"I think the children that come to youth justice are always gonna be the children that struggle with education. It’s always going to be the case, isn't it?” An exploration of the views and experiences of youth justice workers and educational psychologists on factors which influence young people who have offended engaging with education, training or employment.

Abstract

This study explores factors which influence young people who have offended (YPwO) engaging with education, training or employment (ETE) from the perspectives of youth justice workers (YJWs). It also explores the role of educational psychologists (EPs) within this context.

YPwO are often marginalised and socially excluded (Bateman & Hazel, 2013; Traverse, 2023). They may face difficulties such as accessing prosocial opportunities, housing and ETE (Bateman & Hazel, 2015; Youth Justice Board, 2006), which may lead to poor outcomes for the individual and society (Lanskey, 2015).

Engagement in ETE is considered a protective factor for reducing offending (Public Health England, 2019; Youth Justice Board, 2023), as well as being linked to increased resilience (Buchanan & Fluori, 2001), reduced risk of gang involvement (Morrison et al., 2002) and increased social inclusion (Stephenson, 2006). It is therefore a concern that YPwO remain educationally marginalised (Lanskey, 2015; Youth Justice Board, 2023).

This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore the views and experiences of seven YJWs who had experience supporting YPwO to engage in ETE. The views of six EPs with experience of working within a youth justice service (YJS) were also sought to understand how EPs contributions may support YPwO to engage in ETE. An exploratory and interpretivist approach was adopted, and reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the transcripts.

The findings indicate several factors which may influence YPwO engaging in ETE. This varies from individual factors such as unidentified or unsupported special educational needs and disabilities (SEN/D) and YPwO experiencing success; to more systemic issues such as the environments and attitudes of ETE settings and knowledge and skills of the practitioners supporting YPwO. The findings also highlight a clear role for EPs within YJSs, providing support for their role in assessing the needs of YPwO, using psychology to challenge negative narratives and supporting others professional development through supervision and training. Despite this, a number of barriers such as funding, EP capacity and others knowledge and understanding of the EP role were disused in relation to the ongoing and future working relationships between EPs and YJSs. Bronfenbrenner and Morris’ (2006) Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) bioecological theory of human development is applied as a way of understanding and exploring the factors that impact YPwO engaging in ETE and the role of EPs and YJWs in supporting this.

The significance of this research was discussed, evidencing the value of EP involvement with youth justice services (YJSs) and highlighting contributions to research knowledge, policy and practice (for YJWs and EPs).