Johanna Wyn – författare

Young people grow up in varied circumstances with different priorities and perspectives. While youth does not exist as a single group we need to understand what is happening in young people''s lives. Rethinking Youth challenges the conventional wisdoms surrounding the position and opportunities of young people today and provides a systematic overview of the major perspectives in youth studies.The authors demonstrate how the concept of youth involves a tension between the social significance of age, which gives young people a common status, and the significance of social divisions. Drawing upon studies from different societies, they examine debates surrounding youth and economy, youth development, youth subcultures, youth transitions and youth marginalisation.Rethinking Youth offers a provocative critique of mainstream conceptions of youth, the programs and strategies designed for ''at risk'' young people, and policy development in youth affairs. It calls for greater sensitivity to the complexities of youth, and greater emphasis on democracy and equality in dealing with the problems experienced by young people in a rapidly changing world.Johanna Wyn is Director of the Youth Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. Rob White lectures in Criminology at the University of Melbourne.

Young people grow up in varied circumstances with different priorities and perspectives. While youth does not exist as a single group we need to understand what is happening in young people''s lives. Rethinking Youth challenges the conventional wisdoms surrounding the position and opportunities of young people today and provides a systematic overview of the major perspectives in youth studies.The authors demonstrate how the concept of youth involves a tension between the social significance of age, which gives young people a common status, and the significance of social divisions. Drawing upon studies from different societies, they examine debates surrounding youth and economy, youth development, youth subcultures, youth transitions and youth marginalisation.Rethinking Youth offers a provocative critique of mainstream conceptions of youth, the programs and strategies designed for ''at risk'' young people, and policy development in youth affairs. It calls for greater sensitivity to the complexities of youth, and greater emphasis on democracy and equality in dealing with the problems experienced by young people in a rapidly changing world.Johanna Wyn is Director of the Youth Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. Rob White lectures in Criminology at the University of Melbourne.

Youth, Education and Risk: Facing the Future provides a provocative and valuable insight into how the dramatic social and economic changes of the last twenty years have affected the lives of Western youth. Covering young people''s attitudes towards relationships and health, the authors provide a comprehensive perspective on young people in Western society in the 1990s.The book reviews ten years of research, policy and practice as related to the 15-25 age group and compares data from the UK, Australia, the USA and Canada. It also argues for the need to develop new research and policy frameworks that are more in tune with the changed conditions of life for Western youth. The book sets out the conceptual basis for a new approach to youth and the practical implications for research, education and youth policy in the new millenium.

Youth, Education and Risk: Facing the Future provides a provocative and valuable insight into how the dramatic social and economic changes of the last twenty years have affected the lives of Western youth. Covering young people''s attitudes towards relationships and health, the authors provide a comprehensive perspective on young people in Western society in the 1990s.The book reviews ten years of research, policy and practice as related to the 15-25 age group and compares data from the UK, Australia, the USA and Canada. It also argues for the need to develop new research and policy frameworks that are more in tune with the changed conditions of life for Western youth. The book sets out the conceptual basis for a new approach to youth and the practical implications for research, education and youth policy in the new millenium.

"Woodman and Wyn have produced a text that offers conceptual clarity and real depth on debates in youth studies.  The authors skilfully guide us through the main sociological theories on young people and furnish us with sophisticated critiques from which to rethink youth and generation in the contemporary moment." - Professor Anoop Nayak, Newcastle University

"Woodman and Wyn have produced a text that offers conceptual clarity and real depth on debates in youth studies.  The authors skilfully guide us through the main sociological theories on young people and furnish us with sophisticated critiques from which to rethink youth and generation in the contemporary moment." - Professor Anoop Nayak, Newcastle University

"Woodman and Wyn have produced a text that offers conceptual clarity and real depth on debates in youth studies.  The authors skilfully guide us through the main sociological theories on young people and furnish us with sophisticated critiques from which to rethink youth and generation in the contemporary moment." - Professor Anoop Nayak, Newcastle University

This book takes a global perspective to address the concept of belonging in youth studies, interrogating its emergence as a reoccurring theme in the literature and elucidating its benefits and shortcomings. While belonging offers new alignments across previously divergent approaches to youth studies, its pervasiveness in the field has led to criticism that it means both everything and nothing and thus requires deeper analysis to be of enduring value. The authors do this work to provide an accessible, scholarly account of how youth studies uses belonging by focusing on transitions, participation, citizenship and mobility to address its theoretical and historical underpinnings and its prevalence in youth policy and research.

This book investigates the life trajectories of Generation X and Y Australians through the 1990s and 2000s. The book defies popular characterizations of members of the ‘precarious generations’ as greedy, narcissistic and self-obsessed, revealing instead that many of the members of these generations struggle to reach the standard of living enjoyed by their parents, value learning highly and are increasingly concerned about the environment and the legacy current generations are leaving for their children and remain optimistic in the face of considerable challenges.

Drawing on data from the Life Patterns longitudinal study of Australian youth (an internationally recognized study), the book tells the story of members of these ‘precarious generations’. It examines significant dimensions of young people’s lives across time, comparing how domains such as health and well-being, education, work and relationships intersect to produce the complex outcomes that characterize the lives of members of each of these generations. It also explores the strategies these generations use to make their lives and the ways in which they remain resilient. While the book is based on Australian data, the analysis draws on and contributes to the international literature on young people and social change.

This book addresses how longitudinal research approaches are used to understand young people’s lives. It elucidates how youth researchers use longitudinal approaches, and how longitudinal research can help us to both understand and shape the field of youth sociology. Chapters discuss the creation of knowledge about youth and how longitudinal research shapes the field of youth sociology and shed light on key tensions and emerging debates in longitudinal youth research ranging from research design to data collection, analysis, and use. It considers longitudinal studies using a broad range of methods, including qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, retrospective methods, and creative and participatory methods. This collection offers insights from longitudinal youth scholars conducting research in Argentina, Lithuania, Australia, Estonia, Canada, the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Finland and India. These researchers reflect on the future of longitudinal youth research, addressing emerging and prospective issues. This book provides a concise survey of key established and emerging areas of concern in longitudinal research and of the relationship between these areas and the field of youth studies more specifically.