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Youth Practitioners’ Perspectives on Building Agency and Supporting Transitions with and for Young People Experiencing Disadvantage

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Abstract

Despite the policy and academic interest in helping disadvantaged young people into employment and education, and towards a more positive future, little is known about the process of supporting positive transitions for young people. In Australia and internationally, youth work is increasingly considering alternatives to the traditional deficit-oriented and risk-averse approach to supporting young people experiencing social or material disadvantage. With an outset in youth practitioners’ perspectives on their work and underpinned by key concepts drawn from the Positive Youth Development approach, this paper seeks to improve understandings of how best to support disadvantaged young people’s ability to thrive, facilitate practitioner dialogue and strengthen practice. Qualitative interviews were conducted with twelve youth practitioners and a focus group run with an additional eight. The paper explores three concepts emerging from the analysis that were identified as key to understanding the unique potential youth work practitioners have to support positive transitions with and for disadvantaged young people: having an ecological focus, encouraging personal agency and fostering alternative possibilities. The findings propose new possibilities for working with young people with whom mainstream services struggle to engage. The paper concludes by discussing the practical implications and limitations of this approach.

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Acknowledgements

Data for this study were collected as part of an independent evaluation of a youth program. The first author received funding by Department of Social Services to undertake this evaluation.

We are grateful to the youth practitioners who were generous in sharing their time and experiences with us.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Addiction Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Maja Lindegaard Moensted & Carolyn A. Day

  2. Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Niels Buus

  3. The Centre for Family-Based Mental Health Care, St. Vincent’s Private Hospital Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Niels Buus

  4. Institute of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Niels Buus

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  1. Maja Lindegaard Moensted
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  2. Carolyn A. Day
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Correspondence to Maja Lindegaard Moensted.

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Moensted, M.L., Day, C.A. & Buus, N. Youth Practitioners’ Perspectives on Building Agency and Supporting Transitions with and for Young People Experiencing Disadvantage. JAYS 3, 293–310 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43151-020-00026-0

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