© British Association of Social Workers
The Impact of Character-training Courses Upon Young People: an Empirical Investigation
Kenneth Roberts obtained a B.Sc.(Soc.) London in 1964 and M.Sc.(Econ.) London in 1966. Since then he has been a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Liverpool. His major research interest is young people and unemployment
Graham White obtained the Certificate of Education in 1965 and a B.A. from Liverpool University in 1967. Since 1968 he has been a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Liverpool. His major research interest is in the sociology of the school
Summary
This article reports an attempt to assess the impact of character-training courses upon young people. Seventy-seven young people from a Lancashire-based company were interviewed both before, and after their participation on the courses. From previous studies and literature produced by the courses, five possible effects were hypothesized: (1) That the courses increase the social competence of trainees. (2) That following the courses young people put more into and get more out of life. (3) Trainees subsequently develop new leisure interests. (4) The courses develop leadership qualities. (5) Following courses young people are more likely to participate in community service. The interview schedules were designed to test these hypotheses. Comparisons between replies received from pre- and post-trainees confirmed only one of the hypotheses: following their training the young people did develop leisure interests related to the content of the courses. Otherwise the data collected before and after the courses did not follow the predicted patterns. Further analysis of the data suggested that the courses have an additional and unintended effect: namely that they make young people less settled at work