Youth work and non-formal learning in Europe’s education landscape A quarter of a century of EU cooperation for youth policy and practice Youth Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). The information and views set out in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. More information on EU youth policy and programme is available at http://ec.europa.eu/youth/index_en.htm Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015 Print ISBN 978-92-79-38886-6 doi:10.2766/77244 NC-02-14-777-EN-C PDF ISBN 978-92-79-45427-1 doi:10.2766/750047 NC-02-14-777-EN-N © European Union and the authors of the articles in this publication, 2015 Cover picture: ©2015 Artis Rams. All rights reserved. The images in this publication provide a general illustration of some of the projects funded by the Youth in Action/Erasmus+ programme. European Commission Youth work and non-formal learning in Europe’s education landscape A quarter of a century of EU cooperation for youth policy and practice 2015 Directorate-General for Education and Culture EN 2 YOUTH WORK AND NON-FORMAL LEARNING Executive summary This publication marks a quarter of a century of EU youth pro- grammes accompanied by EU youth policy. It brings together a range of views and highlights best practices with the aim of stimulating debate about what youth work and non-formal learning can contrib- ute, alongside other sectors, to European education. From diverse viewpoints, it reviews EU cooperation in the field, points to successes and sets out possible future scenarios, particularly in the context of the Erasmus+ programme (2014-2020). The current status of education is outlined in Chapter 1, reflecting on how the formal education sector is becoming informalised, while non-formal learning is simultaneously becoming more formalised. Kiilakoski urges a ‘rethink’ of education to match the online era, where new media ‘democratise education’, empower young people and open pathways to tolerance for living and working in a multicul- tural Europe. The blurring of borders between formal, non-formal and informal will require new teaching skills and constant evolution of the profiles of youth workers or school teachers. A holistic approach to education, individualised methods, professional coaching and ex- perience-based learning would also prompt individuals to take a step back from routine and promote change. But combining the best of both worlds may also create tensions with the inherent diversity of youth work. A new balance will be needed between its principles, policy priorities and the evolving and complex needs and aspirations of young people. At the same time, the evi- dence arising from greater formalisation will offer insights into the strengths and merits of youth work that can help convince sceptical audiences even more. Chapter 2 looks at the significance of Europe in young people’s lives and at progress triggered by EU youth programmes and policies, which includes driving the quality of youth work in Europe, provid- ing a platform for collaboration among stakeholders and promoting recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning. For YOUTH WORK AND NON-FORMAL LEARNING 3 Lejeune, EU youth policy has provided a conceptual framework and a link to other areas of concern for young people, while offering new opportunities for them to become active players in their societies and help to manage the transition from school to work. Cooperation at European level is seen as a source of innovation and an aid to critical revision of national practices. Siebel, Wicke and Wisser cite Germa- ny’s implementation of the EU youth strategy as a demonstration of European awareness enriching national policy and contributing to the common European framework. The topics selected included social integration and successful transition to work, encouraging participa- tion, strengthening democracy and recognising non-formal and infor- mal learning. These had national relevance and were considered to be worth exploring from the European perspective — although they were not new in German youth policy. Chapter 3 explores the need for the professionalisation and Euro- peanisation of youth work. The range of skills required is widening, as youth workers are expected to deal with challenging patterns of behaviour or social issues such as special educational needs and cultural diversity. The trend towards professionalisation is reinforced through better recognition of youth work at European level, through further implementation of Youthpass and through the development of sets of competences for trainers and youth workers. Youth work practices have been ‘Europeanised’, argues Markovic, citing the Eu- ropean training strategy’s provision of non-formal learning opportu- nities for hundreds of thousands of participants. It has helped youth workers, youth leaders and support staff to develop their capacities and implement high-quality activities for young people in line with EU objectives, and has also contributed to the EU’s external policy by extending activities to partner regions. Chapter 4 looks at how youth work and non-formal learning are pre- paring young people for the changing world of work, promoting en- trepreneurial learning through a process of empowerment. With no longer the same perspective of one job for life, the aim is instead to provide knowledge, skills and attitudes for becoming what Arnkil terms ‘an entrepreneur of your own life’, actively shaping personal prospects through continuous updating of skills and ‘hybrid know- how’. Arnkil insists however that unemployed young people should be perceived as a resource in co-creating solutions, and he rejects artificial divisions of the economy and the labour market into ‘high value-added’ and ‘low value-added’. Trust is vital to proactively reach young people in vulnerable circumstances and to help them take re- sponsibility for their own lives, while providing guidance in creating links between goal setting and learning. 4 YOUTH WORK AND NON-FORMAL LEARNING Ratto-Nielsen urges what he calls ‘transformative learning’, ena- bling each individual to answer the question ‘what have I learnt?’. Youthpass, coaching and EU youth projects have proved valuable in prompting this reflex. Research demonstrates that participants in transnational projects acquire a wide range of skills — as confirmed by an ex-volunteer, Bere. Novosadova explores the assessment of competences that young people acquire through non-formal learn- ing, and draws a link between young people’s recognition of their competences and their ability to gain control over their own lives and to become actors of change. Chapter 5 reviews social inclusion and the need to redefine the mis- sion of youth work. Youth work must respond to the current concerns of young people — faced by unemployment, increased migration, economic difficulties, family breakdown and issues confronting mi- norities. But it must do so while retaining the youth work mission of promoting individualism and diversity. Increased utilitarianism may dilute the capacity to offer challenges to the established structures of society that create inequalities — a reflection that youth work has traditionally encouraged. EU youth programme development, par- ticularly in the inclusion strategy, reflects this aspect: close to 24 % of Youth in Action participants were young people with fewer oppor- tunities. The changed focus has required increased competences for youth workers dealing with issues of inclusion, especially in work with cul- tural minorities. Pantea argues that it has also been necessary to take into account political issues related to human rights violations that are linked to cultural background while promoting tolerance to ambiguity. And it has required defining the overlap with other sectors in relation to social inclusion. Chapter 6 considers the specific nature of youth participation in the changing world and how the role of the structured dialogue could be maximised, with participation increasingly seen as central to demo- cratic citizenship. Williamson concludes that the structured dialogue risks failing on representativity, particularly for marginalised youth, for whom greater autonomy for young people or greater policy coher- ence may not be universally relevant. Benedicto urges a shift away from seeing young people as ‘apprentices of a series of norms’; they are ‘citizens under construction’, and should be empowered to influ- ence rather than merely being influenced. In his view, learning about participation should exploit multiple and mostly informal methods that are linked to young people’s experience and context. Institutions YOUTH WORK AND NON-FORMAL LEARNING 5 at EU and national levels will be challenged by such an approach, but it is all the more necessary ‘at the time in which the young feel little identification with the political institutions which represent them’, he says. The importance of the internet and social networking needs to be taken into account. Bonnici sees online social networks as connecting communities in a way that classic education systems no longer can, and offering democracy and inclusion to replace earlier monopolies of communication. He says media literacy should be a standard cur- riculum topic. The chapters also include forward-looking views from all contribu- tors, particularly in the context of Erasmus+ implementation. Siebel, Wicke and Wisser appreciate cross-sectoral cooperation but insist that youth welfare needs to become a greater political priority too. Williamson urges a more adventurous approach to debate among a wider range of parties in formal and non-formal education and beyond.