THEMATIC SECTIONS AT THE CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES OF WORKING WITH AT-RISK YOUTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
1. NEW FORMS OF SUBCULTURES AND YOUTH SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
The world of young people nowadays is divergent. Once compact subcultures, based on co-creation of common values, behavioral patterns, identification and social movements, have become communities based on a combination of common interests, different virtual spaces and different identification norms. This thematic section will focus on communities or subcultures self-formed by young people. We will explore different forms and ways of communities currently present in the world of young people. We will focus on different social media circles, the power of identification groups online, their functioning and impact on the life of an individual and generation. Despite modern life, young people still form different street cliques, groups connected to school and territorial areas as well as groups connected to the use of psychoactive substances which are changing, just as there are new psychoactive substances emerging on the market. It is also possible to detect subcultures that appear as new content and form of connection, which reach different circles such as LGBTQ+ community as well as different mental health groups and groups associated with various risky behaviors, such as self-harm. On the other hand, we do not exclude traditional forms of organized communities of young people based on common interests connected to art and sport, for example, scouts, sport clubs, dance schools, music schools, etc.
This thematic section will focus on the way our youth socialize today. What are the values of these young people and their groups today? Are these subcultures still connected to particular behavioral patterns and special meeting points? What is the effect of new external circumstances, like new forms of psychoactive substances, socializing via the internet and accessibility to the global network, to the changes of subcultures among young people?
As professionals, we are interested in where and how adults (professionals) can reach them? What are the advantages of these communities and what are the hidden traps? Are different communities still present in the time of individualism? What is it like to be growing up today?
We invite youth workers, who spend their time with young people, researchers from this field as well as young people to present their point of view.
2. THE PATH TO MENTAL HEALTH
This topic focuses on the current question of mental health of young people. Mental health problems have rapidly increased in the last couple of years. This is not only due to a more sensitive and differentiated diagnostic approach. An important cause can be identified in the consequences of the general social climate, dysfunctional family processes, the consequences of various types of unfavorable educational practices as well as the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis. Even general society is paying more and more attention to the mental health problems of young people with different forms and methods of treatment and support to mental health.
This section will address questions such as what is mental health and when are we (if ever) completely mentally healthy? Who determines the categories of mental health and acceptable behavior? How do the systems we live in affect our well-being? What approaches do professionals use to support young people in distress? What forms of mental health problems and disorders are most common among young people and why is this so? What are the forms and approaches that are recognized as the most effective in solving these problems?
We invite professionals from this field, both, from a research point of view as well as a practitioner’s point of view to prepare a paper contribution.
3. INNOVATIVE FORMS OF ART AND SPORTS IN THE FIELD OF WORKING WITH AT-RISK YOUTH
At this year’s international conference, we continue with presentations from the field of art and sports as important methodical approaches in education and work with youth at-risk. Formal and informal education is essential especially for young people, who are more vulnerable due to their characteristics and lifestyle, although it is often less accessible to them. In the thematic group, we want to present new or reformed approaches of working with at-risk youth and on the margins of society.
This thematic section will cover contributions related to art, culture and sports. Emphasis should be placed on forms and methods of work as well as different ways and aspects of teaching and working with at-risk youth. Contributions should describe innovative forms of teaching, demonstrate the use of teaching aids or adaptations in the implementation of lessons and individual teaching in the education system. This thematic section also includes informal forms of work in art and sports, presentations of educational projects, specialized programs and approaches of organizations to solving problems in educating at-risk youth.
HOW TO APPLY?
You Should create a paper according to the guidelines below and send the PAPER together with your CV to fiohapplications@gmail.com with the title CONFERENCE-SLOVENIA
BASIC GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS
The abstract should present modern concepts in the field of work with at-risk youth, especially young people with emotional and/or behavioural problems. The text of the paper must be written in English. On the whole, the content should not exceed one A4 page or 1,500 characters without spaces.
The theme should correspond to one of themes being presented at the conference:
- New forms of youth (sub)cultures and social environment of youth
- The path towards mental health
- Innovative sports and arts methods in education
Please use the table below as template.
| TITLE OF PAPER | |
| NAME AND SURNAME OF AUTHOR | |
| ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL TITLE | |
| ORGANISATION (Name and address or web page) | |
| E-MAIL ADDRESS | |
| ABSTRACT | |
| 3-5 KEYWORDS | |
| MAIN PART | |
| CONCLUSION | |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY |
TITLE
The title should indicate the essential elements of the paper content in a brief and concise manner. It should contain a maximum of 80 characters. The title should be followed by name and surname of the author (or several authors), the exact academic and professional title of the author(s) and full address of the institution where the author(s) are employed (or where they can be reached), alongside their e-mail address.
ABSTRACT
The abstracts should include a concise presentation of the paper. The length of the abstract should be one paragraph and it should not exceed 500 – 600 characters or 150 words. Indicate the purpose of the paper, the basic characteristics of the research/contribution, the main findings and important conclusions. Provide 3-5 keywords.
MAIN PART
Structure the text in a content-based manner. Divide it into suitably long and content-complete paragraphs. Do not include any content that does not contribute to the answer to the selected problem. Avoid excessive enumeration (e.g. entire pages of bullet points).
Support your claims by citing sources or by listing your own findings. Cite the sources for data, claims, and findings that are not a direct result of your work. The sources must be listed in the bibliography. Use APA standards when citing and summarizing.
Design each table so that it is understandable and clear. Explain what the table shows in its title; you can also include additional explanations so that the table’s contents are understandable without the rest of the text.
CONCLUSION
In the conclusion concisely state the essential findings, the advantages, disadvantages and limitations of the proposed solutions or findings, the problems that remain unresolved and suggestions for future professional and research work.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
List all cited and summarized sources in the bibliography and vice versa – all sources listed in the bibliography must also be cited in the text. Cite sources in APA citation format (https://www.bibme.org/apa). Please include at least 3 sources.
PAPER LENGTH AND FORM
- The paper should be formed on an A4 vertical sheet, left, right and top margin 2.5 cm, bottom margin 3 cm. The pages should be numbered at the bottom of the page.
- The text (including the abstract) should be written in Calibri font (size 12), aligned on both sides and written in single line spacing. Please do not use any text editing (no italic, no bold. no title arrangements).
- The text must contain meaningful and clear unnumbered (just unnumbered, please do not use headline editing) major headings and subheadings of the chapters, written in Calibri font (size 18, 16, 14 according to the level of the headings).
- The text of the paper (including the abstract) should be around 1500 characters without spaces long.
ABOUT THE REVIEWING PROCESS
Your abstract will undergo a peer review by our committee in two to three weeks after due date. When reviewing papers, we consider the following criteria: choice of topic that corresponds with themes of the conference, method of presentation, structure and organization, professionalism and text comprehensibility.
The organizer reserves the right to reject papers that do not fully comply with the requirements: paper is not following the formatting requirements strictly; paper is out of the scope of the conference topic. Papers will not be further proofread. The author is fully responsible for the content, proofreading and form of the paper.
DEADLINE: 20.04.2023