青年の視点から見た社会・制度 : 選択の解釈と支援の構想(<特集>後期青年期の現在)  [in Japanese] Looking at Society from the Perspective of Youth(<Special Issue>Extended Adolescence in Japan)  [in Japanese]

It has been pointed out that adolescence is being prolonged, individualized, and becoming more difficult in contemporary Japan. In response, new policies and institutions to help youth find employment have been suggested and carried out. However, these youth policies cannot be successful as long as they are conducted from the perspective of social benefits or of the researchers, because whether youth take part in these policies depends on how they look at modern society and institutions. The purpose of this paper is to make clear the necessity and significance of looking at society from the perspective of youth, and to suggest alternative youth policies. Research in educational sociology has made clear how difficult it is for disabled youth to move from school to work, and advocated policies that give them occupational awareness and skills from the theoretical viewpoint of promoting social equality and mobility. But how many people share this purpose? Will these policies be effective for all youth, including person who do not share the purpose? When we look at the issue from the perspective of youth, we should realize that some youth see as advantageous a situation that is considered to be disadvantageous from an outsider's point of view. They have built social networks in a local area, and managed to live making use of them as their resources. It is unclear whether and how these resources are effective in practice. However it is certain that policies without or against the interests of youth will not be successful. Consequently, policies and institutions should be constructed from the viewpoint of the people concerned. First, support for youth is needed not only from an instrumental angle but from an expressive one as well. Second, the idea of youth participation should be introduced into youth policies. In this case, however, it is important to ensure that participation is not compelled or manipulated, and that the opinions of a part of youth are not seen as those of the whole.