OPINION: Optional participation may not be enough

A youth worker said to me recently that he did not engage with youth offending teams because he could not come to terms with the fact that he would have to work with young people who were compelled to participate.

This ran counter to his fundamental beliefs as to what youth work was about.

While such fundamentalism may be applauded for its defence of youth work values, it also carries an ostrich-like denial of some of the current realities affecting the social condition of many young people who are the primary targets of such work. We may have to bite the bullet and concede some value to the idea of semi-coercion. Simply providing the choice to participate is likely to mean that the same young people who we believe would benefit from broader experiences and opportunities will not choose to take part.