Youth Work as Social Pedagogy: Toward an Understanding of Non-Formal and Informal Education and Learning in Youth Work

Youth Work for People and Planet: Integrating Insights from Ecopedagogy into Youth Work

“…In contemporary youth work, two main theoretical approaches predominate. The first involves pedagogies for youth work in which youth work is conceived as an educational activity [20]. Examples of this type of theorisation include the application of Freirean pedagogy to youth work [21] and the application of Dewey's educational theories to youth work [22].…”

“…Examples of this type of theorisation include the application of Freirean pedagogy to youth work [21] and the application of Dewey's educational theories to youth work [22]. These conceptions position youth work as informal or non-formal education and have been prominent in British-influenced youth work [1,23] and in Irish traditions influenced by Catholic liberation theology [3,24], and variants of these traditions are commonly found in the UK, Australia, and Ireland, as well as in several British Commonwealth countries [20]. A second approach to youth work theorisation was developed based upon social psychological theories, derived particularly from the humanistic psychology described by Adler [25,26] positive psychology lifespan development theories, and Bronfenbrenner's developmental systems theories [25,27].…”

“…Youth work informed by Freirean pedagogy places importance upon encouraging young people to question their everyday assumptions about the world, their experiences and their place in society [20]. Everyday assumptions about the world are assumptions which young people would normally have accepted as self-evident.…”

“…Further examples include that animals and the natural environment are for human benefit and use and that technological innovations are a natural development that is unstoppable and/or beneficial. Youth-work methods have developed to put Freirean pedagogy into practice in the types of informal settings in which youth work occurs [20,32,33]. Youth workers use a variety of methods, including structured activities and opportunistic dialogical conversation, that build upon the interests and concerns that young people raise [32].…”

“…The role of the youth worker is to pose questions that prompt young people to think about familiar problems in unfamiliar ways, and in the process, learners become teachers and teachers become learners [32]. Within youth work, traditionally, Freirean pedagogy has been understood as a method used to develop critical understanding about social justice issues both in the lives of young people and beyond the lives of young people [20].…”