Youth Work in Practice module (CO21008)

​​Youth work is built on distinct principles that delineate the practice from other welfare professions; focusing on young people, voluntary participation, building relationships and community, being friendly and responsive and looking to the social, cultural and political education of young people.  

​You'll study these and other approaches to youth work, from informal education and social pedagogy to grassroots and youth-led practice. You'll examine how youth work connects to wider goals of social justice, participation, empowerment of young people and transformative change. 

​Young people, youth workers, and university lecturers all contribute to the learning experience.  

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• ​Explore and learn to critique youth work practice. By engaging with the aims, principles and values of youth work practice, you will learn about different approaches to youth work practice including youth work as informal education, grass roots youth work and youth-led practice
• ​Learn about young people’s lives in the contemporary context and how youth work might respond to this. You will learn about contemporary issues impacting upon the lives of young people and explore the ways in which youth work might work alongside young people as they navigate challenge, develop agency and participate actively in shaping their communities
• See how ​grounding youth work as practice that works towards social change and social justice. Youth work explored as practice that aims for transformative social change; the opportunities and challenges implications for practice

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand and critique youth work practice
• Understand how young people's lives impact on them and how youth work responds to this
• Understand how grounding youth work as practice that works towards social change and social justice

Assignments / assessments

Coursework (100%)

• You will be tasked to select a contemporary issue affecting young people from the issues discussed in the module. You will respond to the assignment task by conceptualising a youth-work response grounded in theory, ethics, and relationship‑based practice.
• This assessment will utilise audio / digital media as a core part of the task. You will work in small groups to design and produce a creative output that communicates their proposed youth‑work response in an engaging, accessible way.

This module does not have a final exam.

Teaching methods / timetable

• Teaching sessions and engagement at Hot Chocolate Trust, Dundee (off campus)
• Young people, youth workers, and lecturers contribute to each session
• Critical dialogue, group discussions, and peer learning
• My Dundee, the University's virtual learning environment for module materials and directed study tasks

All teaching takes place at Hot Chocolate Trust, Steeple Church, Nethergate, Dundee.