Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book offers a theoretical and practical guide to organisations, projects and practitioners trying to facilitate social justice and wellbeing. It is work with children, young people and families (CYPF). Their 'wellbeing' received heightened attention in the UK with the Every Child Matters and Youth Matters agendas. These strengthened the requirement of agencies to work together to ensure children and young people all attained a range of holistic outcomes that could broadly be said to encapsulate wellbeing. Critical pedagogy is a liberatory and developmental process that involves increased awareness, challenge, dialogue and social action. It is a pedagogy that provides an approach of supporting CYPF to develop their own wellbeing. Empowerment is presented as the process by which people develop agency, it is the route to agency, and therefore wellbeing and social justice.