Re-Assessing Street Kids: A Critique of Subculture Theory (From Youth Subcultures: Theory, History and the Australian Experience, P 1-6, 1993, Rob White, ed. -- See NCJ-162536)

• NCJ Number: 162537
• Author(s): G Tait
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: National Clearinghouse for Youth Studies
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Reprinted from Youth Studies Australia, V 11, N 2 (1992)

Annotation

The author challenges the way youth workers deal with street children in Australia, an approach influenced by theoretical paradigms of the 1970's, and argues that past social theories are no longer relevant.

Abstract

The author suggests that subculture theory is not applicable to understanding homeless young people and instead offers a model that sees youth as artifacts of a network of governmental strategies. Following a detailed critique of subculture theory, the author discusses the role of government and the distribution of political power in contemporary society. He notes that, in a disciplinary society where power is generally anonymous and functional, a strong process of individualization tends to occur for those affected by power. Individuals who do not conform to social norms, such as homeless youth, are the subject of greatest attention. The focus on delinquent youth and categorizing them into subcultures are part of the process by which individuals are constantly measured and judged against a set of social norms. The author concludes that street children are not directly engaged in a struggle against the power of the state; rather, they are constructed as artifacts at the intersection of a wide range of governmental strategies. 21 references and 2 photographs