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This chapter presents a reflection on how social sciences approach the ways young people conceptualize a desirable future, a critical element of how they relate to society as actors. Though we acknowledge that aspirations draw upon the personal preferences of young people, we emphasize that their aspirations are also socially constrained. Taking this socially embedded nature of aspirations seriously leads us to argue that a thorough understanding of the social roles of aspirations entails an appreciation of the opportunities young people have to develop their views on a desirable future: their capacity to aspire. In addition, we contend that the capacity to aspire of young people living in disadvantaged circumstances can only be comprehensively understood if aspirations are analysed from a multidimensional perspective.

A broadly conceived human development approach can help universities contribute in responding to the challenge of environmental unsustainability. The paper characterises the contemporary ‘human development approach’ represented by the UN Human Development Reports, relates this work to older lines of thought about human development, and shows their integration in the ‘human security’ variant of human development analysis. It suggests how these ideas can contribute to meeting requirements for advancing sustainability, including: more commitment to inter- and trans-disciplinarity, which must rest on serious attempts to understand disciplinarity too; provision of intellectual bridges to promote cooperation beyond disciplinary nests; attention to the basic interests of all persons, including future generations; and institutionalization of organizational routines and evaluation systems in universities that match these values of sustainable human development.

Meine nachfolgenden Ausfuhrungen fokussieren zwei Dimensionen des sozialwissenschaftlichen Diskurses uber das Problem der Qualitat in sozialen Dienstleistungsorganisationen. Mein Hauptschwerpunkt ist das Problem, wie Qualitat in der konkreten Interaktion zwischen dem Professionellen und seiner Klientel zu bestimmen ist. Ich interessiere mich also hauptsachlich fur die Mikrostrukturen der Produktion von Qualitat im Kontext sozialer Dienstleistungen. Dabei ist zu berucksichtigen, dass es in den sozialen Dienstleistungsorganisationen erst relativ junge Traditionen gibt, die Integritat des Klienten zu schutzen. Sie haben in dem Mase in die sozialen Dienstleistungsorganisationen Einzug gehalten, in dem institutions- und professionskritische, reflektierende Denkweisen und Uberzeugungen im Binnenraum von sozialen Dienstleistungsorganisationen fruchtbar geworden sind. Insofern sind meine Ausfuhrungen auch ein Pladoyer fur den systematischen Ausbau hierarchie- und funktionsubergreifender reflexiver Kommunikation.

Im Anschluss an die Darlegung des Zusammenhangs, der Relevanz und der Komplexitat der Phanomene Abgrenzung und Positionierung veranschaulicht der Artikel die Erkenntnismoglichkeiten videoanalytischer Verfahren fur sozialpadagogische Forschung anhand der kontrastierenden Interpretation von zwei Videosequenzen unter der Fragestellung, wie Jugendliche sich im Ubergang zu zwei sozialpadagogisch arrangierten Settings korperlich-leiblich1 positionieren. Der Beitrag zeigt die raumlich-materiellen Bedingungen der Positionierung bzw. die damit einhergehenden Nahe-Distanz-Verhaltnisse auf. Die Videoaufnahmen sind im Rahmen der Dissertation uber das im Kontext der Sozialen Arbeit uberwiegend vernachlassigte Phanomen der leiblichen Abgrenzung weiblicher Jugendlicher in einer offenen Madcheneinrichtung entstanden.

This chapter discusses the nature of external capabilities and how they bear upon social policy. Alternative definitions of external capabilities are compared and a simplified version suggested. It is argued that the issues surrounding external capabilities can be resolved only if the capability approach loses its individualistic slant by according higher status to social context. A layered, non reductionist social theory would be helpful here, and a layered scheme for the capability approach is suggested. Such a scheme can show up the narrowness of traditional social policy and its muted impact on external capabilities. Despite endeavouring to fight poverty, social policy cannot guarantee the benign external conditions under which a person’s lifetime opportunities will flourish.

This chapter introduces the nine case studies, the common question framework used and the different methodologies adopted. The aim of the case studies is to examine the tran of disadvantaged young people from compulsory school to further education, from education/vocational training to the labour market and from being unemployed/sitions outside the labour market into employment. They also look at examples of education and employability programmes that may support young people in these transitions in order help us understand the trajectories from school to work from a capability approach.