BK1 C6 Understanding Trans

Intro

• C go through many trans as they age. But they don’t have the vocab or cognitive skills to verbalise how they are feeling.
• Adults can help c as they are trans
• Moss + Petrie 02 adult can help by being reflective prac who are researchers and thinkers, they can help by placing the c equally who is knowledgeable and is supported by adults experiences and learning.
• 

1Definitions +meaninngs of trans

• Transitions have many definitions:
• Newman and Blackburn 02: “any episode where c are having to cope with potentially challenging episodes of change”
• Niesel and Griebel 05: 21st c have more to contend, family constructions, moving, jobs, hours mum works etc, therefore more trans

1.1 trans within ecological context

• Bronfenbrenner 79 c’s interdependence and interconnectedness can be compared to a russian doll or a bulls eye. C interaction between different systems is represented by a ring and “occurs both within each system and between”
• As c trans they have to navigate and or ,learn new social + cultural models.
• Bronfenbrenner's eco model:
• Microsystem: primary carers + close family, older c. other family, friends, peers, teachers, etc
• Mesosystem: e,g play school liaising with parents, sharing knowledge between settings can help c dev.
• Exosystems: welfare systems, employment, media, local economy
• Macro systems: how political and cultural beliefs help influence c dev e,g rules and reg, cultural prac around c care

Bronfenbrenner's eco model

1.2 Commonly experienced trans

• Traditionally trans was viewed only by groups or passing certain ages, but it’s difficult to pinpoint when one age starts or ends and humans constantly aquire knowledge and experinece.
• Maybin and Woodhead 03: biological change, rites of passage, legal entitlments and how c feel about them all are types of trans.
• School was commonly a big trans but now c may be better equiped to deal with it as they have been to day care, nannies, preschool, etc. something different to previous generations, but also it can differ greatly between 21st c
• C can influence their own enviroment and affect their dev
• C also have to adpat daily to how they have to behave at home and at school, a type of mini-trans. Not a lot of research or interest in thei are. Adutls usually find this easier to navigate c may need support to adpat.

1.3 Less commonly experi trans

• "poverty, disability, illness, brevement, emogration, adoption, sexuality, family break up" crime abuse. means c trans difficult to predict. Some c need specialist help + accessing this involves trans. But there's a gap between what needs to be provided and what is provided.
• Key Points.
• 1. the concept of trans has many meanings + applications when applied to c's lives.
• 2. Ecoloigical models are useful in helping us undersand c's trans
• 3. It's useful to distinguish betwen commonly expreinmced + less commonly experienced trans

2. different contexts of trans:

• Status, time, and space p216

2.1 Age and status

• c place a lot of importance on their age, they may equate being older to more freedoms, or independence and also going up a yr.
• How C's milestones are gaged today vaies greatly to how it was 100yrs ago. Most of the milestones are set by political agenda, e,g starting school earlier was to help the poor, not from advice of educationalists. Also to help families get back to woek earlier buts its not supported by evidence that it improves educational attainment.
• Some countries use c's maturity rather than age to determine whether they are ready or not. Assessed by medical exams, psy +aptitude tests, teachers + parents. Problematic- minority
• groups helpd back by predujuical teachers. UK maturity status gaged by age + very rarely challenged. Except by ruling where pre 16s could be given rightto consent to med treatment if docs thought they were mature enough- GPs discretion.

Diapositiva 9

• Size linked to status but c reported age being oldre more desirable.
• Christensen 00 c used markers to define changes of status and getting older eg moving from primary to seconddary.
• C reported as adding space to freedoms to status. Older c means: more space, freedom, better peer replationships, less parental control but conversly more from peers. Dependant on age, gender, soc class and ethnicity.
• Holland 04 trans also affects IWM eg young girl excited to become bg sis but at the same time unsure what that will mean, will her parents still ove her? she feels her status is under threat. C imbue different ideas to tran than adutls.
• Becuse trans + status + id are important + obvious to toher c the can become vicitms of bullying. But some groups learn to coexist + defend others when the yare able to relate to them.

2.2 Space and Place

• Space:. morethan geographiclal or physical areas it's how people interact wiht an area and give it meaning.
• PLace: simlair to space but means "subjective atachment, sense of belonging ot particular spaces, could be family group, nation, + is closely connected to id. It creates a safe environment" where c have a sense of belonging
• c vary on how much importance on certain spaces and places, + how comfortable they feel sharing them, It could depend on their "previous experience or familiarity whey the new context". C feel it's important to have asense of place.

Space a site of control and resistance

• C can experience varying levels of control depending on the space and place eg schools c know they are being watched + teachers place themselves in areas of where they can watch + exert power. C usually self regualte accordingly.
• C can use s+p + exert ome control be hinding + refusing to follow adult's orders.
• Edwards et al 00 home tome after school was a s+p swherethey were able to get some control back. Some c able to reduce parental involvement by hiding letters from school.
• Shucksmith et al o5 parents now being or felling forced to observe, scrutinse, + control their c's behaviour through tech.+ gov want more parental involvment their schooling, How this works depends on parents attitudes, resoources and confidence- human captial. Some c may be ale to gete support from parents eg maths homework, others won't so it'll vary considerably in every classroom.
• C have designated areas + are denied others eg pubs or cause anxiety for some adutls eg shopping centres or streeet corners. Young adutls are too young for some but too old for other. Trans can be framed by both social structure and c's agency.

Diapositiva 12

• trans between spaces eg home-school can become a time for c' agency, creative play, + friendship dev, but now many are denied that wit hthe schoo runs- extention of domestic space and more time supervised.
• Adutls deny c psaces from sensationalised media, parental anxiety, increased traffic, and less opportunity for c to learn road sense. Adutls now use more surrvelance and contrains over c's freedoms.
• Some c do live in dangerous neighbourhoods whihc can depend on poverty , gender, ethnicity, + richer c easierto avoid them. C's pverty linked to high risk of being a victim, witnessing crime, or violence, having accident,. Youth clubs create a haven for deprived c, other c employ methods to meidate risks: avoiding dangerous areas, joining clubs, watching what they say and or do.
• Boys adpoty colective stratergies for safety: gangs or big groups, but this creates problems for adutls. Disabled c routinel denied access to publice spaces: lack of facilites, trained staff, over proective parents, or neg comments from public.

2.3 Time

• Kagan 92: horizontal and vertical trans
• Horizontal- movement around settings eg home and school, mini trans
• Vertical- sequencial movements through connected services eg baby unit- neonatal care- health visitor
• Some c are able to relfect on how their time is used differently after a trans, Adults are able to help c plan trans + use time as a asset. How time pases can help c come to terms + it gives adults the time to help them adjust but c also thought time passing gave them space to think about the trans.
• C place importance on time alone with adutls, + c want a say in how their time is used + show preference for adutls who can be honest about tehir comments + are able to be there fro them.
• C also like time to be alone, it can be sued to relfect, switch off, but it can be misinterpreted as having nt¡o friends

Key Points

• 1. time, space, status are useful concepts for analyising and understanding trans
• 2. Age bestows particular rights, entitlements, and status on c, however, there socially constructed milestones can differ accross both time and place
• .
• 3. C's experience of trans interrelates with their social position + id, and may, in turn, leave them vunerable to discrimination.
• 4. Effective support and trans planning can be enhanced by providing them with a sense of place and psychological travelling time.

3. The experience of transitions

• 3

3.1 Continuity and change

• it's important for c who are trans to have some continutity, schoo is something that even refugees can take comfort in, tis' a stable environment for LA c + it helps some c forget their probs
• Christen et al 00 friendships are important school trans, older c cn give insider info about what to expect, routines, + conventions etc, they offer everyday support..
• C adjut better if htey have peer support+ knowing someone in th class helps but maintaining contact after big tran like moving is difficult.
• changes help c to reinvent themselves, it also offeres a chance for c to relfect.
• Flowerdeu + Neal 03 c need time to change + not enough 'psychological travelling' time can hinder c being able to adapt. Also support to helpp c may be lacking from inadequet funds, target driven services, etc. Point drawn to it would it be better if some soc workers worked 7 days shifts to help c trans to different residence on Fri.
• C are interwinded into different relationships- ecological model. Difficult to balance trans needs of c + what c may want themselves eg contact with family who they've been removed from. Prac need to balance c current needs + trans needs

3.2 Losses and gains

• Change closely related to loss. C can react strongly to loss but not have the emotional literacy to understand it, the ycan act out, become ntroverted, self harm, beome ill, or run away. Adults can helpe c come to terms with loss and help c make connections between what htey are feeling and loss., but adults need support to recognise that the c is reacting to loss as not every c's reaction is the same.
• Holland 03 after brevement when c return to school they can feel: ignored, isolated, embarrassed, uncertain, and different.
• It's no longer believed that people more stages of emotions until they've accpeted loss, some pople never accept it.
• Klass et a l96 'continuity bonds model' someone who hasn't accepted the brevement becasue they still have a relationship with the deceased, changing relationship deceased overtime, no resolution of the loss. This model can be adapted to different cultures.
• Strobe + Schut 99 'duel process model' accepting and advoiding loss, some c deal with it by distracting themselves.

3.3 Liminality

• Van Gennep 60 liminality- spaces not clearly "defined becasue they are times, places, pr ways of being between 2 familiar states". An inbetween feeling: anxious about upcoming job interview, inability to sleep because starting new school.
• Liminal spaces between adutl- regualted arenas are valued by c, they give the mmore freedoms from conventions but observed by adutls as areas where c play-up eg cloakrooms, corridoors etc. It's an area of "core experiences of trans" very emotional area both positve and negative.
• Liminal experiences can be observed in becoming members of clubs and religions eg scouts- only allowed to wear part uniform until a full member. C can also invent rules to become members eg soroarities in USA

3. Key Points

• 1. Change and pace of change can help c with trans
• 2. Observing and interpreting behaviour can help practitioners and other adutls to understand c's experiences of loss and provide them with appropriate support, including help to express their feelings.
• 3. Trans can include liminal feelings of ambiguity and of being inbetween for some c

Conclusion