YOT Talk: Examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes

This article presents an evidence-based analysis of the communicative influences on children’s engagement in the Youth Justice System of England and Wales. The multidisciplinary criminologist–linguist ‘YOT Talk’ project utilized Svalberg’s (2009) dimensions of engagement (cognitive, affective, socia...

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Main Authors: Stephen Case, Nuria Lorenzo-Dus, Ralph Morton
Format: Default Article
Published: 2021
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2134/14388068.v1
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record_format Figshare
spelling rr-article-143880682021-03-01T00:00:00Z YOT Talk: Examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes Stephen Case (1260765) Nuria Lorenzo-Dus (10214930) Ralph Morton (3796402) Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified assessment children communication communicative engagement youth justice This article presents an evidence-based analysis of the communicative influences on children’s engagement in the Youth Justice System of England and Wales. The multidisciplinary criminologist–linguist ‘YOT Talk’ project utilized Svalberg’s (2009) dimensions of engagement (cognitive, affective, social; augmented by behavioural) to explore the enablers of, and barriers to, children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes. A tripartite mixed methodology of observation of assessment interviews, questionnaires with children in the Youth Justice System and youth justice practitioners, and focus groups with practitioners was implemented across three Youth Offending Teams in England and Wales. Analyses synergized methods from conversation analysis and corpus linguistics. Findings inform recommendations for refocusing youth justice assessment and staff training on facilitating children’s communicative engagement (that is, enhancing enablers and removing/minimizing barriers). These findings and recommendations challenge asymmetrical (adult-centric) power dynamics during assessment interviews and challenge perceptions of children’s communicative deficits as irreconcilable barriers to effective assessment. 2021-03-01T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 2134/14388068.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/YOT_Talk_Examining_the_communicative_influences_on_children_s_engagement_with_youth_justice_assessment_processes/14388068 CC BY-NC 4.0
institution Loughborough University
collection Figshare
topic Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified
assessment
children
communication
communicative
engagement
youth justice
spellingShingle Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified
assessment
children
communication
communicative
engagement
youth justice
Stephen Case
Nuria Lorenzo-Dus
Ralph Morton
YOT Talk: Examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes
description This article presents an evidence-based analysis of the communicative influences on children’s engagement in the Youth Justice System of England and Wales. The multidisciplinary criminologist–linguist ‘YOT Talk’ project utilized Svalberg’s (2009) dimensions of engagement (cognitive, affective, social; augmented by behavioural) to explore the enablers of, and barriers to, children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes. A tripartite mixed methodology of observation of assessment interviews, questionnaires with children in the Youth Justice System and youth justice practitioners, and focus groups with practitioners was implemented across three Youth Offending Teams in England and Wales. Analyses synergized methods from conversation analysis and corpus linguistics. Findings inform recommendations for refocusing youth justice assessment and staff training on facilitating children’s communicative engagement (that is, enhancing enablers and removing/minimizing barriers). These findings and recommendations challenge asymmetrical (adult-centric) power dynamics during assessment interviews and challenge perceptions of children’s communicative deficits as irreconcilable barriers to effective assessment.
format Default
Article
author Stephen Case
Nuria Lorenzo-Dus
Ralph Morton
author_facet Stephen Case
Nuria Lorenzo-Dus
Ralph Morton
author_sort Stephen Case (1260765)
title YOT Talk: Examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes
title_short YOT Talk: Examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes
title_full YOT Talk: Examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes
title_fullStr YOT Talk: Examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes
title_full_unstemmed YOT Talk: Examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes
title_sort yot talk: examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes
publishDate 2021
url https://hdl.handle.net/2134/14388068.v1
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