Abstract
This is an empirically driven book about civic youth work, which goes from “stories of practice,” to programming, policy making and, ultimately, to the training of civic youth workers. The book aims to deepen the understanding of the civic youth work ethos, practice, and policy making and to contribute at improving practitioners’ competencies to develop, carry out, and evaluate their work. It is organized into four parts: (1) civic youth workers; (2) civic youth work programs and programming; (3) policies supporting and challenging civic youth work, and (4) developing youth work.
Unlike other contributions in the field, this one does not end, but begins with examples of practice. This resonates with the entire approach, which prioritizes the experiences/ views of civic youth workers. Thus, Part 1 describes four “practitio-ner-written stories:” (i) a media literacy participatory project for rising awareness on the closing of a public school for teen mothers in United States; (ii) a participatory museum exhibit in Northern Ireland; (iii) a youth-led coalition for LGBTQ advocacy in Mississippi, and (iv) two examples of youth-led evaluation.
Part 2 moves to presenting three civic youth programs: An example of how civic youth work is incorporated in a school setting in United States, a craft and mentorship after-school program with a 40 years legacy in Pennsylvania and a cross-cultural program for safe driving in Israel. Part 3 examines instances of youth civic engagement in South Korea, case studies of projects for conflict transformation and community safety in several African countries and the process of founding the Croatian Youth Network.
Part 4 discusses the process of educating youth workers in ways that incorporate knowledge of theory, of the “professional craft” and a better understanding of their personal biographies. By disrupting implicit power relations of the type “trainer/trainee,” this chapter calls for self-reflective youth work practice. The last chapter defines the key concepts and looks into the U.S. history of two movements: Healthy and/or positive youth development and civic youth development. It calls for an understanding of youth as “living citizen(ship)” and introduces civic youth work, its logic model and six choices that sustain engaging youth practices (e.g., to do the work together with young people, to encourage risk taking, and to support public performance).
The chapters draw on experiences from practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and people who integrate the three areas of expertise. There is also a large geographical diversity involved, with contributions from Croatia, Kenya, Israel, Northern Ireland, South Korea, and United States. Each chapter concludes with “Reflection questions,” a section aiming to stimulate critical thinking among readers. The editors did an admirable work in integrating such diversity of practices and views on an otherwise, contentious topic. A genuine respect for cultural and professional differences unifies the contributions. For instance, a crosscutting inquiry prompts readers to continuously reflect on what makes civic youth work unique versus universal across different cultural and political contexts.
Grounded in the principles of experiential learning, the book prioritizes practitioners’ and youth voice in regard to their work. Rejecting a normative stance on how youth work “needs to be done,” the volume strengthens the notion that youth work is a creative practice, opened to the contribution of young people seen as “cocreators of knowledge and agents of change.” (p. 24)
It has been said that youth work has a marginal professional status (also) because of its limitation in making the informal, lived experiences transferable in a policy and research language (Spence, 2007). Mainly verbal, present-orientated, and less focused on written communication, civic youth work was often weak in its cross-professional dialogues. In a lively way, this book responds to previous calls for practitioners to “develop the language of informality” (Spence, 2007) and thus to engage in an intellectual dialogue beyond their professional boundaries.
The projects included aim to join the “technically correct and the morally good” (p. 10). Many of them are theoretically grounded in the principles of critical pedagogy, pedagogy of resilience, or participatory action research. However, the research evidence examining the effectiveness of interventions is rarely looked at. With the assessment of effects based on anecdotal evidence (mostly positive accounts from project participants), the chapters have a weak base to ensure against a selective use of evidence. Project descriptions might have benefited from more rigorous (ideally similar) structure, which included a section on limitations in assessment and potential sources of bias. This would have strengthened their potential to contribute at building the evidence base in youth work.
A crosscutting theme which is given considerable space is combating the “adultist” argument that young people are invariably apathetic and disengaged. Yet, as tentatively suggested in the book, one may argue that insisting that young people are interested to engage, is just as misleading as arguing that they are incapable and unwilling to do so. Ultimately, this rhetoric would replace a social construction with another. Moreover, the “conceptual shift” of the positive youth development is hold responsible for leaving undertheorized the oppressive power of racism, homophobia, and poverty which still limit the choices of many young people (Ginwright & Cammarota, 2002). Thus, operating with more refined distinctions between the diversity of situations young people may find themselves in (without blaming youth for such differences) may be both practical and scientific. Amnå (2009) does this for Sweden, where he distinguishes three levels of civic involvement: (i) the group of young people “genuinely passive” and explicitly rejecting any form of (political) engagement; (ii) “stand byers” who become active when having their values threatened, and (iii) the very active youth.
A large part of the literature on youth work presents “hands-on” methods for practice, at the expense of questioning the rationales, the political role of the process and, ultimately, the mission of civic youth work. This book does not hesitate to embraces this very area and to draft a critical frame for interpreting practice. It invites readers to ask: What is civic youth for? How can young people engage in a meaningful practice that goes beyond the social limits of their group? Yet, at times, several more fundamental concerns remain tentatively touched upon. The book might have benefited form addressing more courageously some intricate topics, such as: What is the meaning of civic youth work in political contexts where “good citizenship” means compliance with the status quo? How can youth workers negotiate their professional roles and play at the boundary between conformity and critical thinking? What is the relation between civic youth work and activism? Ultimately, how far can civic youth work go?
Overall, the book is written with confidence and infused with optimism. This is a tonic feeling in an area which is either met with skepticism or loaded with high expectations. The book should appeal to practitioners who will find here inspiration for their work and modes to assume a voice. Conversely, researchers and policy makers will find examples of how civic youth workers can become partners in a much needed cross-professional dialogue.