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YOUTH STUDIES IRELANDWhile a person-centred approach has always been a fundamental aspect of youth work,in an ever-changing funding and policy context, more concrete outcomes are nowexpected. This emerging trend has created particular tensions for youth workers whofeel pressurised to concentrate on the ‘product’ aspect of their programmes ratherthan youth work’s historical emphasis on ‘process.’ Indeed, this reorientation appearsto be happening without the consent or engagement of those at the forefront of youthwork practice. Those interested in monitoring youth work and its effects need to takeinto consideration the difficulties youth workers are experiencing adjusting to this newparadigm. The fact that some socially excluded young people actually participated ina youth work programme at all was in itself seen as a highly significant ‘product’ bysome respondents. On the positive side, however, developing the ability to offer moreconcrete and tangible evidence of effectiveness and to adhere to agreed standards ofpractice offers youth work the opportunity to be accorded greater recognition and ahigher status and value amongst funders, policy makers and other professionalsworking with young people.Youth work in Northern Ireland has a clear ethos and a set of values and principlesthat underpin its approach. In this sense it is clearly a profession. Importantly however,there may be aspects of youth work that people may be capable of doing whether theyare qualified or not. Indeed, this may be a key reason why youth work is so distinctive.In addressing issues of professionalisation it is necessary to acknowledge the myriadsof hours that thousands of volunteers commit to young people each year. However,there are few other professions where those who are not professionally qualified aregiven the same title as trained professionals. There is a need for much more rigour andclarity in the definition of the roles of all those who engage with young people. This isall the more important when youth work is practised in complex environments such asschools and communities in conflict. It is given added urgency now that the decisionhas been taken by the relevant professional and educational bodies to raise thethreshold for entry to youth work as a profession and all programmes of initialundergraduate training – including the only course available in Northern Ireland atthe University of Ulster – are to become degree-level programmes.It is important however to acknowledge that the development of youth work as aprofession will depend on more than providing professional training to non-qualifiedyouth workers and increasing the level and duration of such training. France & Wiles(1997:13) have argued in the UK that there must be improvements in projectmanagement, monitoring and evaluation. They also suggest that youth work lacks acoherent, self-governing professional organisation and the leadership to develop thenew skills and thinking a modern Youth Service requires. The Youth Service LiaisonForum set up in 2003 identified the lack of a co-ordinated strategy as a stumbling blockto the development of the Youth Service in Northern Ireland. In response to this theForum produced a Strategy for the Delivery of Youth Work: 2005–2008 (Youth ServiceLiaison Forum 2005). The setting up of the Forum and the publication of the youthwork strategy is a very positive step, particularly as there was a process of consultationwith youth workers. It is to be hoped that the strategy, and any new youth workstructures which emerge out of the recent Review of Public Administration in NorthernIreland (2006) can go some way to addressing the key issues and challenges outlinedin this paper.16 VOL. 1 NO. 1 AUTUMN 2006
Youth Work in Northern IrelandAcknowledgementsThe authors would like to acknowledge the contribution made by the Department ofEducation (Northern Ireland) for funding the research project and the work of DrOrla Muldoon in the original research.ReferencesBamber, J. (2002) ‘Educational Groupwork and Active Citizenship’, Youth & Policy, 74: 1–16.Banks, S. (1999) Ethical Issues in Youth Work. London: Routledge.Department of Education (1997) Youth Work: A Model For Effective Practice. Belfast: Department forEducation for Northern Ireland.Department of Education (2000) A Youth Service for a New Millennium. Belfast: Department forEducation for Northern Ireland.Department of Education (2003) Youth Work: A Model For Effective Practice (revised). Belfast:Department for Education for Northern Ireland.DfES (2002) Transforming Youth Work: Resourcing Excellent Youth Services. Nottingham: Departmentfor Education and Skills.Doyle, M. E. & Smith, M. K. (1999). Born and Bred? Leadership, Heart and Informal Education.London: YMCA George Williams College/Rank Foundation.France, A, & Wiles, P. (1997) ‘The Youth Action Scheme and the Future of Youth Work’,Youth & Policy, 57: 1–16.Hand, J. (1995) Raising Standards in Schools: The Youth Work Contribution. Leicester: Youth WorkPress.Harland, K. (2001) ‘The challenges and potential of developing a more effective youth workcurriculum with young men’, Child Care in Practice, 7, 4: 288–300.Harland, K., Morgan, T. & Muldoon, O. (2005) The Nature of Youth Work in Northern Ireland:Purpose, Contribution and Challenges. Belfast: Department of Education. www.deni.gov.uk/rb2_2005.pdfHenriques, B. (1933) Club Leadership. London: Oxford University Press.Jeffs, T. & Smith, M.K. (1998/99). ‘The Problem of “Youth” for Youth Work’, Youth & Policy,62: 45–66.Jeffs, T. (2001) ‘Something to give and something to learn’, in R. Gilchrist & T. Jeffs (eds)Settlements, Social Change and Community Action. London: Jessica Kingsley.McCartney, Clem (1999) Unattached Youth Programme. Belfast: Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust.Ministry of Education (1960) The Youth Service in England and Wales (‘The Albemarle Report’).London: HMSO.Morgan, T., O’Hare, B. & Campbell, H. (2000) The Excluded Adolescent. Research funded byYouthNet and the Youth Council for Northern Ireland.Murphy, H. (1999) Purposes – Why is Youth Work Important? Concept Reader in conjunction withScottish Youth Lobby. Edinburgh: Community Learning Scotland.Ord, J. (2004) ‘The youth work curriculum and the Transforming Youth Work agenda’,Youth & Policy, 83: 43–59.Review of Public Administration (August 2006) www.rpani.gov.uk/august_rpa_bulletin-2.pdf17
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