Research summary/Blog

This year MSc students at University of Edinburgh have been working on dissertation topics that put children’s human rights at the center of their studies. With the support of Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) and partners in the Observatory for Children’s Human Rights in Scotland, as well as NGO’s, practitioners, children and families, excellent work has been undertaken that will support our shared efforts regarding implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Scotland.

Jiaying Wang

MSc Education, University of Edinburgh (2025)

About the Research

In 2024, Scotland incorporated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into law and advanced the New Scots refugee integration policy, showing its commitment to protecting children’s rights and promoting the inclusion of young refugees. However, literature suggests that despite supportive and inclusive policies, the realisation of the rights of young people, including young refugees, remains limited in practice.

This research explores how youth work supports children’s human rights, with some focus given to support for young refugees in Scotland. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from Human Rights Education (HRE) and critical pedagogy, this research explores how youth workers understand and support children’s rights, and what challenges they face in their work. This research employed qualitative research methods: semi-structured interviews with two representatives of youth work organisations and an online survey of ten youth workers. The NGO YouthLink Scotland provided significant support for this research.

Learning from the Literature

Literature emphasises that youth work is a unique educational practice rooted in voluntary participation, dialogue, and empowerment. Currently, youth work has developed into a form of informal and non-formal education supported by government policy. However, funding constraints, policy pressure for measurable outcomes, and adult-led structures still pose challenges to the effective implementation of youth work.

This research draws on the theoretical frameworks of HRE and critical pedagogy. The core of HRE is education about, through, and for human rights. This theoretical framework aligns closely with the values of youth work: teaching young people basic rights knowledge, creating an educational environment that respects human rights, and empowering young people to exercise their rights. This research also incorporates the critical pedagogy theory proposed by Paulo Freire, which views education as a political and dialogical process where learners develop a critical understanding of structural issues and are empowered to take action. This theoretical framework provides a perspective for analyzing how youth work can promote rights awareness and empower young people, including young refugees.

Learning from Participants

Youth workers in Scotland believe their work is relationship-oriented, emphasising trust and voluntary participation. Additionally, practitioners identified HRE as central to their work. Many expressed their commitment to ensuring young people have a clear understanding of the rights enshrined in the UNCRC, particularly the right to express opinions (Article 12) and the right to education (Article 28). They explained that youth work is not only about imparting knowledge about rights but also about empowering young people, helping them reflect critically on their situations, and encouraging them to actively participate in society.

For young refugees, youth workers described additional challenges, including language barriers, trauma, and social isolation. These issues often limit their educational opportunities and hinder their integration into community life. In this case, youth workers created inclusive spaces such as English as an Additional Language classes to help young refugees practice English and engage with their communities. They also collaborated with Black Asian, and Minority Ethnic organisations and involved staff from similar backgrounds to build trust and encourage participation. These examples demonstrate how youth work can use critical pedagogy and HRE to create equal, dialogic spaces, helping marginalized young people find and use their voices.

Key findings and considerations

This research found that youth work plays a vital role in supporting young people in realising their human rights.

Youth workers see themselves as educators, equal partners, and advocates for the rights of young people. They promote meaningful youth engagement through equal dialogue and ensure that young people’s voices have a real impact. Youth workers also assist young refugees to address their barriers through inclusive practices, including organising community language classes, collaborating with local organisations, and providing counselling services.

This research identifies significant structural challenges that constrain the effectiveness of youth work. A lack of long-term stable funding support and poor inter-agency cooperation limit youth work decision-making capabilities and work efficiency. Furthermore, invisible adult-led structures further constrain young people’s autonomy and participation.

In terms of limitations, this research acknowledges that due to time constraints and the challenges implicit in reaching marginalised research participants, it ultimately was unsuccessful in garnering responses from young refugees. Additionally, the small sample size limits the generalisability of the study.

Looking Ahead

Future research can consider incorporating the perspectives of young refugees themselves, allowing more time for their participation in research design, employing innovative participatory research methods to overcome language and trust barriers. Moreover, they can consider longitudinal studies to better understand how youth work empowers young people and promotes long-term social transformation.

Further, the research posits that youth work should continue to uphold the concept of youth-led practice, leverage the power of young people, and jointly promote policy-making and social change through a bottom-up approach.

• Read full dissertation available on YouthLink’s website here.

My thanks to NGO YouthLink Scotland and YouthLink member organisations and of course, to all the youth workers who supported the study.

Jiaying Wang

Ends

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Consultancy and Training

Together provides training and consultancy to organisations looking to strengthen how they support children’s human rights. 

For twenty-five years, Together has been helping organisations and individuals from a range of backgrounds and roles to improve their awareness and understanding of children’s human rights in practice. This has included work on the Skills and Knowledge project, which explores what professionals need to know and apply to be able to implement children’s human rights. 

The UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 will impact public bodies, private sector organisations and third sector organisations all over Scotland, as they look to further their work on children’s rights. Together can support organisations to identify situations in which they are already implementing children’s rights in practice, alongside how they can evolve their work using a Children’s Human Rights Approach. Find out more about our principle specific training.

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