Strengths and risks: Practice, education, policy and working together for young people'

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Strengths and risks Practice, education, policy
and working together for young people.

• Kim Jewel Elliott
• University of Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand
• k.elliott_at_auckland.ac.nz
• Presented at
• Ministry of Youth Development Seminar Series
• Wellington, New Zealand
• March 2009

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Introduction

• Social policy for young people in Aotearoa/New
  Zealand is intended to create a more positive
  environment for the nations young people.
• Problems may arise in the gap between
  policy/strategy and practice.
• Tertiary education for youth workers holds the
  promise of a site in which national strategy can
  be translated into professional practice.

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This presentation is in two sections

• Firstly it indicates how the principles of the
  Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa (YDSA) as
  well as being taught to students as a tool for
  Youth Work, are also incorporated into our own
  educational practice as tertiary educators at the
  University of Auckland.

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Secondly

• The broader setting of youth work practice is
  discussed. Specifically this involves a
  reflection on the tensions and opportunities
  inherent in enacting strengths based practice
  with young people amidst a broader setting of
  risk management.

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Section 1

•  
• 1.   Youth development is shaped by the big
  picture.
• 2. Youth development is about young people being
  connected.
• 3.  Youth development is based on a consistent
  strengths-based approach.
• 4. Youth development happens through quality
  relationships.
• 5.  Youth development is triggered when young
  people fully participate.
• 6. Youth development needs good information.

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University of Auckland

• Certificate in Youth Studies
• Diploma in Youth Studies
• Bachelor of Human Services (Youth Work)
• Intake capped at 35 per year. Students accepted
  range in age, ethnicity, sexual orientation,
  gender identity, s.e.s., spirituality, ability,
  community of belonging and practice experience

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Constructivist learning and epistemology

• Means
• we focus on the learner in thinking about
  learning
• And
• we think about knowledge as the personal and
  social construction of meaning out of the vast
  and sometimes bewildering array of ideas and
  thoughts and beliefs we experience

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Principle One

• Youth Development is shaped by the big picture.
• This principle reflects the ways in which social
  and economic contexts and dominant cultural
  values structure the big picture within which
  young people grow and develop.
• The BHumServ (Youth Work) at the University of
  Auckland seeks to broaden students perceptions
  of influences on youth and youth work in
  Aotearoa/New Zealand.
• Students are encouraged to think widely, to
  contextualise the knowledge they bring with them.
  They interact with a range of staff and students
  and we learn from each other. We talk about the
  Treaty of Waitangi, about human rights as a
  member of the United Nations, and about culture
  as including but not limited to ethnicity,
  organisations, religious affiliation and youth
  cultures.

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For example, a beginning question

• When we are doing life, everything influences
  everything
• Take some time to talk to the person next to you
  about When I was young. How was/is your youth
  influenced by the bigger picture?

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Principle Two

• Youth Development is about young people being
  connected.
• This principle acknowledges that healthy
  development is shaped by young people having
  positive connections with many social
  environments.
• The degree encourages students to consider the
  importance of significant social environments in
  young peoples lives. For example young peoples
  family, whanau and their peer groups, as well as
  the schools, tertiary institutions or workplaces
  to which they belong.
• Their various communities of belonging are also
  important, such as cultural groups,
  neighbourhoods, identities, religious and
  recreational affiliations.

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For example, a beginning question

• Connectedness gives a sense of security, support,
  belonging.
• Talk to your neighbour about who gives you those
  feelings of connectedness

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Principle Three

• Youth development is based on a consistent
  strengths-based approach.
• This principle acknowledges that youth
  development addresses both risk and
  protective factors, as well as the range of
  skills young people need.
• In Aotearoa/New Zealand, there has historically
  been a general tendency towards problematising
  youth and their issues, phrases such as youth at
  risk and at risk youth have dominated
  literature and practice.
• Contemporary youth work practice, education and
  training have increasingly emphasised
  strengths-based approaches the importance of
  celebrating the achievements of young people and
  designing programmes and policies that build
  young peoples resilience to risk factors and
  enhance protective factors.

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For example, a beginning question

• What you focus on your becomea focus on
  resiliency builds strengths.
• What are your strengths for this work and how can
  they be enhanced?

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Principle Four

• Youth Development happens through quality
  relationships.
• This principle acknowledges the importance of
  supporting and equipping people for successful
  relationships with young people.
•  
• The degree encourages students to think about
  their own stuff, and why they want to work with
  young people.
• We encourage people to do their own work, rather
  than simply focus all their energy on others. We
  remind them of their power as youth workers, and
  that the way they relate, listen and respond to
  young people is important and influential. With
  even something as simple as reflection on their
  interactions with others at University, a student
  gains increased awareness into their own learning
  edges and strengths.

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For example, a beginning question

• Quality relationships may include elements of
  respect, trust, safety, commitment, honesty,
  grace, responsibility, fun, co-operation,
  reciprocity.
• Talk with your neighbour about what you
  contribute to a quality relationship.

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Principle Five

• Youth development is triggered when young people
  fully participate.
• This principle acknowledges the importance of
  providing opportunities for young people to
  increase their control of what happens to them
  and around them, through advice, participation,
  and engagement.
• The degree has embraced a participatory approach
  to  programme and course development, teaching,
  and assessment. Young people (17-24) are well
  represented in class as students we fully
  support young people (as well as the youthfully
  mature!) learning about and working with young
  people.
• The degree also provides professional practice
  opportunities for learning and for students to
  experience and demonstrate their skill.

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For example, a beginning question

• In what ways do you provide opportunities for
  your young people to give advice (and have it
  listened to), contribute to decision making, or
  be engaged in a functional way (e.g. leadership)?
  Talk with your neighbour

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Principle Six

• Youth development needs good information
• This principle acknowledges that youth
  development is continually informed by effective
  research, evaluation and information gathering.
•   The degree requires students to research and
  gather information that adds to their knowledge
  about what is and isnt effective, and for who.
• The staff, alongside their teaching, service and
  administration roles, are also actively engaged
  in research with, for and about young people, at
  post-graduate and post-doctorate levels. We
  believe it is important to keep up-to-date with
  changing knowledge and communities, and not
  solely rest on our past experiences or
  understandings.

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For example, a beginning question

• Studying what works, helps
• In what kinds of ways do you keep
  creating/growing/
• developing your own youth work practice? Talk
  with your neighbour

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Challenges

• There are challenges inherent in teaching Youth
  Work in a University.
• The success of the Youth Work degree, and the
  concurrent increase in funding for youth, have
  seen other programmes incorporate youth into
  their qualifications. Incorporating youth isnt
  always about positive youth development.
• Similarly, researchers previously uninterested in
  young people, are suddenly keen when they become
  aware of relevant funding.
• A parallel process can occur whereby there is
  resistance to the independence or emergence of
  youth frameworks in an established tertiary
  institution. Competition for funding is a
  significant contributing factor.
• Adults who work with young people, are sometimes
  also viewed as young people by their colleagues,
  regardless of age, qualification, PBRF activity
  and/or experience. This is unproblematic if
  young people are viewed positively.

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Joys

• There are joys in teaching Youth Work in a
  University.
• The idea of young people as a separate, valuable
  and valued group, is given increased visibility.
• Staff enjoy their role and are privileged to work
  with young people and their communities, as well
  as emerging and existing youth workers.

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Summary

• The Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa (YDSA) is
  a key policy platform document for work with
  young people in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
• Through constructivist education, principles in
  policy documents can be brought alive in
  interactions with tertiary students, as a way of
  demonstrating ways to bridge the gap between
  policy and practice.

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Section 2

• As well as influencing tertiary education, we can
  apply constructivist epistemology to thinking
  about Youth Work in a broader sense.
• Learning is ongoing, active, mental, social,
  contextual, involves language, scaffolds
  knowledge and has motivation as a key component.

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In the Youth Work sector

• We are currently engaged in developing, learning,
  structuring and defining what Youth Work is or
  might be in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
• We are doing this socially, actively, using
  language and thinking, scaffolding from what
  knowledge we have, with various motivations
  relevant to our backgrounds and identities.

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Strengths based practice and the risk society

• As one example of constructivism in Youth work I
  consider the tensions between the risk society
  (a society organised in response to risk) and the
  strengths perspective described in some policy
  and practice literature, where everything we do
  is predicated in some way on supporting a young
  person to explore and develop their strengths and
  resources. The focus is on possibilities, rather
  than problems.

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At-risk youth

• Is a term still found in Youth Work language,
  literature, organisations and funding
  applications.
• How come?

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A culture of fear (Furedi, 2002)

• Can be institutionalised by the prevalence of
  managerial discourse mandating risk assessment,
  risk management and the monitoring of risk.
• Larger organisations in particular may want no
  surprises. Front line or coal face
  supervisors may be required to create fail safe
  information alerts whereby the organisation is
  not publicly embarrassed by client or staff
  behaviour.

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Parton (1996)

• Argues that risk is not to be defined as a set
  of realities or risk indicators, but as a
  mindset.
• In organisational culture terms, mindset
  represents unexamined assumptions which inform
  values and visible behaviour.

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For example

• The language used e.g. delinquents
• The focus of organisation
• The adrenaline, or tiredness, that may arise if
  we talk about at-risk youth
• Funding applications which may limit the choice
  of discipline or field

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The risk discourse

• Is still prevalent in literature and practice.
  Work with young people can be framed by risk
  management, become an exercise in order and
  control.
• Consider the treatment of school truants and
  young offenders who are increasingly viewed
  from the perspective of dangerousness and social
  risk.

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Webb (2006)

• Discusses the ways in which UK policy governing
  risk management employs mathematical risk
  probability models.
• Using such prediction systems potentially
  undercuts professional judgement which applies
  knowledge to an array of practice contexts.

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Expertise and autonomy

• Are characteristics of professions.
• Expertise derives from prolonged specialised
  training in a body of abstract knowledge
• Autonomy represents the freedom to choose the
  examination of and means to work with the
  situation at hand

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So what?

• The absence of these characteristics in
  professional practice may result in a de-skilled
  profession.

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Professional self as tool

• Research based theory together with reflective
  practice principles, provide tools for
  practitioners to work with the situations at
  hand.
• Without it, practitioners may only function from
  practice manuals or tips from colleagues.

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A sole focus on the risk discourse

• Can limit young people to their labels and the
  stigma and discrimination that follows those
  labels.
• Can limit practitioners to functionaries

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The YDSA

• In 2002 acknowledged that youth development
  involves resiliency to risk factors, and
  enhancing strengths.
• The strategy discussed the importance of shifting
  youth work practice from a problem-based approach
  to a strengths based approach

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Youth development

• This is important as
• We engage in a very different set of activities
  when our goal is development rather than
  problem-prevention.
• WHO 1999

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Strength based practice in Youth Work could
also be about the way we work together

• "Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa
  takitini
• "My strength is not that of the individual but
  that of the multitudes"

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National Youth Workers Network Aoteaora (NYWNA)

• NYWNA makes an important point about youth work
  happening in the framework of relationship.
• Long-term, caring, healthy relationship is
  important to young people and youth workers. It
  is also important to all those who work in the
  field of youth work!

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We are in the act of making history.

• In this time, we are defining and documenting
  what youth work means in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
• In Youth Work, we are there for the young person,
  no matter what. We are required to work
  collaboratively with the young person, to call on
  our ingenuity, creativity and courage, to work
  purposefully with a young person in defining and
  developing their goals.

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Being a Youth Worker

• Means being far more than a functionary.
• Constructivist epistemology, and strengths based
  practice, mean we start from where the young
  person is at, and adapt ourselves to be the best
  we can be for that young person.

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It is also about

• The way we who work in myriad ways in Youth Work,
  are in ongoing relationship with each other.
• This happens. There is still room for more.

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Youth Work

• Done well, ischallenging work.
• It asks for more than many people may give to
  their own relationships with family, partners,
  children and colleagues.

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Remember at this important time

• It is not the critic who counts not the man
  (sic) who points out how the strong man stumbles,
  or where the doer of deeds could have done them
  better. The credit belongs to the man who is
  actually in the arena, whose face is marred by
  dust and sweat and blood who strives valiantly
  who errs, who comes short again and again,
  because there is no effort without error and
  shortcoming but who does actually strive to do
  the deeds who knows great enthusiasms, the great
  devotions who spends himself in a worthy cause
  who at the best knows in the end the triumph of
  high achievement, and who at the worst, if he
  fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so
  that his place shall never be with those cold and
  timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat
  (Roosevelt, 1910).

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Youth Work is extraordinary work

• Young people deserve
• extraordinary work.