Youth Work Process, Product and Practice ─ Creating an authentic curriculum in work with young people

Youth Work Process and Practice provides an overview of the central concerns in youth work today, exploring what youth work actually consists in and developing an authentic theoretical framework for practice.

This accessible textbook places the role of the curriculum and idea of practice as a process at the centre of youth work. Exploring important aspects of practice – such as empowerment, participation and choice, group work, experiential learning and the importance of relationship building – Jon Ord explains how the idea of curriculum can be used to communicate, legitimate and develop youth worth practice, as well as help to articulate its value and importance.

The book includes a detailed and up-to-date analysis of the policy climate, looks at the implications of its focus on measurability and outcomes and discusses the impact of devolution in the UK on youth work practice. It contrasts dominant contemporary perspectives of youth and youth culture and argues that, rather than competing, ‘informal’ and ‘social’ education are twin aspects of an educational practice which must emphasises both individual development and wider social change.

Youth Work Process and Practice is an essential read for all students of youth and community work and will also be an important reference for practising youth workers.

Jon Ord was a youth worker for many years and is now is an Associate Professor at the University of St Mark & St John where he teaches on the youth and community work programmes. He is the author of two books and a number of articles on the theory and practice of youth work.