Developing social and emotional competencies in incarcerated young people in seven countries in Europe, through the use of active games and sport

Shafi, Adeela ORCID: 0000-0002-6265-5024, Wintle, Jordan ORCID: 0000-0002-1195-4964, Templeton, Sian ORCID: 0000-0002-0962-6531 and Clarke, Dan ORCID: 0000-0001-7277-2825 (2023) Developing social and emotional competencies in incarcerated young people in seven countries in Europe, through the use of active games and sport. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 28 (4). pp. 293-315. doi:10.1080/13632752.2024.2316397

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Abstract

Social and emotional competencies, such as self-regulation, coping with challenges and positive relationships are related to positive life outcomes. Children and young people who come into conflict with the law have not always had the opportunities to develop these competencies due to a range of disadvantages they are likely to have encountered. This research seeks to explore the extent to which identified competencies can be developed through specially designed active games for children and young people in (custodial) youth justice settings. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to assess the effectiveness of the games in seven European countries including, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, and the UK, making it an especially unique project developing bespoke materials suitable in secure settings and then testing them across different country contexts. A total of 326 young people participated across 17 settings with a total of 105 educators trained in the methodology. The findings suggest that participation in the active games had demonstrable impact on those who participated, both overall, and for the specific identified competencies. Participation in such programmes can support the holistic development of social and emotional competencies which can facilitate readiness and openness to learning to other interventions. It is this which is a key finding and contributes to dis/engagement theory. Such programmes should form the basis of a suite of interventions designed to support the educational (re)engagement and development of children and young people in conflict with the law. These findings have currency for developing policy which promote positive outcomes for children and young people on release back into the community across a range of national contexts.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Education; Youth justice; Sport; Prison education
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports > GV861 Ball games: Baseball, football, golf, etc. L Education > L Education (General)
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science
Research Priority Areas:	Society and Learning
Depositing User:	Anne Pengelly
Date Deposited:	01 Feb 2024 15:18
Last Modified:	10 Apr 2024 15:45
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/13711

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