“Appealing to hearts and minds”: Educational psychologists’ experiences of working with young people who offend

Watkins, Lisa 2024. “Appealing to hearts and minds”: Educational psychologists’ experiences of working with young people who offend. DEdPsy Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Children and young people (CYP) known to the Youth Justice System (YJS) represent a vulnerable group of young people. Over the last 10 years, there has been a growing interest, and an increasing number of studies conducted in this area, however, there has been little research into the experiences of Educational Psychologists (EPs) working in this field; in particular, what that work currently entails and what the barriers and facilitators are to working with young people who offend (YPwO). Therefore, this study utilised a mixed-methods approach to explore the current context of EPs working with YPwO and the experiences of those EPs working in the YJS. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using reflective thematic analysis. Findings highlight the facilitators and barriers to working with YPwO, with key facilitators being the contribution of a psychological lens, child-first approaches, communication in multi-agency working, reducing the continuing stigma around youth offending and raising awareness of the EP role and possible contributions to youth justice work. Barriers related to the complexity of the lives of the young people and the impact on the potential for positive change to occur within socially and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, stigma relating to youth offending and YPwO, lack of awareness and misunderstanding of the EP role by YJS and funding and lack of capacity within Educational Psychology Services (EPSs). Implications for EPs, EPSs and the wider systems are discussed.

Item Type:	Thesis (DEdPsy)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Psychology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 May 2025
Last Modified:	22 May 2025 14:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178396

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