Assuring positive impacts from participation with marginalised young people and the services that affect them

Scott, Dawn (2010) Assuring positive impacts from participation with marginalised young people and the services that affect them. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

Participation has been defined as a ‘way of working’ rather than an event or a project, and literature demonstrates that the process of participating is as important as the impact on services. Many organisations have developed standards advising on the best ways to engage young people in sharing their voices. There is however, limited evidence revealing the impact of participation on services and on those young people who chose to take part. Where evidence does exist it tends to examine the views and report the outcomes of young people engaged in mainstream services. This study therefore aims to explore the impacts of participation on ‘marginalised’ young people and the services that affect them. The thesis is underpinned by a hermeneutic interpretive phenomenological approach and reveals how young people marginalised by society and circumstance can share their voices within the context of their very complex lives. The narrative method enables the capture of the young people’s histories and experiences of voice sharing. Key workers’ narratives additionally help describe the complexity of the young people’s lives and the constraining and enabling factors challenging successful participation. The research found that whilst participation is important in developing and improving services, young people appear to develop new skills, build confidence and self esteem, raise their aspirations and role model key workers’ positive attributes. Young people experience ‘therapeutic’ effects associated with voice sharing and for key workers the research experience was found to be beneficial and salutary. To facilitate and sustain meaningful, fulfilling and positive experiences a new model of participation generated from the data is presented.

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