Publications on Young People in Society

Freechild Reading List on

Young People and Society

INTRODUCTION: For years researchers and academics have pontificated about the plight and condition of young people, often without ever checking in with young people themselves to see what young people are experiencing.

POINT TO PONDER: "Involving young people in decisions is a way of showing respect, of saying their opinions and ideas count. To accomplish this, both youths and adults will need adequate preparation and training." - from here.

= Free download

The Abandoned Generation: Democracy Beyond the Culture of Fear

By Henry Giroux. Giroux continues his critique of the US political and popular culture 's influence on the lives of young people. In his controversial new book, Giroux argues that there's a war on in the US these days - against young people.

The Evolving Capacities of the Child

By UNICEF. The Convention on the Rights of the Child introduced for the first time in an international human rights treaty, the concept of the ‘evolving capacities’ of the child. This principle recognizes that, as children acquire enhanced competencies, there is a diminishing need for protection and a greater capacity to take responsibility for decisions affecting their lives. The purpose of the study is to open the discussion and promote debate to achieve a better understanding of how children can be protected, in accordance with their evolving capacities, and also provided with opportunities to participate in the fulfillment of their rights.

Children: Noble Causes or Worthy Citizens?

By Karl Eric Knutsson. This book is part of ongoing efforts aimed at changing the discourse on children and strengthening the theoretical, ethical and political arguments for taking children seriously. It asks fundamental questions about the perceptions we have of children and childhood and about ways these perceptions emerge to influence and shape our assumptions, preferences and choices concerning children. The book is divided into two parts. The first part examines cultural and social variations in perceptions concerning children, and the second part draws on conclusions from the analysis. Finally, the author proposes practical lessons that may be learned from the debate about children.

The Declaration of Accountability on the Ethical Engagement of Young People and Adults in Canadian Organizations

By First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. This document shares a wide-ranging perspective of youth involvement, calling for organizations and communities to see beyond past activities and to identify and practice powerful ethical approaches to engaging youth. Despite the reference to Canadian organizations, this document is useful communities around the world.

Kids & Guns: How Politicians, Experts, and the Press Fabricate Fear of Youth

By Mike Males. Imagine if national news agencies endlessly featured every child murdered at home by parents, every enraged midlife middle-class gun massacre. Inconceivable. “Kids and guns” is not the problem, but a diversion by a complacent, established America that propagates demographic myths about age and race, culture-war trivialities, and sensational scapegoating to avoid facing its own violence. Sound shocking? Check for yourself...

World Youth Report 2003

Provides an overview of the global situation of young people. The first 10 chapters focus on the priority areas identified by the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) adopted by the General Assembly in 1995. The remaining five chapters address some of the newer issues that were later identified as additional priorities for youth and were adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2003.

The Disappearance of Childhood By Neil Postman

The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture

By Bakari Kitwana

Regeneration: Telling Stories from Our Twenties

By J. Karlin and A. Borofsky (editors)

An Overview: What Young People Can Teach Society.

By Joanna Davidson. A short article from Changemakers.net that highlights the effects of youth on the larger societies around them.

The Roles of Youth in Society: A Reconceptualization

By Ruthanne Kurth-Schai. The seminal introduction to advancing the position of young people in the United States, first issued in 1989.

Channel Surfing: Racism, the Media, and the Destruction of Today's Youth

By Henry Giroux.

The Mouse That Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence