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Taking Sides:

Dilemmas and Possibilities for 'Radical' Youth Work 

Tania de St Croix, June 2007 

Note: This is a shortened version of an undergraduate dissertation, with some of the academic and referencing conventions removed to make it a bit easier to read. If you would like a fully referenced version with 'methods' section, I’ll happily email you one: tan_dsc@yahoo.co.uk 

Summary 

As youth work is increasingly subsumed within the capitalist project, youth workers can no longer claim political neutrality. This paper examines whether there is a 'radical' form of youth work which takes sides against capitalism, authoritarianism and ecological destruction. A definition of radical youth work is proposed which emphasises struggle as well as informal education, and political as well as methodological values. Using this definition, the paper reviews radical influences on youth work debate and practice. The concept of radical youth work challenges workers to choose which side they are on; if they fail to do so, youth work will become more firmly entrenched as a form of social control. 
 

Introduction:

In search of 'niches and forgotten corners' 

My motivation for writing this paper is to make some sense of the contradictions and possibilities of trying to live out ecological and anarchist beliefs while attempting to be a ‘good’ youth worker. A brief personal history: I left school full of naïve political vigour, fresh from fighting the school mock election as a Green Party candidate and interested in neither university nor career. I volunteered at a playscheme and a youth project and went to live on a local anti-road action camp. A year later, the road protest fizzled out and I got my first paid playwork job. I began to experience something of a dual identity as public services worker and political activist. Challenges included negotiating the clash between professional and activist cultures, explaining my criminal convictions to employers, and managing my time and energy between two demanding and unpredictable activities. In recent years I have prioritised my youth worker identity, while trying to maintain at least some political integrity.  

This has not always been successful. My condescending vision of raising the consciousness of young people was obstructed by the everyday realities of youth work, especially because I had no coherent theory to support my practice. In this study I attempt to address the latter, at least. When I began doing some background reading I was struck by two things. First, despite many youth workers identifying themselves as anti-authoritarian there is surprisingly little written on the subject of youth work against the status quo, especially when compared with the more extensive literature on radical schooling. I realised I could not investigate radical youth work before asking whether such a concept even exists. Second, I discovered a widely-held view that youth work’s survival is threatened, in particular its distinctive principles of informal education and voluntary participation. This perceived threat to youth work is part of the backdrop to this study. 

In their critique of recent government youth policy, Jeffs and Smith argue,

I am seduced by this hint at youth work practice which is prepared to oppose the state to preserve its integrity. The search for ‘niches and forgotten corners’ suggested the questions I have attempted to address. Can I justify approaching youth work from a political perspective? Is a notion of ‘radical youth work’ meaningful, and if so, how can it be defined? Is there a history of radical youth work? How do youth workers from radical perspectives experience the dilemmas and contradictions of working 'in and against the state'? What are the possibilities, if any, for future radical youth work theory and practice? 

With its roots in volunteering and community-based projects, youth work lacks an extensive literature. There is little recent writing from an explicitly anti-capitalist perspective and ecological perspectives on youth work tend towards liberal reformism. I hope this paper adds modestly to youth work theory, stimulates debate and adds meaning to my own youth work practice. As Marx argued, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it”. I hope, at least, to change my own actions in the world by developing a more coherent theoretical understanding. Ideally, I would love this paper to spark thoughts, agreements and disagreements amongst others interested in whether there is such a thing as radical youth work. 

In structure this paper moves broadly from the general to the specific. Chapter one sets the context, arguing that youth work is affected by ideology and can never be a neutral endeavour. In chapter two I develop a theory and definition of radical youth work. Chapter three looks for radical influences on ideological struggle in the history of modern youth work, while chapter four focuses on attempts at radical practice. In this context, chapter five reflects on some of my own experiences of dilemmas in radical youth work. In the conclusion I summarise the key dilemmas and possibilities of radical youth work. This paper was originally written as an undergraduate 'Education Studies' dissertation, but I've been encouraged to produce a slightly more readable and less academic version. In re-reading for this purpose I can inevitably see plenty of things I want to change, but I'll leave that for another time or it'll take me months. So in general, apart from taking out the methods section and a lot of the references, it's similar to the original essay and so I'm afraid it's probably a bit jargonistic  and long-wordy at times. Any comments, criticisms and suggestions for improvements on writing as well as youth work and politics are particularly welcome! 

1. Background:

The myth of the neutral youth worker 

“Youth work,” I used to say, “means working alongside young people for positive change”. Others define youth work as 'giving kids something to do', ‘building relationships' or 'social and political education'. These different language choices inevitably reflect different ideological positions. The background to this study, then, is not a neutral description of what youth work is. Instead I argue that everything that is said, written or done about youth work is affected by ideologies. I am aware that those of us on the political left inevitably fill our writing with the questioning of common-sense, the problematising of concepts, the dissecting of language. This tendency put me off reading theory as a novice youth worker. I used to think, why do we have to question everything, let's get to the point! But youth work is a product of struggle, debate and competing ideologies, and if youth workers don't try to understand this then we'll probably support the existing political system by default. 

Ideology is what people believe to be common sense, or in Meighan and Siraj-Blatchford's words,

Youth work has professional ideologies, often formalised as ‘good practice’ guidelines. It is also shaped by the varied ideologies of its workers, its young participants and the wider structures in which it operates. This challenges the idea that it is possible to be a politically neutral youth worker. Freire argues that so-called neutral education,

Shaw argues that in community work “neutrality is not an option, for ‘no politics’ inevitably means ‘their politics’”. Similarly, youth work that does not actively support social change inevitably supports the status quo.  

A brief critical analysis of my earlier youth work definition demonstrates that the language we use often consiously or unconsciously reflect our ideological position. 'Working alongside' suggests equality between young people and adults in the youth work relationship. But hierarchy is rarely absent in reality, and my phrasing is rather utopian. 'Young people' is professional youth work jargon; just as social workers refer to ‘clients’ and teachers to ‘pupils’, the phrase ‘young people’ is also adult-imposed, but intends to show respect. The phrase 'young people' also assumes a commonly understood and socially constructed stage of life between childhood and adulthood. 'Positive change' implies my opposition to the status quo, but its unqualified use assumes a common understanding of good and bad and a pluralist belief in change generally. As Thomas argues, “the plain, but uninteresting, fact is that most human transactions can be conceptualised as change activities”. My definition reflected some of my beliefs but was rather naïve and vague.  

Lack of theory makes youth workers particularly susceptible to such vagueness. Jeffs and Smith argue that youth works' weaknesses,

There are at least three reasons for this. First, youth work's low status leads to workers prioritising survival over analysis; criticism risks projects and jobs and can therefore be seen as disloyal. Second, the growing culture of public service managerialism promotes the myth that workers have commonly agreed goals and need only find out how best to achieve them. Third, there is a common tendency of resistance to theory. The following quote from playleader Jack Lambert is typical of this anti-intellectual discourse.

There has always been a somewhat tenuous relationship between youth work ideology and what actually happens in youth clubs and projects, leading to suggestions that the practice of youth work tends to be more conservative than its liberal theory. This divide between ideas and practice is partly related to youth work itself, which must focus its practice on what young people want or they will leave. This is why, for example, a youth worker may aim to work for social change but spend much of her time organising pool tournaments and bowling trips. Another factor limiting the practice of progressive theories is the ongoing attack on left-wing movements generally. Many socialist youth workers are disillusioned or exhausted after experiencing the defeat of the old labour movement, symbolised by the demise of the great miners’strike. 

Lack of theory has led to “an interesting myth about the lack of coherence to youth work practice”, as Leigh and Smart argue. Before going on to define radical youth work specifically it is therefore important to identify what is fundamental and distinctive about youth work generally. Bernard Davies, Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith have written in more depth on this subject, but for the purposes of this paper I argue that youth work's distinctiveness can be summarised in three features:

This reflects findings from my literature review in which these features are repeatedly emphasised across different ideologies and types of youth work. 

Youth work is influenced by ideology in the language used to describe it, the features which define it and what takes place under its name. Where consensus exists, it results from ideological struggle by workers, young people and others. Youth work's social educational purpose was established during its professionalisation in the late 1930s and has been defended since then. The informal approach survives so far, despite attacks by government-imposed curricula, inspection and bureaucracy. The principle of voluntary participation remains despite pressure to target and monitor supposedly 'problematic' individuals. These key features of youth work have remained for nearly seventy years despite attempts by the political right to undermine them. 

2. Towards a theory of 'radical' youth work 

What is 'radical youth work'? At the beginning of this study my radical youth worker identity was a matter of instinct and I had no clear answer to this question. One of my early tasks, therefore, was to search for a theory of radical youth work, but while the concept existed in youth work literature it was rarely theorised in detail. I needed a definition or framework of radical youth work to assess my findings against, one based on my own experience and informed by theory. Although youth work lacks extensive written theory, “people routinely use theories without making them explicit or labelling them as such” as Bond argues. Youth work theory tends to be grounded in practical experience, but often contains inadequately considered assumptions. To develop a theory of radical youth work I initially considered some of my own assumptions. 

My choice of the word 'radical' requires justification because it is rooted in my (sub-)cultural context. I identify as a radical because of my history and continuing identification with environmental and anti-capitalist direct action movements. I take my political identity into my workplace, both inevitably and intentionally. I try to provide spaces and skills for young people to practice skills of co-operative community; I aim to be a political educator, but a questioning influence rather than a propagandist; and I believe in young people taking power for themselves, using that power to care for others and the planet as well as themselves. Specifically I call myself an ecological anarchist but, while I make no secret of this, there are probably few ecological anarchist youth workers. In this paper therefore I am interested in a broader category of political conviction which I sum up with the word 'radical'. 

In common usage the word 'radical' suggests extremity on any political spectrum, for example, ‘Thatcher's radical welfare reforms’, ‘radical Islamists’ and ‘radical animal rights activists’.  The less political use implies newness, as in “The BBC today unveiled radical plans to rebuild its website”, a usage which paradoxically results from radical's older meaning as 'returning to the roots'. However, the political sub-cultural meaning of 'radical' is also valid. Building a political movement includes creating or changing language, and the word radical is used by left-wing and anarchist movements. These encompass people who label themselves as anarchists, socialists, communists, feminists, anti-racists, environmentalists, those who identify with various labels, and those who avoid political labels. There are as many differences within each group as between them, so the catch-all 'radical' is usefully vague. It is used by professional groups including teachers, social workers, community workers and midwives, but is harder to find in youth work theory. 

Tony Jeffs, one of UK youth work's most eminent academics, wrote an article entitled, 'Whatever happened to radical youth work?'. Jeffs presents youth work history as dominated by two ideological traditions, conservative and radical, with the latter in decline. His concept of radical youth work is most clearly articulated in this passage;

But if radical youth work is about creating a better society, what would this society look like? This question is barely addressed. While agreeing with Jeffs' analysis that there are different ideological traditions in youth work, I would argue that to reduce them to two traditions is overly simplistic and leads to a broad definition which encompasses socialist, liberal and all non-conservative youth work. A narrower definition would usefully distinguish radical youth work from reformist liberalism. 

Canadian academic Hans Skott-Myhre conceptualises radical youth work from a specifically Marxist perspective. In a recent article with Gretzinger he defines radical youth work as:

This collaboration theory is reminiscent of Hart’s ‘ladder of participation’ model, which promotes an ideal of young people and adults sharing decisions (see chapter 4). This idea is exemplified by Youth Force, a community action group in the Bronx. But the trouble with collaboration as an end in itself is that it assumes progressive political values on the part of the children and adults involved. Would collaboration between adult BNP1 activists and young people, leading to direct action and challenges to the status quo, count as radical youth work in this model? Skott-Myhre and Gretzinger clearly argue from a left-wing perspective, but their definition of radical youth work is based on methods rather than values.  

The tendency for educators on the left to fudge their values led Freire to argue,

Youth workers are often guilty of this vagueness, partly because of a strong belief in non-judgmentalism. At best, this prevents stereotyping and negative labelling, but at worst can stifle debate. Struggles against sexism and racism, however, have successfully changed youth work discourse and practice. I do not claim that youth work is always anti-sexist and anti-racist, but the overt sexist or racist comments and actions which were once common in youth clubs are becoming rarer. While these forms of youth work have at times been contradictory or ineffective, they are at least refreshingly clear about their political values. 

My working definition below, then, is based on values (which I admit could be accused of being 'vague phrases'; it's difficult to avoid this in a short definition). It aims to include various left-wing or anarchist political positions but not be so broad as to encompass 'everything except the right'. My definition also includes fun and informal education, and points out the inevitability and necessity of political struggle. It is inevitably imperfect, but is at least a basis for this paper and for wider debate. 

Radical youth workers work informally with young people and take them seriously. Their daily work is informed by political and moral values: opposition to capitalism and authoritarianism, belief in equality and respect for the environment. They question 'common sense' and reflect critically on their work. They are aware that practising their beliefs will involve debate and struggle, but try to have fun too! 

3. Controllers or liberators?

Radical influences on youth work struggles 

This chapter focuses on struggles in youth work history, and whether radicals have had influence on them. For the sake of brevity I will consider the radical influence on three key debates:

 

Education or control?

The concept of informal education is central to modern youth work discourse, but youth work's roots are in leisure provision. Nineteenth century youth organisations such as the Boys Brigade, the Girls Friendly Society, Scouts and Guides used leisure activities to inculcate middle-class values. Youth work jargon gives clues to these origins; the phrase 'youth provision' implies something provided by someone (middle-class adults) for someone else (working-class young people). Early youth work was a response to fears of working-class ‘disorder’, and aimed to prepare young people for war and the workplace. After the introduction of the state-sponsored Youth Service in 1939 and its strengthening in 1960, youth workers increasingly defined themselves as informal educators. This conceptual change from the control of leisure time to education was pragmatic as well as ideological; educators attract higher pay and status than leisure workers and police officers. 

In a review of training, Butters and Newall argued that most youth work was part of the 'Social Education Reportoire' and as such had made a 'critical break' with character-building aims. They even called for the further radicalisation of youth work (a call which is less common in recent state-funded research reports!) In any case, Butters and Newall gave the impression that socially controlling forms of youth work had all but ended. Several years later, Tony Taylor argued that this had been over-stated:

Capitalism was well entrenched in the youth work of the 1970s and 1980s, not only through ‘character building’ but also through its involvement in work-related skill courses and job creation schemes.  

Many youth club members today remain blissfully unaware they are meant to be getting an education, assuming that workers merely “wield the keys and distribute the table tennis balls”. Meanwhile, the state has attempted to formalise youth work's educational role by introducing a curriculum, unpopular with young people and youth workers. Recent government policy requires youth workers to measure their members' achievements through recorded and accredited outcomes. Tiffany's research found that even detached youth work2 is becoming structured, thereby excluding the most vulnerable young people it sets out to reach. As Jeffs argues,

Specifically radical influences on these debates are hard to detect, possibly because the fairly united (if muted) opposition by youth workers to social control policy has blurred boundaries between liberals and the left. 

Equalising or oppressive?

Radical influences are more easily seen in anti-oppressive youth work. This includes youth work against homophobia, classism and disablism (albeit limited in some cases), but I will focus on anti-racist and feminist youth work. Lincoln Octavious Williams explores these tensions from a black neo-Marxist perspective, arguing that the state and white youth workers perceive black workers as a means of controlling black young people. Williams argues that success in these terms means,

Gus John's Youth and Race research project concluded that youth work was institutionally racist, working from a pathological view of black young people, and trying to control or exclude them. Radical black activists have been at the forefront of developing youth work practice that explicitly aims to change the system rather than support the status quo. Inevitably, the state attempted to limit this effect, using 'divide and rule tactics' to make groups compete for funding rather than work together. 

Early twentieth century girls work varied from the conservative, emphasising motherhood and marriage, to the feminist, promoting knowledge of social issues and lobbying for more rights for working women. By the early 1960s, most girls clubs had become mixed and dominated by boys, while boys clubs remained. This led to feminist critiques which accused youth work of inherent sexism. In the 1980s, women feminists started girls groups, facilitated discussions on sexism and challenged unequal access to resources, while some male workers explored feminist approaches to boys work. Openly feminist youth work has declined, partly because of negative perceptions of feminism and partly because resources continue to favour supposedly criminal young men. The limited resources for girls are often for teenage pregnancy reduction, as young women tend to be perceived as sexually rather than criminally deviant.  

Responses to new managerialism

New managerialism has been a growing influence on public services during the Thatcher, Major and Blair years. Youth work has been affected later than most, somewhat protected by its traditional role as the 'cinderella service' where underfunding is accompanied by relative autonomy from state and market. But managerialism increasingly affects youth work, introduced through apparently generous funding with strings attached. ‘Diversionary activities' (under various policy guises) have enabled youth projects to organise attractive and expensive activities which were previously unaffordable. In return they are asked to target certain named individuals and keep detailed personal records on them which are often shared with other agencies. Opposition to this monitoring and surveillance has been limited; as generic youth work faces cuts, many youth workers have had to choose between colluding with the new managerialism and facing the closure of their projects. 

Meanwhile, marketisation of youth work is heralded in the familiar guise of choice in the Government's ‘Youth Matters’ paper:

This means 'Youth Opportunity Cards' to be topped up by parents and local government for access to facilities including youth projects. If introduced the cards may increase choice for middle-class young people who can afford expensive activities, but will offer nothing to the most vulnerable: “This subsidy would be withheld from young people engaging in unacceptable and anti-social behaviours and the card suspended or withdrawn”. Again, there are few signs of active resistance except perhaps from trade unionists such as Doug Nicholls:

Summary

I have looked briefly at some important struggles in youth work history but missed out many others, including young people's struggles against youth work. While there has not been a coherent radical tendency, there is evidence of scattered radical involvement in struggles over the direction and role of youth work, particularly in anti-oppressive youth work. One common thread is that youth work has been most successfully controlled through resource allocation. It is unclear whether radical youth work has diminished, but there is a worrying lack of concerted opposition to current repressive youth work policy. Many youth workers are willingly joining the managerial recuperation of youth work, and those that do not are treated with suspicion. Apple's reflections on similar struggles in schooling strike a chord;

4. “The type of place we were looking for”:

Radical youth work in practice 

Practical examples of radical youth work are limited in number but qualitatively important. To give an analogy, anti-climate change action happens at various levels including through governments, the media and pressure groups. Radical direct action groups are qualitatively different from other campaigners in both their methods and values, despite often receiving less media attention. By blocking the Drax power station and calling for it to be permanently closed, protesters acted themselves instead of asking for government action, drawing attention to the major changes they argue are needed to halt climate change. Similarly, radical practice has been a minority aspect of youth work but its methods and values are distinct. I will consider three areas where radicals have had an impact: political education, autonomous spaces and environmental youth work. 

Political Education

Magnuson argues that political education is more often reformist than radical;

However, radical youth workers have sometimes created “opportunities for lived democracy: those tiny, small little pockets where real democracy grows” as Tony Jeffs puts it. Genuine participation in youth projects can give young people confidence to engage in wider political issues; one group for example became “a force to be reckoned with. They don't sit back and take what is handed out to them”. As Roger Hart's 'Ladder of Participation' proposes, young people can participate at different levels but it is better to involve them in real decisions rather than simulating involvement in structures which are unlikely to listen to them. Examples of youth workers supporting meaningful youth involvement in local politics include Youth Force in the Bronx and the Lewisham Young Mayor project.  
 

(Diagram from http://freechild.org) 

Anti-oppressive youth work practice tends to be claimed as radical, but is not necessarily so. Spence found that many young women's workers refused the label feminist and adopted political moderation as a survival strategy. John and Williams found that young people in many black-led youth projects were more politically aware than their youth workers. However, small voluntary organisations in particular have taken radical approaches to anti-oppressive issues. The Hideaway in Moss Side, Manchester was set up in the 1970s to counter negative perceptions of Moss Side and its black young people. As well as providing social activities, the centre was active in struggles against police violence and racism and was seen as a safe space for black young people during the riots. The Water Adventure Centre, also in Manchester, uses canoeing and water-based play as a basis for youth work and is locally known for its successful feminist work. 

Autonomous Spaces

Libertarian schools such as Summerhill inspired various informal education projects where young people had a high level of autonomy. Marie Paneth was an early pioneer of such spaces, running a children's project during the London blitz with few rules and minimal adult direction. She explained, “I never interfered with their work, except that I met every attempt to produce anything at all, with approval”. Paneth was an early advocate of adventure playgrounds, which were at their most popular in the 1960s and 1970s. These were areas of derelict land supervised by an adult whose role was to acquire building materials, look after tools and dissuade bullying. Although adventure playgrounds were aimed at younger children, teenagers sat on the edges smoking and talking. The freedom of the playgrounds was at odds with their everyday lives, as this teenager explains,

The Paint House was an independent youth club run by two youth workers from an anarchist perspective. The workers encouraged local young people to use the space, hoping they would take responsibility for it. A group of 'skinheads' adopted the building, repeatedly trashing and re-building it, eventually realising it was an opportunity to have a space of their own.

The workers used the anti-authoritarian values they shared with the young people as a focus for informal education, but were less effective where values clashed such as on racism. The group members eventually became less racist through relationships with the workers, but in the meantime the building was a safe space for active racists. The balance between autonomy and authority is an inevitable dilemma in this type of youth work. Other self-run youth projects sprung up in the 1970s and 1980s, often inspired by the punk movement. For a time it was not unheard of for young people to run youth clubs, hold keys or be allowed to sleep overnight. Such freedoms are difficult to imagine in these days of risk assessment, inspections, litigation and financial regulation.  

Environmental youth work

Although the environment has been a significant focus of radical political activity in the last twenty years, this is not reflected in youth work. Despite calls for an increase in environmental youth work this has so far not transpired. Edbrooke encountered a widespread assumption that environmental education should be confined to schools. Francique suggests that youth workers feel under-informed about the environment. Connelly argued that 'issues' such as recycling do not greatly interest most young people, whereas engaging young people in taking action on their surroundings attracts more attention. 

Where the environment does appear in youth work, it is usually perceived as uncontroversial rather than as potentially radical. Francique shows a reformist perspective to environmental youth work when she writes, “What is required is merely a shift in approach rather than a major reorientation”. Others are more controversial. Dearling and Armstrong ask,

Roger Hart argues that children are likely to be more willing than adults to act on environmental issues because they are less vested in economic systems and spend more time in their local areas.

Groups such as the Woodcraft Folk and Wild Things in Nottinghamshire approach environmental youth work from a social equality perspective, aiming to encourage wider access to varied environments and outdoor activities.  

Summary

While these examples of radical youth work practice may seem marginal, it is worth remembering (as Beresford and Beresford put it) that youth workers themselves have “scant resources with which to challenge the status quo, and can only try to do their best to equip young people to cope with or resist it”. These examples bring into sharp focus the dilemmas that are an inevitable aspect of radicalism. Can we engage in state-sponsored initiatives like the participation agenda from a critical rather than a conformist perspective? Are libertarian projects still possible, and can we give experiences of freedom without condoning oppressive beliefs and actions? Why have environmental issues not been a significant focus for struggle? Radical youth work seems to ask more questions than it answers. 

5. “A tightrope we walk daily...”

Experiences of youth work 

For radical youth workers, everyday practice is (as Williams argues) “a tightrope we walk daily, quite often losing our balance, and we only manage to maintain our grip by our fingertips”. So far I have neglected this day-to-day reality; in this chapter I will redress the balance by reflecting on some of my own experiences. Robin Richardson argues that “much of our experience in education is ODTAA – one damn thing after another”. One way of communicating this complexity of everyday events is through fictional or narrative forms, as Robin Richardson and Peter Clough have done. My narrative passages are not fictional, but I find that using aspects of this form enables me to focus on certain details and skip over others without simplifying the issues involved. As Bernard Davies argues, practice is often “the result of improvisation, of expediency, of compromise, even of opportunism”. Therefore, rather than selecting 'successful' or representative examples of my experience I have simply chosen memories which illustrate some dilemmas in radical youth work.  

I do not wish to blame my colleagues for being cautious; they were brave to support the young organisers of this protest and I believe some were told off. But it's hard to fight for something without admitting you are doing so. In this case I asserted my right to attend this protest in my own time and refused to lie about why I was there, but I am a very junior employee and can get away with it easier than my managers. At other times I have been more cautious. I've never told this next story to other youth workers, and I am interested in what readers might think! 

I am unconvinced by my excuses for dishonesty; I had trustworthy colleagues I could have discussed my decision with. Other types of youth worker dishonesty include 'talking the talk' while doing very little. I have met some politically aware people who talk for hours about problems with government youth policy, institutional sexism or racism in the youth service, and how the bosses know nothing. And yet, there are only a few youth workers I have had these conversations with and then gone out and done a satisfying night of youth work.  

I've experienced and heard versions of this story many times. But what should be done? The 'new managerial' response would include support and supervision, clear targets and disciplinary action 'as a last resort'. As an anarchist I automatically side with workers against management, but I believe in youth work and get frustrated at colleagues' laziness. Some argue that the council does not own them, so why should they work harder than necessary? My energetic enthusiasm makes me a productive employee; am I the radical? My involvement in youth work is part of my political action in the world whereas for others, it is a job to be skived like any other. Unless I achieve political change through my youth work, who decides who's right and wrong? 

This 'collective autonomy' approach could address laziness and incompetence, but this would serve conservative as well as radical aims. While some methods may be suited to radical practice, it is values which distinguish it. This is of course the case with all youth work. An example from my experience is the Streetmates group who got together to have a say in the regeneration of their local area. The power and success of this group was that the motivation came from the young people themselves and that their objectives were supported by us youth workers. (If the same young people had wanted to set up a community group to stop asylum seekers from living in their area, I'd have taken a dissuasive role rather than an encouraging one.) 

Inevitably I have only skimmed the surface of some of the dilemmas I have struggled with in my own practice. I use my personal experience with the awareness that, as Magnuson argues, “Historically, it is too often those who seek to liberate who are the most self-deceptive about their own motives”. Honest critical reflection shared with our peers should go some way to preventing this. As well as oral discussions and academic writing, I am interested in the use of narrative to celebrate and criticise youth work practice from a radical perspective. As Richardson argues,

Conclusion:

Taking sides 

This paper would have been easier to write had my focus been on criticising the myriad capitalist influences on youth work rather than looking for the few radical ones. I wanted to find possibilities and hope, but found my optimism tested. Despite wearing rose-tinted spectacles I did not find it easy to reclaim radical theory and practice, possibly because its history is scattered and barely recorded, its theories vague and its practice contradictory. However, as long as I remain a youth worker I intend to test the potential of radical theory and practice. The alternative is to stand by as youth workers become indistinguishable from other soft-cop public employees such as community wardens, police support officers and neighbour nuisance mediators. These professions have little space for the radical values I identified in chapter two, 'opposition to capitalism and authoritarianism, belief in equality and respect for the environment'. I believe there is still room for the practice of these values in youth work.  

This conclusion builds on discussions in previous chapters to propose some key dilemmas and possibilities for future attempts at radical youth work practice. The dilemmas are questions which the preparation of this paper has brought into sharp focus. Although I have strong feelings about the issues they raise, they are dilemmas because I cannot yet see a clear way forward. The possibilities are my proposals for radical youth workers, guidelines I intend to test out in my future practice. Although I will use the inclusive pronoun “we” to refer to those who identify with the definition of radical youth work I proposed in chapter two, I do not mean to assume common agreement. I suggest rather that these dilemmas and possibilities would benefit from further discussion and debate. 

Five Dilemmas 

  1. Can we be principled and work for the state?

Youth workers hide behind the excuse that we support young people in what they want rather than acting on our own values. This is nonsensical unless we only work with young people we broadly agree with; I have yet to meet a youth worker who helped young fascist sympathisers with their leaflets. If radicalism includes taking sides against structural forces of capitalism and state control, shouldn't we act as strongly against these as we (should) do against racism? The dilemma is that youth work has been subsumed into capitalism. Fighting this would mean opposing systems our jobs require us to comply with such as the direct surveillance of young people through computerised monitoring systems. 

  1. Can we challenge common sense?

New managerialism in youth work is culturally enforced through the tyranny of 'good practice'. Things which were debateable are now the norm; minor health and safety risks over-ride freedom to develop innovative projects, monitoring requirements undermine confidentiality, and accredited 'benchmarks' challenge the principle of informality. Just as we encourage young people to think critically, we too need to think for ourselves, questioning and debating the new common-sense. As with the previous dilemma, taking action on these issues could be more daunting. 

  1. How do we balance principles and funding?

The state controls youth workers most effectively through the targeting of resources rather than through compulsory reforms (see chapter 3). There is no clear solution for youth workers fearing for their jobs or attracted by improved facilities, but this question cannot be dodged. Many of us are seduced by offers of funding, becoming materialist in the guise of 'getting what's best for the young people'. To maximise our freedom from the state, we may need to explore how to run independent youth projects without funding, but would this mean doing the state's job for free? 

  1. How can radical youth workers avoid disillusionment?

Burn-out and exhaustion affect youth workers of all political perspectives. Radicals experience particular stress because we constantly negotiate the contradictions between our deeply-felt convictions and the policies and practices of our employers. If we voice our opinions and act on our principles we are labelled as 'troublemakers' and risk our funding, job or status. In addition, it is inevitably stressful to live in a world which is far from how we would like it to be. And yet, without hope we become disillusioned and ineffective. 

  1. Can youth work ever change anything?

Youth work in itself has changed little on a structural level. At best, our interventions are small-scale and become apparent years later. One possibility is to remain involved in other political activism as well as being a youth worker. The success of youth work as political action relies heavily on feminist 'personal is political' theories. Structural change, on the other hand, may be supported by radical youth work but is unlikely to result from it. This can make daily practice feel rather hollow. 

Five Possibilities 

  1. Developing collective autonomy as workers

Collective autonomy means exploiting freedoms and spaces as we find them, but as part of a community rather than as unaccountable mavericks. We should create collectives at different levels, from our own work teams to national networks. Different types of existing networks include trade unions, the Federation for Detached Youth Work and the Critical Chatting group3. As part of networks we can discuss and debate ideas and take joint action. Being part of a collective can address burn-out and isolation, and reduces the ease with which individual 'troublemakers' can be targeted by the state. 

  1. Developing collective autonomy amongst young people

Autonomous spaces are among the most important things youth work can offer. This does not mean we should let young people do everything they want, but we could explicitly aim to make youth clubs available for young people to use with some degree of freedom and self organisation. Playworkers talk of providing 'compensatory space' for children who have few opportunities for freedom and adventure in today's society. Teenagers (and adults) need play and adventure too, but society curtails this impulse even more strongly than in younger children. We should create spaces which compensate for the authoritarianism young people meet everywhere they go, not seem to be more of the same. 

  1. Educating ourselves

In recent years, youth work theorists have increasingly argued the need to learn from history. There has been a growth in written history and discussion forums such as the History of Community and Youth Work conferences4. We should engage in these conferences, read relevant literature, and reflect and write about their own experiences and histories. Those of us who are interested in theory should explore alternative ways to share this interest, not confine it to documents like this which most youth workers don't have the time or the inclination to read. 

  1. Educating young people

Most radicals agree that youth work aims to educate, but for what? Our 'curriculum' (however informal) should be powerful, not pointless. This could include sharing skills of political involvement, exploring the environment and history of local areas, and learning about inequalities and environmental destruction. If we fail to move beyond the constraints of schooling, what is the point of informal education? We need to consider our reasons for doing any work that is neither excitingly educational nor the practice of autonomy and adventure. 

  1. Regaining our love for youth work

While the concept of waged labour is problematic to me as an anarchist, I would choose to spend time in dialogue with teenagers even in my utopian post-revolutionary society. Even for those who would not, it is worth finding something to love about youth work for the sake of ourselves and the young people we work with. Workers who would rather be in their garden could fill their youth club with plants and grow vegetables in window boxes. Those who dream of the forest or the sea should take young people there whenever they can. As well as following young people's existing interests youth work should also broaden their horizons, and using our own interests is consistent with this. It could also be a way for some of us to love youth work again. 

The theory and practice of radical youth work is scattered, messy and contradictory, but this does not excuse sitting on the fence. History shows that a passive response to government interventions has resulted in youth work becoming increasingly embroiled in the capitalist project. In pursuit of funding or simply to follow the latest guidelines, we increasingly monitor and control the most vulnerable young people, or lose contact with those young people by concentrating on accreditation and formal programmes. History also shows that radical workers can influence the direction of youth work as well as organising projects for freedom and against authoritarianism, for the environment and against capitalism, for equality and against oppression. Through dialogue with colleagues and young people, we need to work out which side we are on. Unless we want capitalism and social control to become permanently entrenched in youth work, neutrality is not an option. 

 

Acknowledgements 

Hundreds of conversations with young people, friends, family and colleagues have informed my thinking before and during this study, so I make no apologies for a long list of acknowledgements, still too short to include all those I've spoken with about youth work and radical politics. In influencing my thinking before starting this study, I particularly want to mention colleagues at Bath Development Education Centre, the A6 Detached Project (Manchester) and the Water Adventure Centre (Manchester), projects in which critical debate was encouraged. Similarly, staff and participants at Manchester University's Community Work Unit have been vital influences on my thinking and work. 

During this study I have appreciated the support and interest of many friends, colleagues and family members, in particular: 

Olie Brice: for innumerable productive and supportive discussions, and commenting on drafts. 

Howard Gibson: for being my supervisor; for teaching me about language and research, learning about youth work, taking me seriously, and asking questions. 

Tony and Marilyn Taylor: for support, encouragement and very useful comments on a draft. 

Tony Jeffs and Hans Skott-Myhre: for showing enthusiasm and sharing reading suggestions. 

The Critical Chatters: for inspiration, enthusiasm and solidarity. 

Chris Griffin and Andrew Bengrey-Howell of Bath University, and all those who came to my workshops at the Feminist Health Gathering or the History of Community and Youth Work Conference: for comments, questions, ideas and positive feedback. 

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