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COMPLETED

Monitoring and supervision in families

Background

A recently completed project at TSA explored how families understand and negotiate ‘monitoring and supervision’. Current discourses, both in policy and practice settings, propose that parents need to effectively monitor their children, in order to help them avoid involvement in offending and risk-taking. However, there is a lack of clarity about this process, and how it actually works in families with young people. This recently completed study explored how young people and parents/ carers experience this aspect of family life. The study focussed on ‘ordinary’ families, i.e. those who are not involved with any statutory services. The project was funded by a grant from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The study

The research involved qualitative interviews with 50 families, containing one young person aged 11-16, and one or two of their parents/carers. The sample was reasonably diverse in terms of gender, social background, culture, and family type. The research explored how families share information about young people’s whereabouts and activities; how monitoring and supervision varies across different areas of young people’s lives; how it changes with age; and whether key life events change how monitoring and supervision works.

Outcomes

The project was undertaken over 18 months, and was completed in March 2004. A number of new and significant findings were made. These are detailed in a 25,000 word report, and a four page ‘Findings’ summary, which will be published by JRF in late 2004. The JRF also funded a three month dissemination phase (which took place January to April 2004), and which involved conference presentations, workshops, and the writing of articles. We are also now writing training materials from this work, which will be available in mid-2005 and sold through TSA’s Publications Department.

In an exciting new development, TSA also received funding to undertake research and materials development in a related field – how monitoring and supervision works in foster families. See the separate project sheet for further details of this project.

Project staff

Stephanie Stace was the Research Officer on the project and Debi Roker was the grant holder and project manager.

More information:
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Email: info@youngpeopleinfocus.org.uk
Tel: 01273 693311

September 2005