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Taking the 'breakdown' in regular schooling as a result of the COVID pandemic as a catalyst to reimagine education, this article formulates a theoretical framework, using design research, that enables a fundamental reconceptualization and introduction of new actors into the space of schooling, which is a learning environment that traditionally has maintained rigid boundaries. Recommendations are proposed for bridging formal and nonformal education for practitioners and policymakers, bringing together teachers and youth workers to co-construct a learning environment. In creating a prototype for learning that involves a more joined-up and connected paradigm in education, as well as bridging the gap between learning in formal and non-formal contexts, we create a shift towards reimagining and recognising the importance of a holistic view of education by re-evaluating and supporting a broader range of actors who can participate in the education of children and young people.

Youth-focused researchers and practitioners need conceptual models to consider paths for youth citizenship and social justice which are attenuated to the context, social support, visibility, and structure of engagement opportunities. This article will expand upon the initial conceptual model created by Brennan et al. in this special issue by examining how it can be useful for both research and practice. Specifically, this model can help researchers and practitioners to: (1) remain aware of contextual factors affecting youth engagement; (2) understand how different forms of youth engagement fit within the model; and (3) consider strategies and research to encourage more radical forms of youth engagement. The paper will provide support for the conceptual validity of the model by examining theories which align with it and contextual factors to consider during its application. The paper will then apply the model to differentiate between two forms of youth engagement and conclude with a summary of areas for future research and application.

Youth have been, and continue to be, at the forefront of radical positive social change that advances the human condition. Historically major social movements seeking change, equality, and social justice have been driven by youth. The role of youth in facilitating social change is particularly relevant today more than half of the world's population is currently under 25, and a third under 15. While some see this "youth bulge" demographic as uninformed and vulnerable to extremism and exploitation, we reject this deficit model and see them as a population capable of, and already engaging in, transformational social thought and action. This paper argues that the broad field of youth engagement would benefit from examining youth contributions to upholding or challenging the social status quo through varying forms of civic engagement. We seek to guide research and practice in ways to distinguish types of youth engagement to better reflect its potential for positive change. Therefore, this article does three things: (1) distinguishes regimented and radical youth involvement from extremism; (2) distinguishes the contexts and environments where regimented and radical engagement operate; and (3) provides a conceptual framework to study and apply the key aspects of both, radical and regimented, youth engagement.

An emerging body of theory, research, and practice literature places empathy, social support and social capital as intersectional and the cornerstone of sustained citizenship and youth action in general, but particularly around issues of social justice. While there is now an acceptance of the importance of young people exercising their voice, participation, and agency as part of their positive and personal development, equally this also requires opportunities and avenues for them to do so. Also argued here is that the ongoing advancement of positive youth development theory to reflect voice and agency needs further elaboration and more in-depth research.

Purpose: This secondary data analysis explores the unmet needs of adolescents experiencing maternal cancer in Ireland. Research has shown that one of the challenges adolescents deal with at the time of maternal cancer is having unmet needs that can impact negatively on their experience and their ability to cope through this difficult challenge. Design/methodology/approach: Fifteen adolescents completed qualitative interviews as part of a larger study that explored the experience of adolescent adjustment to maternal cancer. The transcripts of these original interviews were analysed using a secondary content analysis underpinned by the categories included in the Offspring Cancer Needs Instrument (Patterson et al., 2013). Findings: The findings of this study suggest a necessity to individually explore the unmet needs of adolescents as these were not uniform even within a small sample of 15 adolescents. Unmet needs change and evolve over time as does maternal illness. Adolescents themselves identified the need for more education in the general public and in clinical practitioners on how to respond appropriately to their needs. It is crucial that adolescent's needs and emotions are validated at the time as part of the support provided for them. Originality/value: This study provides important recommendations for practice and policy on how to provide tailored supports for adolescent who experience cancer in their families as currently there is a lack of effective and evidence-based targeted supports for this specific age group.

Research suggests that empathy and positive social values are important drivers of youth prosocial and civic action. However, theory and research indicate that young people's civic behaviors are also shaped by their socio-contextual experiences. Drawing on a sample of 533 adolescents from public secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland, this research employed structural equation modeling to examine whether youth's (cognitive and affective) empathy and social responsibility values mediated the relationship between youth's social (parents, peers, school, and community) contexts and their civic behavior. Results suggest that youth's cognitive empathy and social responsibility values appear to mediate the relationship between a number of social-contextual experiences and youth's civic behavior. Overall, the findings from this research have important implications for research and practice.

The significance of a wider social context in building youth resilience has recently been recognised, with the suggestion that resilience research requires a move from individual-level experience to wider social practices, discourses, and ideological positions. Relatively little research looks at rapid ideological change in state institutions and structures, or the consequent implications this has for understanding protective mechanisms and coping strategies among young people. Based on the socio-ecological approach to resilience, this article explores the meaning of youth resilience in the context of a sudden socio-political transformation in Slovenia. For this purpose, experiences with transitions to adulthood in 20 people growing up under socialism and post-socialism are compared. Narrative thematic analysis of the interviews shows two types of transitions to adulthood emerging: supported, and individualised This article shows that the meaning of youth resilience changes through socio-political and economic transformation. It emphasises the role that social policies and state ideologies have in shaping social ecologies and consequently youth perceptions of risk and coping: from social processes under socialism to an individual process in post-socialism.

There is significant controversy over what counts as evidence in the evaluation of social interventions. It is increasingly common to use methodological criteria to rank evidence types in a hierarchy, with Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) at or near the highest level. Because of numerous challenges to a hierarchical approach, this article offers a Matrix (or typology) of evaluation evidence, which is justified by the following two lines of argument. First, a pluralist approach to evidence is defended. Starting from the principle of methodological aptness, it is argued that different types of research question are best answered by different types of study. This article will address some of the key issues in the debate on RCTs (the ethical principles of duty of care and social utility, the role of random allocation, and threats to internal validity) in respect of which two opposing paradigms provide irreconcilable arguments, namely the position that RCTs are the "gold standard" and the opposing position that RCTs are often if not always inappropriate in social settings. The second line of argument is that evaluations often require both experimental and non-experimental research in tandem. In a pluralist approach, non-causal evidence is seen as a vital component in order to evaluate interventions in mixed methods studies (as part of evidence-based practice [EBP]) and also is important for good practice itself (as part of practice-based evidence [PBE]). The article concludes by providing a detailed description of what an Evaluation Evidence Matrix can and cannot do.

Over the past decade, there has been greater attention placed on the potential value of peer support models, particularly in school contexts. This paper uses the case study of an Irish school-based peer mentoring programme to identify the added value that peer led models of social support for children and young people offer in a school setting. The Irish national youth organisation, Foróige, runs the Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring programme in over 60 Irish secondary schools, with the aim of improving young people's transition to secondary school. Qualitative research was undertaken with 36 principals and teachers in secondary schools operating the programme. Five specific ways in which the peer mentoring model adds value to existing support in schools are identified and discussed, while challenges associated with the model are also highlighted.