Youth work values are what underpins a right approach to youth work. The dilemma for the youth worker is often between enabling young people to develop and grow in their own way, or meeting Government targets.
Youth work values provide a touchstone. The following comes from a document called Transforming Youth Work, Resourcing Excellent Youth Services published by the Department of Education in 2002 but still relevant today:
YOUTH WORK VALUES
- young people choose to be involved, not least because they want to relax,
meet friends and have fun; - the work starts where young people are – with their view of the world and
their interests; - it seeks to go beyond where young people start, in particular by encouraging them to
be critical and creative in their responses to their experience and the world around
them and supporting their exploration of new ideas, interests and creative ability; - it takes place because young people are young people, not because they have been
labelled or categorised as deviant; - it recognises, respects and is actively responsive to the wider networks of peers,
communities and cultures which are important to young people; - through these networks it seeks to help young people achieve stronger relationships
and collective identities – for example, as black people, women, men, disabled people,
gay men or lesbians – and through the promotion of inclusivity, particularly for
minority ethnic communities; - it is concerned with how young people feel and not just with what they know and
can do; - it is concerned with facilitating and empowering the voice of young people;
- it is concerned with ensuring young people can influence the environment within
which they live; - it respects and values individual differences by supporting and strengthening young
people’s belief in themselves and their capacity to grow and change; - it works with other agencies which contribute to young people’s social and personal
development; and - it complements and supports school and college-based education by encouraging and
providing other opportunities for young people to achieve and fulfil their potential.
