.

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An approach to understanding school attendance difficulties: pupils’ perceptions of parental behaviour in response to their requests to be absent from school, A. Sheppard, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, Vol 12 No.4 Dec (2007)

This small scale study collected data on parent-child interaction immediately prior to school absence to examine how such interaction influenced the development of attendance difficulties. School absence requests were significantly more frequent among the poor attenders, who gained more absence and whose parents were inconsistent in their responses to the requests. Education social work/welfare services and school pastoral staff need well-formulated methods if they are to work effectively with parents and young people and substantially raise their low attendance.

To read this article in full you will need to subscribe to the Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties or make a single article purchase. This journal is also available through the National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

Articles relating to young people and substance misuse.

NEW - Prevention of substance use among adolescents through social and emotional training in school: a latent-class analysis of a five-year intervention in Sweden

Birgitta Kimber, Rolf Sandell
Journal of Adolescence Vol 32 No 6 - December 2009: 1403-1413
The study considers the impact of a program for social and emotional learning in Swedish schools on use of drugs, volatile substances, alcohol and tobacco. It concludes that such programs, given a duration of two years or more, may dampen increases in use with age and discourage early debut.

Coming ‘down here’: young people's reflections on becoming entrenched in a local drug scene

Danya Fast, Will Small, Evan Wood, Thomas Kerr
Social Science and Medicine Vol 69, No 8 - October 2009: 1204-1210
This study was undertaken in order to explore how young people who were currently street-entrenched characterized and understood their initiation into the local drug scene in downtown Vancouver, Canada. The findings stress the need for early intervention with youth, before they are initiated into the social networks and processes that rapidly propel young people towards risk within these contexts.

Tackling Drug Abuse in Brazil

A short article, September 2008, from Community Care is an easy to read account of a small residential project in Brazil, helping recovering male, under 18, drug addicts, using a team of volunteer therapists, teachers and mentors, some of whom are also in recovery.

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Pre-teenage Children’s Experiences with Alcohol, J. McIntosh F. MacDonald and Neil. McKeganey, Children & Society, Vol 22 Issue 1 Jan (2008)

This article reports on the drinking experiences and motivations of 77 pre-teenage children. A number of causes for concern are identified in this article. These include the frequency of the children’s drinking and the volume of alcohol consumed by some of them; their tendency to combine different types of alcoholic drink in the same session; the unreliability of measures undertaken by the children to reduce risk and ensure their safety and the ease with which alcohol could be obtained. These findings emphasise the need for drug education programmes to alert children to the dangers of alcohol consumption and equip them with the skills to deal effectively with peer pressure. There is also a pressing need to improve the leisure facilities for young people as alternatives to drinking and other problem behaviour.

To read this article in full you will need to subscribe to the Children & Society or make a single article purchase. This journal is also available through the National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

In this section you will find articles relating to young people, mental health and school.

NEW - Promoting children's mental, emotional and social health through contact with nature: a model

Cecily Jane Maller
Health Education Vol 109, No 6 – 2009: 522 - 543
This paper found that hands-on contact with nature is perceived by educators to improve self-esteem, engagement with school and a sense of empowerment, among other benefits. Activities involving hands-on contact with nature may have significant health outcomes for children, and different types of activities are perceived to have different outcomes. A model is proposed to illustrate the findings.

NEW - Review: school based prevention and early intervention programmes reduce anxiety

Stallard, P. (commentator)
Evidence Based Mental Health Vol 12, No 4 – Nov 2009: 116
This review compares the effectiveness of early intervention and prevention programmes.

NEW - Mental well-being and subjective health of 11- to 15-year-old boys and girls in Scotland, 1994–2006

Levin, K.A., Currie, C., and Muldoon, J.
European Journal of Public Health Vol 19, No 6 – Dec 2009: 605-610
This paper concludes that adolescent mental well-being and subjective health in Scotland is improving. However, gender differences persist and socioeconomic inequalities are emerging for some measures, suggesting that a longer term monitoring of mental well-being and subjective health in Scotland is required.

Investing in the mental health of Fife: the Playfield Institute

W. Simpson, G. Buchanan, and G. Monteith
Journal of Public Mental Health Vol 8, No 1 – Mar 2009: 11 – 18
The Playfield Institute’s focus is to build the capacity of frontline workers (otherwise known as the children's workforce eg. school nurses, social workers, teachers, foster carers etc) to promote the mental health of children and young people. This paper discusses why the Institute was set up, what it is, what it has achieved and how the model is sustainable.

The relationship between early suicide behaviors and mental health: results from a nine-year panel study.

Ryan MacDonald, John Taylor, Diana Clark
Journal of Adolescence Vol 32, No 5 - October 2009: 1159-1172 
This paper employs community-level data to examine the relationship between suicide behaviors, measured at age eleven, and two mental health outcomes assessed nine-years later. Specifically, they assess the role and significance of suicide ideation and suicide attempts in substance dependence and depressive symptomatology.

Emotional Intelligence and Education: A Critical Review, Humphery et al, Educational Psychology, Vol 27 No 2 (2007)

This article discusses what we mean by emotional intelligence. What impact would improved emotional intelligence have on learner’s emotional health and well being, academic achievement, and other key adaptive outcomes? And, can emotional intelligence be taught? The article suggests that more convincing evidence from high quality studies is needed to better understand the link between emotional intelligence and education.
To read this article in full you will need to subscribe to Educational Psychology or make a single article purchase. This journal is also available through the National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

Here you will find articles relating to information regarding young people who are being looked after away from home.

Children’s wellbeing in care: evidence from a longitudinal study of outcomes

Elizabeth Fernandez
Children and Youth Services Review Vol 31, No 10 - October 2009: 1092-1100

In this section you will find articles which document the experiences of young people regarding their education and other issues which affect them.

In this section you will find articles which engage with the issue of delivering effective children’s services.

Collaborative working across children’s services: Where are we now? Gillian Barclay and Claire Kerr, Educational and Child Psychology, Vol 23 No 4 (2006)

This study explores how collaborative working across child and adolescent mental health and psychological services is developing in Edinburgh. The results supported much of the literature surrounding this issue. Good communication, improved resources and resource management, informal links and a better understanding of the roles of others leads to better collaborative working.
To read this article in full you will need to subscribe to the Educational and Child Psychology or make a single article purchase. This journal is also available through the National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

In this section you will find articles which engage with the issue of working with young people with additional support needs. 

Pupils perceptions of an alternative curriculum: Skill Force, Hallam et al, Research Papers in Education, Vol 22 No 1 (2007)

This research explored pupils perceptions of participation in Skill Force and the perceived impact on their motivation, attitudes to school, attendance, exclusions, behaviour and attainment. The findings demonstrated that the programme was successful in meeting the needs of many disaffected students, improving their motivation, confidence, communication and social skills. It reduced exclusions, improved behaviour, attendance, attitudes towards education and attainment and also provided students with a range of practical, vocational qualifications.
To read this article in full you will need to subscribe to the Research Papers in Education or make a single article purchase. This journal is also available through the National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

Evaluating Circle Time as a support to social skills development – reflections on a journey in school-based research, British Journal of Special Education, Catherine Canney and Alison Byrne, Volume 33 Number 1 (2006)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the merits of Circle Time as a classroom intervention aimed at improving the social skills of students with a mild intellectual disability. Here

In this section you will find articles which engage with the issue of working with young people around the issues of Social Justice.