Managing the disconnect: A critical case study of neoliberalism in youth development practice

Abstract

Aims This critical ethnography interrogates the influence of neoliberalism on youth development practice as instituted by the evidence‐based practice and positive youth development movements. Methods I employed participant observation and grounded theory analyses in my role as facilitator of a youth participatory action research program in the context of violence prevention work at a large urban youth development agency. Results The disconnect between professionalized youth development and the lived experience of youth manifested in organizational policies and practices and meant that the agency had to balance competing interests and worldviews, reconcile the need for funding with social justice aims, and cope with the consequences of such conflicts. Conclusions Neoliberalism exacerbates a disconnect between youth development practice and youth experience, contributing to an epistemic form of violence. Results are discussed in relation to Martín‐Baró liberation framework, which emphasizes the recovery of historical memory, deideologizing everyday experience, and utilizing the virtues of oppressed people.

Economic Justice and Vocational Psychology: Towards Community Change

“…Much of the existing literature regarding this approach emphasizes individual’s critical consciousness, sociopolitical development, and awareness of interlocking systems of oppression. We believe this approach can be extended to move beyond heavily focusing on developing market-based solutions to community career issues (e.g., the acquisition of marketable job skills, individual achievement of upward mobility, working with community groups to provide career training) (Coleman, 2021; Liu & Ali, 2005). Extending the current social reconstructionist or emancipatory approach to include an economic justice lens could lead to community change research and practice that could help fill this gap.…”

Structural marginalization and violence: Advancing research on how community structure contributes to violence and violence prevention

“…Two papers address aspects of theory that are applicable to understanding structural marginalization in the context of youth development. In the first paper, Coleman (2020) examines how youth development practice and neo‐liberal ideology may be complicit in maintaining structural inequities by failing focusing on ameliorative interventions that maintain the status quo, while simultaneously failing to address the oppression of youth they serve. In the second paper, Edberg (2020) theorizes about how structural marginalization might be internalized by marginalized youth through the construct of cultural persona.…”

Positive Approach to Youth Studies: An Educational Perspective

“…Perception of youth as a period of development is related to the neo-liberal principles of vocational education, promoting close partnerships in business education, and transforming schools and other institutions working with youth in line with corporate, business and market lines (Tannock, 2001). As a result, it may be a less interesting framework for young people from excluded areas and can effect in a discrepancy between youth work and the experiences of adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds, leading to epistemic form of violence (Coleman, 2021).…”