Childhood and Youth Studies

The book combines social pedagogy theories, psychology, sociology and social work with a social constructionist perspective to help practitioners guide children and young people to cope better with the challenges they face as they grow up. 

The nuanced interconnections of poverty and educational attainment across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are explored in this unique analysis. Experts investigate how different educational structures and policies affect teachers’ engagement with marginalised groups and consider how inequalities might be reduced.

Drawing on the largest database available on labour migration to Europe, this book examines the poverty outcomes for three generations of settler migrants spanning multiple European destinations, as compared with their returnee and stayer counterparts living in Turkey.

This topical book outlines a model of positive youth justice: Children First, Offenders Second (CFOS), which promotes child-friendly, diversionary, inclusionary, engaging, promotional practice and legitimate partnership between children and adults to serve as a blueprint for other local authorities and countries.

The politics of parental leave policies addresses how and why, and by whom, particular policies are created and subsequently developed in particular countries. It examines the factors that bring about variations in leave policy, covering fifteen countries in Europe and beyond.

Drawing on access to prominent policy makers, Purcell examines the origins and impact of children’s services reform under recent Labour and Conservative-led governments, including Labour’s Every Child Matters programme and the Munro Review. He also reassesses the impact of high-profile child abuse cases, including Victoria Climbié and Baby P.

How to respond to the needs of working parents has become a pressing social policy issue in contemporary Western Europe. This book highlights the politicising of parenthood in the Scandinavian welfare states - focusing on the relationship between parents and the state, and the ongoing renegotiations between the public and the private. 

Using the UK government’s play strategy for England (2008-10) as a case study, this is the first book to look in detail at children’s play within public policy. It is an essential tool for practitioners and campaigners around the world.

An examination of the early work of the innovative Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Ethics and Law Committee. It will help anyone involved in other cohort studies to understand how ethical policies evolve.

Drawing on research from two UK schools, this book reveals how migration, language, ethnicity, religion and precarity shape youth relationships. Using Buber's model, it analyses 'I-It' and 'I-Thou' interactions, showcasing their power to reshape differences. It offers a pragmatic and hopeful view of the dynamics of diversity in everyday life.

How can local communities effectively build peace and reconciliation before, during and after open violence? This trailblazing book gives practical examples, from the Global North and Global South, on communities alleviating conflict and enabling transformation in divided societies.

Naomi Eisenstadt and Carey Oppenheim explore the radical changes in public attitudes and public policy concerning parents and parenting, arguing that a more joined-up approach is needed to improve outcomes for children: both reducing child poverty and improving parental capacity by providing better support systems.