Young People as Competent Community Builders - Case Study Example

COMMUNITY WORK: YOUTH WORK AND ITS IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF YOUNG PEOPLE INTRODUCTION: The main objective of youth work is to provide opportunities for young people to shape their own futures, according to Williamson (2006: 4). Youth work can be defined as: Activities with and for young people of a social, cultural, educational or political nature. Increasingly, youth work activities also include sports and services for young people. The general aims of youth work are the integration and inclusion of young people in society. Youth work overlaps with the area of social services previously undertaken by the Welfare State. It therefore includes work in unemployment, educational failure, marginalisation and social exclusion, also assistance and guidance, housing, mobility, criminal justice, and health, as well as the more traditional areas of participation, youth politics, cultural activities, scouting, leisure and sports (Williamson, 2006: 5). According to Munford, et al (2005: 11) seeing such entitlements as rights rather than privileges to be earned or needs to be met, strengthens the claims of the youth concerned and the youth workers who advocate on their behalf. This paper takes into account British policy in relation to community-centred youth work, principles and theories of youth work, a real-life example of a youth work project that was undertaken, and identifies the impact of youth work on the lives of young people. DISCUSSION: The concept and practice of Youth Work encompasses the building of a trusting and credible relationship with young people in order to support and broaden their learning experiences and thereby enhance their personal development. Non-formal learning is an essential contributor in building capacity and competence for personal, social and economic growth. Such learning is not a substitute for formal learning and qualification, but it has an increasingly important complementary role in enabling young people to build human, social and identity capital that is essential for effective life management. Convincing youth theory needs to be comprehensive, and effective youth policy needs to be inclusive. This involves loosening the traditional boundaries that stood in the way of opportunity while ensuring that the different forms of capital are available, to enable all emerging adults to take advantage of them, states Bynner (2005: 381). Policy Goals: When new Labour came to power, the political objectives under Youth Policy included the following:1) Active citizenship of young people, with the rights and responsibilities. 2) Lifelong learning, with emphasis on education. 3) Social inclusion, being part of the community, of the nation. 4) Community safety, by putting an end to youth crime (Williamson, 2006: 3). At the turn of the millennium, youth work as a distinct professional practice received renewed political attention in the form of Transforming Youth Work (Department of Education and Employment 2001), and Transforming Youth Work: Resourcing Excellent Youth Services (Department for Education and Skills 2002). These placed new expectations on youth services, concerning the numbers of young people they would reach and the proportion of those who would gain the planned outcomes. In return, there were higher political commitments to increased resources and policy support, according to Williamson (2006: 7). The contribution of youth work to effective practice in the policy domains of school inclusion or youth mental health (Department of Health 2007), and in areas including preparing young people for employment, youth crime prevention, and youth homelessness are visible on the community level. Young People’s Competency as Community Builders: Because adults often view young people as victims or problems, rather than as competent citizens capable of meaningful participation in society, it is not surprising that social work emphasizes troubled youths and the services they require.Youth’s energy and potential when harnessed and guided, can form a powerful ally to the role of adults in the community building process. The research article by Checkoway; Finn (1998: 335), reports on a pilot study of exemplary community-based youth initiatives in which young people actively participated in solving problems, planning programs, and providing services at the communitay level. They identified the initiatives, studied the accomplishments, and analyzed the lessons learned from practice. As they learned to listen to the voices and appreciate the capacities of young people as community builders, many of their beliefs about youths were called into question. The emphasis on youths as victims or problems prevents social workers from looking at young people as competent citizens and providing for their meaningful participation in civic life (Strom, Oguinick, & Singer, 1995). When young people are viewed in this way and relegated to the periphery, they see their social role as marginal and question the relevance of their relationship to the larger social, political, and economic context in which they live. The government outlined a programme of modernisation to ensure that youth work would maintain a consistently high standard. It identifies five key components of a good youth service which young people would want to use: 1) Offers quality support to young people which helps them achieve and progress. 2) Enables young people to have their voice heard, and enables decision making at various levels. 3) Provides a diverse range of social and personal development opportunities. 4) Helps prevent disaffection and social exclusion. 5) Is well-planned, focusing on achieving outcomes that meet young people’s needs and priorities (The NYA Guide: p.5). The above document was updated in 2002, specifying standards of youth work provision, setting timeline targets and covering elements such as the percentage of young people reached, staffing, professional development and resources (p.7). The Principles Underpinning Youth Work: The National Youth Agency works according to the following principles and beliefs: 1. All people have rights and liberties including the right to be heard and be free from oppression. 2. All people have skills, knowledge and experience that they can use for the benefit of themselves and others. 3. Young people should be valued for who they are and not only for who they will become. 4. Young people are agents of change and a resource to be developed. 5. The needs of young people are often different from those of children and distinct from those of adults. 6. Services for young people should be responsive to changing needs, interests and aspirations. 7. The principal values and approaches of youth work should be sustained and refashioned for new times and settings. 8. Continuous improvement in the quality of youth work services helps secure better outcomes for young people. 9. Communication of information has to be clear, accurate and timely and speak to a broad audience, including young people themselves. 10. Development is based on reciprocal learning between the National Youth Agency and the wider world (NYA Strategic Framework 2006-2009, p.6). Munford et al (2005: 11) state that another important principle is that of reflective practice. The youth worker has a strong responsibility to engage in critical and informed reflection on the context, the issues, the people involved and on her or his own practice. Disadvantage, dominant ideologies and political reality all impact on a social or youth worker’s practice. They are motivated to bring about a more just, fair society in which the people or youth will have their rights protected and respected. The inherent worth of each person, social justice, equity, and more recently human rights, form important principles of youth work. Integration of Theory and Practice: According to Munford, et al (2005: 9), there are competing theories, competing claims about how to do good social work. The important ones are based on a mix of good conceptualizing, research and practice wisdom.. An integrated framework for practice in which theory and action meet provides community workers with a sound holistic practice base (Munford, et al, 2005: 16). The four theoretical approaches presented are: ecological systems, community development, strengths-based approaches and attachment theories. The role of social work practice changes and adapts to meet new needs, new information and approaches to practice. Social or youth work theory is likewise developing and being reworked to take account of ideas and state and agency responses to personal and social problems. Strong partnerships between local authorities, schools, health and justice services, the voluntary and community sector and young people themselves significantly support youth work programmes. The work of services and organisations should be relevant to the lives of young people; responsive to policy; effective and of a high standard; efficient and provide good value; and is required to be successful in securing the best outcomes for young people (NYA’s Strategic Framework 2006-2009: p.7). A Real Life Project Conducted by Youth: This is a scheme run by Southwark, which I am involved in. SMASH is run by Southwark Education Business Alliance. Students team up with local experts and ‘community motivators’ in order to: 1) Learn how to exercise their rights and responsibilities as active citizens. 2) Tackle real issues in their own community – working with relevant local business people and other organisations 3) Develop essential skills in problem-solving, teamwork, research, analysis, presentation, communication, negotiation and information technology. SMASH is a partnership between schools, businesses and community groups across the neighbourhood. How it worked: The students chose an issue relevant to their lives and their own communities, such as litter, graffiti, noise, pollution, local amenities, food safety and hygiene, transport, drugs or race hate crime. They then researched their topic and decided how they, as citizens, would like to act to make things better. Research included web-based searches and interviews with an expert in their chosen topic, identified with help from SMASH. Throughout the 8week project students were guided by the teacher, a community motivator, volunteers and a project manager who inspired and mentored the students as they put citizenship into practice. The whole project was recorded on Netfolio – an innovative web-based digital log that enabled students to store information, photographs and video clips to build an online portfolio of their work. (Smash Southwark) We believed that all young people should have the right to free speech that would enable them to achieve there potential both academically and socially. Diversity and the presence of students from multicultural backgrounds was welcomed by us, in the academic institution. However, in the lower economic sections of society, young coloured people were being discriminated against, for education, employment, access to health services, and in all respects. They had little hopes of improving their economic condition and hence took to drugs dealing or crime, to make an easy living. This was detrimental to them as well as to the community. We came to realize that discrimination against youth on sensitive issues such as race, gender, class, disability, religion and sexual orientation were common, and hence we decided to take steps to rid the community of discrimination on any basis. The theories of community development and strengths-based approaches were used in this project, along with the principles of rights and entitlements of the coloured, poor youth. Other important principles of youth work such as the inherent worth of each person, social justice, equity, and human rights were the desired outcomes. From a peripheral existence in the community, their right to citizenship had to be restored to them. The Series of Sessions Were as Follows: Session1 Session2 Session3 session4 Session5 Session6 Session7 Introducing smash Web research Questions to ask Guest speaker What can we do? What can others do? Prepare a presentation Students discussed what citizenship meant and agreed on an issue they wanted to tackle. Students used the Internet to find out some basic facts about their chosen issue. Students looked at what they had learned and identified questions to ask their expert guest speaker. Students quizzed an expert academic or other guest speaker in order to learn more about their issue. Students decided what they and the school community could do to tackle some of the issues they had identified. The group looked at action needed by the wider community and government. The group summarised their findings and action required in a short PowerPoint presentation Session8: Students shared their presentation with an invited audience, and celebrated their success! Students recorded their achievement using NetFolio, an innovative digital log that meant that they could also publish their work on the web and share ideas online. The students took steps to study government policy regarding young people, especially those from minority communities and ethnic groups. They approached the National Youth Agency for guidelines and help in improving the economic, educational, employment and social conditions of the coloured youth who could find no way to live as ordinary citizens. With guidance and support from the National Youth Agency, monetary relief, and opportunities for education and employment were made available. The students worked hard to help as many young people as possible, to get a foothold into community living as normal citizens, to join the mainstream. Students benefited because they: 1) Tackled a real life issue (one they cared about passionately). 2) Developed problem-solving, teamwork and Information Technology skills. 3) Understood how democracy and community involvement works. 4) Learned how to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens. 5) The students gained more friends in the form of all the young people whom they helped. They also joined hands in Smash Southwark’s efforts to reach out to the marginalized and helpless people, who had no hopes because of the oppression of discrimination. Active participation of youth is essential to reenergizing and sustaining the civic spirit of communities. Through skill development in the areas of collaboration and leadership, and the application of these capacities to meaningful roles in community, youth can play a fundamental role in addressing the social issues that are destined to impact their lives and those of future generations (Hancock, 1994: 142). Community-based youth initiatives promote the well-being of youths by providing tangible benefits and increasing their involvement in the process. Some originate in reaction to particular problems, and others are initiated to develop resources that strengthen community capacity for the future. CONCLUSION: Through the Above Programme, the Goals of NYA Youth Work Initiative Were Realized: The main objectives are that the overall youth population needs to be healthy; enjoys good physical and mental health and adopts a healthy lifestyle. Young people should stay safe, be protected from harm and neglect, and develop resilience. Youth should enjoy and achieve; get the most out of life now and acquire the skills needed for the adult world. Also, it is necessary to make a positive contribution; be involved with the community and society, and not engage in anti-social or offending behaviour. According to The NYA Strategic Framework, 2006-2009: p.7, young people should develop the skills and resources required for economic wellbeing, should not be prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential. Young people are more likely to achieve these outcomes if they can shape policies and influence programmes. Hence empowerment is essential by listening to young people and respecting their ideas, supporting their initiatives and efforts, in order to achieve the positive outcomes of individual as well as community development. REFERENCES Bynner, J. (2005), “Rethinking the Youth Phase of the Life-course: The Case for Emerging Adulthood?”, Journal of Youth Studies Vol 8, No 4: pp. 367-384 Checkoway, Barry; Finn, Janet L. (1998). “ Young People as Competent Community Builders: A Challenge to Social Work”. Social Work, Vol. 43, Issue 4, pp. 335+ Department for Education and Employment (2001) Transforming Youth Work. Developing youth work for young people, London: Department for Education and Employment/Connexions. Web site: http://www.infed.org/archives/gov_uk/transforming1.pdf Department for Education and Skills (2002) Transforming Youth Work - resourcing excellent youth services, London: Department for Education and Skills/Connexions. Web site: http://www.infed.org/archives/gov_uk/transforming2.htm Department of Health (2007), National Health Services, Mental Health. Web site: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm (Retrieved on 13th May, 2007). Hancock, M. (1994). “Collaboration for youth development: Youth action programming”. National Civic Review, Vol. 83: pp.139-146. Munford, Robyn; O’Donoghue, Kieran; Nash, Mary. (2005). Social Work Theories in Action. London, U.K.: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. The National Youth Agency (NYA) Guide to Youth Work and Youth Services, Web site: http://www.nya.org.uk/Templates/internal.asp?NodeID=90356 (Retrieved on 13th May, 2007). The National Youth Agency Strategic Framework 2006 to 2009. Web site: www.nya.org.uk/Templates/internal.asp?NodeID=92985 (Retrieved on 13th May, 2007). Strom, K; Oguinick, C; Singer, M. (1995). “What do teenagers want? What do teenagers need?” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, Vol. 12: pp. 345-360. Williamson, Howard. (2006). “Spending Wisely: Youth Work and the Changing Policy Environment for Young People”. The Natioal Youth Agency, September 2006. Read More