Youth Policies and Services in Chinese Societies

 In recent decades, much of youth research in Chinese societies has sought to understand the transformation of the younger generation and their social environment in the context of globalization, deindustrialization and economic insecurity. The epochal events of the global economic transformation and financial crisis, along with long-term Chinese social trends such as rising unemployment, income disparity, and migration, are in the process of creating new structural relations between young people and related social actors. Accordingly, this book charts the current conditions of youth services and policies in Chinese societies by examining case studies in Beijing, Jinan, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Hong Kong.

The chapters address the related issues stemming from unemployment, volunteering, internal migration, economic disadvantages, school social work, and leadership training. Through comparative analyses of the aforementioned issues, the collection highlights contemporary issues in Chinese youth policies and services, including work commitment, social inclusion, social support from family and teachers, volunteering, and leadership training. The book argues that the strengthening of empowerment and social inclusion in Chinese youth services offers a solution to problems of alienation, powerlessness, and underclass status. The quest for social inclusion therefore merits renewed attention in the youth policies and services of Chinese societies.

This was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Adolescence and Youth.

Steven Sek-yum Ngai is currently Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China, (CUHK) and Director of the CUHK-Nankai Joint Research Center of Social Policy. His current research interests are in the areas of service-learning and leadership development, social exclusion and youth citizenship, and mutual aid and youth empowerment. In total, he has published over 200 articles on these areas including refereed publications in journals, books and conference proceedings. He received CUHK Research Excellence Award in 2010-11.

Chau-kiu Cheung, Ph.D. in sociology, is an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong, China. He has recently published articles concerning resilience, social inclusion, character education, moral development, peer influence, and class mobility. His current research addresses issues of grandparenting, drug abuse, risk society, and Internet use.

Ngan-pun Ngai is currently Adjunct Professor in the Department of Social Work at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China. In year 2006-2010, he was President of the International Sociological Association Research Committee 34?Sociology of Youth. His research and publications span a wide range in youth policy and youth services, covering China, Hong Kong and Macau. In total, he has published more than 240 papers, including, journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings. At present, he was Associate Director of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Youth Research (in Chinese), and member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of numerous international academic journals.