Differing_Conceptions_Of_Contemporary_Youth_Policy

Differing Conceptions Of Contemporary Youth Policy Contemporary approaches to youth policy can differ depending upon the theoretical underpinnings. For instance, the Queensland Government’s recent Education and Training Reform Agenda: White Paper (ETRFA White Paper, 2002) exhibits a pysch-social orientation in addressing the needs of young people. The paper imposes legislative reforms and strategies in order to increase the participation of young people in education and training. [In the following paper, education and training will be referred to as “education”]. The pysch-social approach of the paper is evident given these strategies and reforms are focussed on the deficit of the individual student, are economically driven and paternalistically determine the life pathways for young people. The Youth Affairs Network Queensland (YANQ, 2004) responds to this agenda in the document titled Lets Invite Everyone. As the title suggests, YANQ advocates for the inclusion of all students within mainstream education systems and critiques the Queensland government’s approach to disengaged youth. YANQ employs a social reproduction approach in its critique, as it emphasises the need to address structural inequalities within educational settings. YANQ (2004) opposes the Government’s focus on the deficit of the individual student. Instead, a maximal citizenship framework is employed to advocate for young people to be viewed as young, people, white, paper, approach, educational, 2004, social, yanq, institutions, etrfa, education, reproduction, 2002, 1993, youth, within, queensland, griffin, wyn, psych-social, pathways, needs, citizenship, structural, being, work, society, need, members, maximal, increase, experience, therefore, structures