"cross the spectrum of political ideologies there is, in principle, widespread agreement that the state has a legitimate role in protecting children from harm. Even the Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman (1962), among the most ardent liberal supporters of the laissez faire philosophy, recognized this "paternalistic" function of government. At the same time, the traditional view of children, that they are the property of the father (pater) or the parents, is under pressure (Zelizer, 1994; James & Prout, 1997; Archard 2004). Societies are at an intersection when it comes to how children are treated and how their rights are respected, which creates tensions in the traditional relationship between the family and the state. Children are a focus of government responsibility under certain state-defined norms relating to harm and need. And parents are sometimes constrained by the state from exercising their (familial or property) rights under state-defined criteria of harm and need"--

This groundbreaking book provides a comprehensive account of social work, social welfare, and social development in Nigeria from a postcolonial perspective. It examines the historical development of social work and social welfare and the colonial legacies affecting contemporary social welfare provision, development planning, social work practice, and social work education. Against this historical backdrop, it seeks to understand the position of social work within Nigeria’s minimalist structure of welfare provision and the reasons why social work struggles for legitimacy and recognition today. It covers contexts of social work practice, including child welfare, juvenile justice, disabilities, mental health, and ageing, as well as areas of development-related problems and humanitarian assistance as new areas of practice for social workers, including internally displaced and trafficked people, and their impact on women and children. It seeks to understand Nigeria’s ethnoreligious diversity and indigenous cultural heritage to inform culturally appropriate social work practice. This book offers a global audience insight into Nigeria’s developmental issues and problems and a local audience – social science and human service researchers, educators, practitioners, students, and policymakers - a glimpse of what’s possible when people work together toward a common goal. It will be of interest to all scholars and students of social work, development studies and social policy.

To leave no child behind, UNESCO developed the first global report of this scope onboys’ disengagement from education, bringing together qualitative and quantitativeevidence from over 140 countries. This report provides an overview on the globalsituation on boys’ disengagement from and disadvantage in education. It identifiesfactors influencing boys’ participation, progression and learning outcomes ineducation. It also analyses responses by governments and partners, and examinespromising policies and programmes. Finally, it includes recommendations on how tore-engage boys with education and address disadvantage.While girls continue to face severe disadvantages andinequalities in education, the report shows that boys inmany countries are at greater risk than girls of repeatinggrades, failing to complete different education levelsand having poorer learning outcomes in school. Noless than 132 million boys of primary and secondaryschool age are out of school. They urgently requiresupport.As this report shows, supporting boys does notmean that girls lose out and vice versa. Addressingboys’ disengagement not only benefits boys’ learning,employment opportunities, income and well-being, itis also highly beneficial for achieving gender equality anddesirable economic, social and health outcomes.

INSPIRE is a resource to help governments, international agencies, and non-government organisations prevent and respond to violence against children. It was developed by 10 international and U.S.-based agencies and includes strategy documents and implementation tools. This handbook provides guidance on how to choose and implement interventions based on specific needs and context, and is organised around the 7 key INSPIRE strategies: implementation and enforcement of laws; norms and values; safe environments; parent and caregiver support; income and economic strengthening; response and support services; and education and life skills. The handbook also provides an overview of implementation and impact indicators, drawn from the companion document 'INSPIRE indicator guidance and results framework'.