Youth work
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the United Kingdom youth work is the process of creating an environment where young people can engage in informal educational activities. Different varieties of youth work include centre-based work, detached work and school-based work.
Throughout the United States and Canada, youth work is seen as any activity that seeks to engage young people in coordinated programs, including those which are recreational, educational, or social by nature and design.
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[edit] What is Youth Work?
[edit] History
For a full history see History of Youth Work
Modern youth work emphasises the need to involve young people in the running of their own services through a process of youth-led youth work though historically youth services were more about adults providing activities for young people or, to coin a phrase, "keeping them off the streets".
This early approach to youth work has actually been around since the birth of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, which was the first time that young men left their own homes and cottage industries to migrate to the big towns. The result of this migration was an emergent youth culture in urban areas, which locally was responded to by the efforts of local people. Although with the formation of the YMCA (and later Scouting) organisations were founded whose sole aim was to address these issues, the emphasis was always on providing for young people.
By 1959 widespread moral panic in the press about teenage delinquency led the British government to look into a national response to catering for the needs of young people. In 1960 a government report known as The Albermarle Report was released, which outlined the need for local government agencies to take on responsibility for providing extra-curricular activities for young people. Out of this the statutory sector of the youth service was born.
Today (as outlined in the Transforming Youth Work document released in 1998 by the DfES) it is the statutory duty of all local government organisations to provide a youth service in their region. Also for the first time the youth service has national targets that have to be met with regard to the reach (initial contact) with young people, the number of relationships developed with young people and the number of accredited learning programmes achieved through the youth service.
[edit] Approaches to Youth Work
[edit] Community youth work
Community youth workers provide community-based activities for young people in a variety of settings throughout local communities.
[edit] Youth voice
Youth voice is an approach to youth work which emphasizes the centrality of adolescents in defining the issues that matter to them.
The voice of young people is an important element of youth work enabling young people to play a central part in the decision making process that affects their lives. This can include not only how their youth services are run but also influences local and national government decisions. This also enables them to contribute to the community through being central to the decision making process for funding grants for which they are not only applicants but decision makers.
[edit] Centre-Based Youth Work
This youth work is carried out at a dedicated premises, which may include facilities such as drop-in coffee bars, sports facilities and advice centres. Most youth clubs fall under this fairly wide category. It is reliant on young people choosing to come to the centre, but in some cases may be linked with outreach or school-based youth work.
[edit] Detached Youth Work
This form of youth work takes place "on the streets". Detached youth work is youth work where you are not responsible for a building or the area in which you are working.
Detached Youth Work focuses mainly on meeting the young people where they are and not expecting them to fit into any particular system. In detached youth work the young people set a lot of the rule during the encounter and choose whether or not they wish to engage with you.
This form of youth work is good for reaching young people who are not engaging with any other form of youth work or even the educational system.
Detached youth work in it's purest form is working with young people on their agenda not the agenda of the agency or the worker. This is a difficult task to accomplish in an environment of funding led work and central government targets.
[edit] Outreach Youth Work
Outreach work is based on a pre set agenda more often than not the task of attracting young people into accessing existing youth facilities, for example an exisiting youth centre.
[edit] School-Based Work
This form of youth work is carried out in schools and is provided directly for the pupils, often by an organisation external from the school. It may include lessons, assemblies, after-school clubs, one to one mentoring etc. There may be a link with other non-school youth activities.
[edit] Youth development
Youth development programs seek to identify the needs of young people from a social/educational perspective, and to meet those needs through structured, intentional activities which satisfy those needs. This area includes community youth development and positive youth development activities.
