Resources: Review - Youth development goals from across the pond

Following an introductory chapter on the principles of youth development, part one of the book examines process and practices in a variety of contexts: youth organisations, more universal organisations, juvenile justice, health, schools, the workplace, families, peer groups, neighbourhoods and the media. Part two tackles some of the overarching issues concerning success factors, evaluation, funding and broader implications.

This is a well-written and well-structured book, highlighting major challenges for the youth development agenda if it is not to become subordinated to other organisational - and political - objectives. I particularly liked William H Barton's chapter on "Bridging Juvenile Justice and Positive Youth Development". He starts by remarking that placing these two ideas in the same sentence "is somewhat like mixing oil and water". Does that sound familiar? Yet, despite the very different juvenile justice system in the US, he goes on to consider progressive approaches to combining the two, ideas that resonate strongly with the trajectory being taken by the Youth Justice Board in the UK. Elsewhere in the book, attention is given to mentoring in the workplace and to supporting young people in developing a "critical media literacy".