| CODE | YTH5020 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Psychosocial Perspectives on Youth Transitions | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 10 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Youth, Community and Migration Studies | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The social construction of youth, adolescence and emerging adulthood has influenced academic discourse related to youth work, youth ministry and educational and social work practices. The study-unit focuses on a number of developmental pathways that occur during adolescence as a specific period in the lifespan. These revolve around the notion that young people’s transitions have become more complex and less predictable but hold significant potential for them. A psychosocial approach is adopted to the study of the main developmental stages occurring during adolescence. The study-unit outlines a number of psychosocial processes and the effects these have on young people as they traverse along the numerous changes occurring in different aspects of their lives. Study-Unit Aims: The study-unit aims at helping students: - Understand the various characteristics of physical, emotional, cognitive, moral and social development during the adolescent and emerging adult period; - Develop an understating of the major theories and research findings about adolescent development; - Examine various social and cultural contexts in which this development occurs with specific emphasis on the formation, purpose and trajectories of youth subcultures; - Understand, discuss and critically examine various specific topics related to adolescence such as pubertal changes, identities and concepts of the self, lifestyles, gender, sexuality, moral development, peers, media and cyberculture, education, risks and resiliency. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify and understand the main developmental stages occurring during adolescence and emerging adulthood; - Explain numerous challenges faced by adolescents and emerging adults in relation to different transitions they pass through; - Engage critically with concepts related to youth subcultures; - Demonstrate an ability to utilize readings, theoretical perspectives and empirical research to understand adolescent lifestyles. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Reflect on situations in various social settings and how these impact young people's thinking, behaviours and values; - Understand young people's needs during the various transitions they experience; - Make appropriate evaluations of different youth subcultures; - Work with young people as they go through different types of transitions during adolescence. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Arnett, J. J. (2014). Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens Through the Twenties (2nd Edition). Oxford: University Press. - Arnett, J. J. (2017). Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood. A Cultural Approach (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson. - Gelder, K. (2005). The Subcultures Reader. London: Routledge. - Rice, F. P. , & Dolgin, K. G. (2008). The Adolescent. Development, Relationships and Culture (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Supplementary Readings: - Arnett, J. J. (2006). Emerging Adulthood in Europe: A Response to Bynner. Journal of Youth Studies, 9(1), 111-123. - Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging Adulthood. A Theory of Development from the Late Teens Through the Twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469-480. - Bell, D. (2006). Cyberculture: The Key Concepts. London: Routledge. - Bell, A. (2010). The Subculture Concept: A Genealogy. In G.S. Shoham, P. Knepper & M. Kett (Eds.), International Handbook of Criminology (pp. 153-184). New York: CRC Press. - Clark, M. (2012). Negotiating Stigmatized Identities and Overcoming Barriers to Inclusion in the Transition to Adulthood. In A. Azzopardi (Ed.), Inclusive Communities (pp. 85-102). The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. - Haenfler, R. (2014). Subcultures: The Basics. New York: Routledge. - O'Connor, M., Sanson, A. V., Toumbourou, J. W., Hawkins, M. T., Letcher, P., Williams, P., & Olsson, C. (2016). Positive development and resilience in emerging adulthood. In J. J. Arnett (Ed.), Oxford library of psychology. The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 601-614). New York, NY, US: Oxford University Press. - Silver, D., & Massanari, A. L. (2006). Critical Cyberculture Studies (Eds). New York: New York University Press. - Ziebertz H. G., & William, K. (2005). Youth in Europe 1. An international empirical study about life perspectives (Eds). New Brunswick, London: Transaction Publishers. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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