Hancock, Zoe;
(2021)
'There's more to the world than just like crime'. An exploratory study of young people's experiences of engaging with youth offending services.
Doctoral thesis (D.Ed.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Youth offending services (YOSs) were introduced to reduce the rates of offending amongst children and young people across England and Wales. Although they have been successful in supporting a high proportion of young people to achieve desistance, there is still a high level of re-offending. This thesis explored the experiences of young people enrolled in YOSs through a socio-ecological lens. Six young people were interviewed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), providing an in-depth understanding into their experiences. Five YOS professionals from various roles were also interviewed twice. Thematic analysis of the data provided contextual information regarding supportive factors and obstacles young people may face on their journey towards desistance. Findings outlined contributing factors to the development of a psychological and physical reflective space created within YOSs. The main features of the space were identified, namely: access to online sessions and staff’s non-judgemental approach. Young people also experienced personal growth as an outcome of their involvement with YOSs. The flexible approach, multi-disciplinary working and positive staff qualities contributed to the successful work completed within YOSs. Young people’s aspirations were explored, highlighting similarities with the general adolescent population. Findings signified the importance of moving away from a within-young person perspective to identify and acknowledge wider systemic issues, such as societal barriers when exploring why a large part of this population are not engaged in education, training or employment. Conclusions focus on the importance of gathering young people’s views during their involvement in YOSs as they provide a valuable insight into how best to support this population. The findings hold significant implications in understanding young people’s aspirations and how they perceive their experiences at YOSs. Implications for educational psychologists (EPs) within YOSs are outlined in relation to Bronfenbrenner’s PPCT model (2005), highlighting the variety of systems within YOSs EPs can contribute to.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Ed.Psy |
| Title: | 'There's more to the world than just like crime'. An exploratory study of young people's experiences of engaging with youth offending services |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2021. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10132666 |
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