A study investigated what Scottish and English young people consider important life skills, how they believe they develop them, and how necessary they see them to their future lives. More than 200 16-21-year-olds examined photographs of events related to basic life tasks, family, close relationships, work or school and leisure activities and then identified skills involved. Life skills they identified as important largely agreed with those described by education authorities. They considered the most important, essential life skills to be communication and interpersonal skills. Young people believed these skills were also those that employers consider essential; valued and saw employment experience as the major influence in developing life skills; added creative and aesthetic skills and physical and coordination skills to the traditional list of key skills; described wide applications of problem solving and critical thinking skills; and saw family, work, friends, and school as the main influences on skill development. Future considerations were identified as school curriculum; work experience; creative and aesthetic skills and motor coordination skills; interagency cooperation; information and communication technology; socially disadvantaged young people; community education services; learning support; and promotion of a culture of learning. (Appendixes include 17 references and life skills matrixes for 16- and 21-year olds.) (YLB)

This open access volume critically reviews a diverse body of scholarship and practice that informs the conceptualization, curriculum, teaching and measurement of life skills in education settings around the world. It discusses life skills as they are implemented in schools and non-formal education, providing both qualitative and quantitative evidence of when, with whom, and how life skills do or do not impact young women’s and men’s lives in various contexts. Specifically, it examines the nature and importance of life skills, and how they are taught. It looks at the synergies and differences between life skills educational programmes and the way in which they promote social and emotional learning, vocational/employment education, and health and sexuality education. Finally, it explores how life skills may be better incorporated into education and how such education can address structures and relations of power to help youth achieve desired future outcomes, and goals set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Life skills education has gained considerable attention by education policymakers, researchers and educators as being the sine qua non for later achievements in life. It is nearly ubiquitous in global and national education policies, including the SDGs, because life skills are regarded as essential for a diverse set of purposes: reducing poverty, achieving gender equality, promoting economic growth, addressing climate change, fostering peace and global citizenship, and creating sustainable and healthy communities. Yet, to achieve these broad goals, questions persist as to which life skills are important, who needs to learn them, how they can be taught, and how they are best measured. This book addresses these questions.

This open access volume critically reviews a diverse body of scholarship and practice that informs the conceptualization, curriculum, teaching and measurement of life skills in education settings around the world. It discusses life skills as they are implemented in schools and non-formal education, providing both qualitative and quantitative evidence of when, with whom, and how life skills do or do not impact young women’s and men’s lives in various contexts. Specifically, it examines the nature and importance of life skills, and how they are taught. It looks at the synergies and differences between life skills educational programmes and the way in which they promote social and emotional learning, vocational/employment education, and health and sexuality education. Finally, it explores how life skills may be better incorporated into education and how such education can address structures and relations of power to help youth achieve desired future outcomes, and goals set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Life skills education has gained considerable attention by education policymakers, researchers and educators as being the sine qua non for later achievements in life. It is nearly ubiquitous in global and national education policies, including the SDGs, because life skills are regarded as essential for a diverse set of purposes: reducing poverty, achieving gender equality, promoting economic growth, addressing climate change, fostering peace and global citizenship, and creating sustainable and healthy communities. Yet, to achieve these broad goals, questions persist as to which life skills are important, who needs to learn them, how they can be taught, and how they are best measured. This book addresses these questions.

This volume is in part intended to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We are now a generation on from its formulation, and, as this varied collection of articles by leading thinkers in the field reflects, children's rights have come a long way. Yet the aim of this volume is not to look back, but to take stock and look forward. It explores subjects as diverse as socio-economic rights, corporal punishment, language and scientific progress as they relate to children and their rights, and offers new insights and new ideas. Edited by one of the most respected and leading scholars in the field, The Future of Children's Rights constitutes a stimulating and useful resource for academics and practitioners alike.

The Routledge Handbook of Coaching Children in Sport provides a comprehensive and extensive range of critical reflections of key areas impacting on children’s sport and coaching up to the age of 16. With coaching related chapters authored by academic across various disciplines, including nutrition, psychology, pedagogy, medicine, youth development and sociology, the text provides detailed reviews of the existing state of research and consideration of the implications of these particular factors upon parents, coaches, administrators and clearly the young people themselves as well as recommendations for future research. This new volume provides in-depth investigation to key topics of coaching topics such as Learning and Child Development, Protecting Young Athletes, Talent Identification and Development and Inclusive Coaching and finally introduce a broad array of contextual considerations for coaches from considering professional learning through to coaching in particular contexts. This book is more than simply an academic text and it offers insights that will further inform practice in children’s sport coaching. The handbook is relevant for students (UG, PG), researchers, academics, parents, coaches and administrators, as well as those interested in children’s sport coaching and the related topics therein. Martin Toms, PhD is a senior lecturer (associate professor) in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. A former professional sports coach with an MPhil and PhD exploring the sociological issues of young people in junior sport, Martin has been heavily involved in juniors sport all of his adult life. He has published widely and presented extensively around the world on youth sport, including working on international projects and for NBGs/Federations and National Governmental organisations. He has gained European and SCUK funding for youth and coaching related projects as well as being involved in international consultancy. He is a co-editor of the European Journal for Sport and Society as well as the current Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Golf Science. Ruth Jeanes, PhD is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia. Ruth’s research examines inclusion and exclusion within youth sport, particularly examining how sport can be used to achieve broader social policy objectives targeted at young people. Within this, she is particularly interested in the role of coaches in facilitating broader social outcomes for young people. Ruth has published extensively in these areas with over 100 publications across journal articles, book chapters and books. She is widely cited and has been successful in securing extensive funding for her research including two highly competitive Australian Research Council grants.

The Future of Youth Violence Prevention: A Mixtape for Practice, Policy, and Research focuses on innovative approaches to youth violence prevention that utilize consistent principles found within existing best practices but are dynamic and adaptable across settings—and the sociohistorical and cultural realities of those settings. This book features scholars anchored in applied practices who can ground these forward-thinking strategies in the substantive base of research and theory that has produced successful interventions across multiple disciplines. The scholarship and cutting-edge thinking assembled in this volume could produce new-era youth violence prevention coordinators prepared to serve in any setting—including community outreach programs, therapeutic group homes, day reporting centers, juvenile probation offices, schools, or clinics. These coordinators will be able to cocreate intervention techniques using core prevention elements drawing from a range of ideas and a multitude of disciplines while embracing the assets and resources already in place.

In a period in which the future of the European Union is subject to increased scrutiny, it is more vital than ever that the thoughts and views of younger generations are considered. Young People’s Visions and Worries for the Future of Europe: Findings from the Europe 2038 Project seeks to do exactly that, presenting the findings of a large-scale research project investigating the opinions and worries of young people between the ages of 16 and 25 across seven European countries. In this unique and timely volume, Strohmeier and Tenenbaum, together with the Europe 2038 consortium, examine young people’s endorsement of multiculturalism, diversity, European identity, human rights, and political participation, and unpick the cross-national differences in a range of European countries. Young People’s Visions and Worries for the Future of Europe concludes by formulating effective evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice. This work is essential reading for advanced level undergraduate and masters level courses in Psychology, Social Work, Politics, Sociology, Social Policy, and Education, as well as researchers in those fields.

This book addresses important topics of coaching in order to better understand what sports coaching is and the challenges that arise when assuming this activity. It provides the reader with useful insights to the field of sports coaching, and discusses topics such as coaching education, areas of intervention, and main challenges. With contributions by experts and well-known authors in the field, this volume presents an up-to-date picture of the scholarship in the coaching field. It introduces key aspects on the future of the science of coaching and provides coach educators, researchers, faculty, and students with new perspectives on topics within the field to help improve their coaching effectiveness.