Work with Young People: Theory and Policy for Practice

At a time of perceived risk to the traditional values of youth work, this book provides a thought-provoking set of critical discussions aimed at promoting more empowering work with young people.

Looking across a range of professional disciplines, including youth work, education, youth justice, social work and Connexions in the UK, as well as community youth development in the US, the authors enable readers to critically engage with, and reflect on, current and historical youth policy. In particular, the book shows the increasingly broad, divergent and integrated professional roles and responsibilities that workers with young people now have.

The essays in this book highlight how young people tend to be represented as either victim or deviant: they are "at risk or a risk to others". This has presented a huge barrier to young people achieving their civil, political or social rights, a problem further exacerbated by issues of class and wider social exclusion.