ABSTRACT

Asset-based approaches to public service reform suggest a need for policymakers to shift attention from ‘fixing’ the perceived deficits of disadvantaged neighbourhoods, to recognising and building on the resources, or assets, they hold. However, these approaches have also been critiqued for interpreting assets so broadly that they effectively become meaningless, or so narrowly that they perpetuate deficit views. To counter these tendencies, a new conceptually and methodologically robust endogenous assets-mapping approach is proposed. This has been designed to enable nuanced insights into the assets young people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods may draw upon to pursue positive educational and wider life outcomes. The approach’s utility is illustrated through the case of Ayesha, a 14-year-old student with a difficult relationship with school. The paper concludes that an endogenous assets-mapping approach can help to generate more positive narratives for vulnerable learners living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods than schooling may typically enable.

摘要

基于资产的公共服务改革方法表明，政策制定者需要将注意力从“修复”弱势社区的感知缺陷转移到认识并利用他们所拥有的资源或资产。然而，这些方法也因过于宽泛地解释资产以至于实际上变得毫无意义，或者过于狭隘以至于使赤字观点长期存在而受到批评。为了应对这些趋势，提出了一种新的概念和方法论稳健的内生资产映射方法。这旨在让人们能够对生活在弱势社区的年轻人可能利用的资产进行细致入微的洞察，以追求积极的教育和更广泛的生活成果。该方法的实用性通过 Ayesha 的案例得到了说明，Ayesha 是一名与学校关系不佳的 14 岁学生。