Chapter Four: Situating

Challenging Interactions: An Ethnographic Study of Behaviour in the Youth Club Vicky Plows Ph.D, Social Policy The University of Edinburgh 2010 Declaration I affirm that this thesis was composed by myself and that all of the work herein is original research. This work has been submitted for no other degree or professional qualification. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<. Vicky Plows August 2010 Acknowledgements My first note of heartfelt thanks goes to the workers and young people at the JU youth club. The knowledge in this thesis was created only through my interactions with them and I hope that I have done justice to the complexities of their social relations and actions. Professor Kay Tisdall and Professor Liz Bondi deserve a special thank you for consistently providing enthusiastic and reflective supervision throughout the process of doing this thesis. Their support has been unwavering and advice invaluable. For their friendship and academic support, I would also like to thank my fellow doctoral students at what was number 10 Buccleuch Place, in particular Martin who helped me to be pragmatic at a crucial moment in the face of the ‘messy reality’ of writing up. Finally, a big thank you to my family and friends whose love and understanding (when put second to a thesis!) created a supportive and encouraging environment for me to complete the writing. Special and unreserved gratitude goes to Mark, my husband, for his endless offers of cups of tea, enduring patience (just one more month...), unfaltering faith, and genuine interest in the research. Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 6 1.1 The Issue with Challenging Behaviour .............................................................. 6 1.2 The Scope of this Study ..................................................................................... 7 1.3 The Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................ 8 2. Literature Review ................................................................................................. 13 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 13 2.2 In Theory: Conceptualising Young People‟s Challenging Behaviour .............. 14 2.2.1 Context: Young People as a Problem ....................................................... 15 2.2.2 Definitions: The Nature of Challenging Behaviour .................................... 19 2.2.3 Explanations: Searching for the Source .................................................... 24 2.3 In Practice: Challenging Behaviour in Work with Young People ..................... 30 2.3.1 Therapeutic Interventions .......................................................................... 31 2.3.2 Behaviour Management ............................................................................ 33 2.3.3 Core Values and Principles ....................................................................... 37 2.3.4 Ethical Dilemmas ....................................................................................... 38 2.4 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 42 3. Methodology ......................................................................................................... 47 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 47 3.2 An Ethnographic Approach to Studying Interaction ......................................... 48 3.2.1 Selecting the Youth Club and Gaining Access ......................................... 51 3.2.2 Maintaining Access and Field Relations ................................................... 57 3.3 Data Collection Methods .................................................................................. 66 3.3.1 Participant Observation ............................................................................. 67 3.3.2 Session Evaluation Records ..................................................................... 71 3.3.3 Question Sheets with Young People......................................................... 72 3.3.4 Interviews with Sessional Workers and Volunteers .................................. 74 3.3.5 Facilitated Group Discussion with Salaried Workers ................................ 77 3.4 Process of Data Analysis ................................................................................. 78 3.4.1 Organising the Data ................................................................................... 79 3.4.2 Exploring and Developing Themes ........................................................... 79 3.4.3 The Production of Knowledge ................................................................... 85 3.5 Ethics ................................................................................................................ 91 3.5.1 Informed Consent and Overt Research .................................................... 92 3.5.2 Reciprocity and Exploitation ...................................................................... 99 3.5.3 Anonymity, Privacy and Confidentiality ................................................... 101 3.5.4 Preventing Harm? .................................................................................... 104 3.6 Conclusions .................................................................................................... 110 4. The Youth Club ................................................................................................... 114 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 114 4.2 Youth Work: Principles and Practices ............................................................ 116 4.2.1 Defining Youth Work/ Work with Young People ..................................... 117 4.2.2 The Concept of „Youth‟ in Youth Work .................................................... 121 4.3 Background to the Youth Club ....................................................................... 123 4.3.1 Purpose .................................................................................................... 124 4.3.2 Values ...................................................................................................... 127 4.4 Imagining the Youth Club ............................................................................... 131 4.4.1 Physical Environment and Material Objects ........................................... 133 4.4.2 Within School Space and Time ............................................................... 138 4.5 Participants Participating ................................................................................ 144 4.5.1 Nature of Attendance ............................................................................... 144 1 4.5.2 Social Groups .......................................................................................... 149 4.5.3 During the Youth Club Session ............................................................... 160 4.6 Conclusions .................................................................................................... 168 5. Identifying Problems ........................................................................................ 171 5.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 171 5.2 Constructing a Shared Understanding ........................................................... 173 5.2.1 Learning the Rules .................................................................................. 173 5.2.2 Drawing Attention: Telling, Denying, Punishing ...................................... 178 5.2.3 Difficult to Deal With ................................................................................ 186 5.2.4 The Role of the Evaluation Session ........................................................ 191 5.3 Making Judgements in Context ...................................................................... 195 5.3.1 Fighting .................................................................................................... 195 5.3.2 Swearing .................................................................................................. 199 5.3.3 Dropping Litter ......................................................................................... 203 5.3.4 „Not Playing Properly‟ .............................................................................. 206 5.4 Conclusions .................................................................................................... 212 6. Control in Practice ............................................................................................. 216 6.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 216 6.2 Attempting and Responding to Control, Emergent Confrontation ................. 219 6.2.1 Authority and Trying to Control ............................................................... 220 6.2.2 Simply Doing as Told ............................................................................... 223 6.2.3 Measured Compliance/Resistance ......................................................... 226 6.2.4 Clear

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