Youth work is value based and its core principles are that it needs…
Introduction
Personal and social development takes place through acquiring new knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, i.e. through learning. Not least, values and attitudes are acquired through adapting to the principles and values that permeate the ‘culture’ you live in – this is why it is essential that youth work meet these core principles. Solidarity, for example, might be explained and discussed in school, but it is through experiencing it in practice that you become a solidary person.
Research also shows us that “learning new things” is one of the things that young people value most in youth work.
References
- “Youth work brings unique benefits to young people in their transition to adulthood 24, providing a safe environment for them to gain self-confidence, and learn in a non-formal way. Youth work is known for equipping youth with key competences and skills such as teamwork, leadership, intercultural competences, project management, problem solving and critical thinking.”
European Youth Strategy 2019 – 2027, Engage, Connect, Empower
- “The blurring of borders between formal, non-formal and informal will require new teaching skills and constant evolution of the profiles of youth workers or school teachers. A holistic approach to education, individualised methods, professional coaching and experience-based learning would also prompt individuals to take a step back from routine and promote change.” Youth work and non-formal learning in Europe’s education landscape, European Commission 2015
Guiding questions
To what degree does our local youth work meet this bullet point?
Are there sides/aspects of it that are not reached?
Are there differences related to different activities?
Are there differences related to different groups of young people?
Are there differences related to different youth work providers?
Are there other differences? Related to what?
Specific questions
- How do we find out what young people want to learn through taking part in youth work?
- How do we further promote non-formal learning activities?
- How could we analyse our activities in order to see which values they promote through informal learning?
- Are we sometimes carrying out tasks that young people could do and learn from if we had provided some non-formal education?
- How can we avoid this in the future?
- Is the youth work culture we provide actively promoting societal values such as solidarity and tolerance?
- How do we handle different kinds of tournaments and games so that we avoid a “winner takes it all” culture that more or less excludes many young people?
Self-assessment
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Good practices & tools
- Youth workers for marginalized youth in Vocational school and in upper comprehensive schools in Vantaa
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Future steps
What different steps do we need to take in order to meet this bullet point?
Do we miss any knowledge that we need?
Do we need to take contact with stakeholders not present in our discussions?
Do we need to develop new competences, methods, work processes or organisational structures?
Can we find good practices or tools that might help us to improve this?
Do we have positive experiences from other areas of youth work that we can use also in this case?
Are there other organisations that we can contact and learn from regarding this?
Do we need to take other measures?
Do we have to revise our perspectives and/or priorities regarding youth work?
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