Paul Robinson Youth workers agents of s
Youth workers agents of social control or agents of social change? Discuss.
In this piece of work I am going to explore the work of Youth Workers. With the aim to consider whether youth workers are agents of social control or agents of social change? Working as an Assistant Youth Support Worker in Youth Academy NI for the last year, and as an outdoor pursuit instructor for the past four years. I have come to appreciate the (quality) and benefits our youth service in the UK and Ireland. I have seen first-hand, the opportunities and experiences youth work can create for young people encouraging/ inspiring them to discover themselves and create change in their own lives and community. Prior to working with young people I might have made the assumption that youth workers were agents of social control. However, in recent years, working with young people in an informal setting has swayed my opinion on this matter. As well as looking at relevant literature, the history of youth work as well as expressing my own opinion throughout this essay, I have informally interviewed a youth support worker (Chloe), youth worker in charge (Stephanie) and another assistant youth support worker (Simon) in order to gain an understanding of youth work in 2013. I will touch on how these youth workers view themselves and the work that they are involved in, after all, they are the agents in question. There are three main reports I will be referring back to throughout this piece of work; Albemlarle Report (1960), The Milson Fairbairn report (1970) and the Thompson Report (1982). These reports are of huge importance in relation to the history of youth work and help give a clear picture and understanding of where the youth service was at the time it was written, what its aims are, and where it hopes the youth service will be in the future. Firstly it is important to understand the main attributes of both social change and social control in order to differentiate between the two and enable us
In this piece of work I am going to explore the work of Youth Workers. With the aim to consider whether youth workers are agents of social control or agents of social change? Working as an Assistant Youth Support Worker in Youth Academy NI for the last year, and as an outdoor pursuit instructor for the past four years. I have come to appreciate the (quality) and benefits our youth service in the UK and Ireland. I have seen first-hand, the opportunities and experiences youth work can create for young people encouraging/ inspiring them to discover themselves and create change in their own lives and community. Prior to working with young people I might have made the assumption that youth workers were agents of social control. However, in recent years, working with young people in an informal setting has swayed my opinion on this matter. As well as looking at relevant literature, the history of youth work as well as expressing my own opinion throughout this essay, I have informally interviewed a youth support worker (Chloe), youth worker in charge (Stephanie) and another assistant youth support worker (Simon) in order to gain an understanding of youth work in 2013. I will touch on how these youth workers view themselves and the work that they are involved in, after all, they are the agents in question. There are three main reports I will be referring back to throughout this piece of work; Albemlarle Report (1960), The Milson Fairbairn report (1970) and the Thompson Report (1982). These reports are of huge importance in relation to the history of youth work and help give a clear picture and understanding of where the youth service was at the time it was written, what its aims are, and where it hopes the youth service will be in the future. Firstly it is important to understand the main attributes of both social change and social control in order to differentiate between the two and enable us