Edinburgh Research Explorer Universal Youth Work Citation for published version: Mcgregor, C 2015, Universal Youth Work: A Critical Review of the Literature. University of Edinburgh. <https://www.youthlinkscotland.org/media/1112/youth-work-literature-review-final-may-2015.pdf> Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 30. Sep. 2021 UNIVERSAL YOUTH WORK A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE EDINBURGH YOUTH WORK CONSORTIUM AND THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH 1 The author of this review is Dr Callum McGregor, previously University of Edinburgh, now at University of Dundee. Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the work of the authors of studies included in this review and the people who participated in them. Particular thanks also go to Dr Ken McCulloch and Dr Ian Fyfe for editing of the fnal report. Funding This work was undertaken by the Edinburgh Youth Work Consortium and the University of Edinburgh School of Education with funding from Youthlink Scotland, The Robertson Trust and Youth Scotland. Responsibility for the views expressed in the review remains solely with the authors. Conficts of Interest There were no conficts of interest in the writing of this report. Copyright Edinburgh Youth Work Consortium c/o LAYC, 7 Boroughloch Lane, Edinburgh tel: 044 131 667 1828 e-mail: [email protected] web: www.layc.org Published by University of Edinburgh, 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder. For rights of translation or reproduction, applications should be made to Edinburgh Youth Work Consortium. 2 CONTENTS Foreword ................................................................................................................................................5 Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................6 1.1 Context ........................................................................................................................................6 1.2 Rationale .....................................................................................................................................6 1.3 Purpose ........................................................................................................................................7 1.4 Research questions ....................................................................................................................8 1.5 Universal youth work in the current policy context ................................................................8 Chapter 2: Review methods ...............................................................................................................13 2.1 Who was involved in the review? ...........................................................................................13 2.2 How did we fnd the literature? ..............................................................................................13 2.3 How did we decide what to include and exclude? ...........................................................15 2.4 How did we analyse what we found? ..................................................................................17 2.5 Limitations of the study ...........................................................................................................17 Chapter 3: Insights from existing reviews on youth work ...............................................................19 3.1 Description of existing reviews of youth work ......................................................................19 3.2 What theories and concepts have infuenced youth work practice for the last decade (2004-present)?..............................................................................................................................19 3.3 What do existing reviews tell us about the impacts and outcomes of universal youth work provision?...............................................................................................................................29 3.4 Challenges for universal youth work .....................................................................................38 3.5 Mapping the Spectrum of Evidence ....................................................................................39 3.6 Opportunities for further research .........................................................................................41 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................................42 Chapter 4: Review fndings ...............................................................................................................43 4.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................................43 4.2.1 Difference and inequality ...................................................................................................43 4.2.3 Theories of learning and pedagogy ..................................................................................46 3 4.3 What does the literature tell us about the outcomes of universal youth work provision? ........................................................................................................................................47 Chapter 5: Summary and discussion of fndings ..............................................................................64 5.1 What is universal youth work? How useful is the term? How widely is it used? .................64 5.2. Universal youth work and outcomes: What counts as evidence? ...................................65 5.3 What theories and concepts shape contemporary youth work? .....................................66 5.4. What do existing reviews tell us about the outcomes of universal youth work? Can these outcomes be mapped onto the Scottish National Outcomes? ....................................69 5.5. What does the literature featured in this review tell us about the outcomes of universal youth work? ....................................................................................................................................70 5.6 What does the literature featured in this review reveal about the challenges faced by universal youth work? ...................................................................................................................72 Chapter 6: Conclusion .......................................................................................................................74 References .........................................................................................................................................76 Appendix 1. Brief descriptions of existing reviews ..........................................................................85 Appendix 2 Tables of data sources searched ................................................................................87 4 FOREWORD This original piece of joint research by the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh Youth Work Consortium is both timely and challenging. Its focus on universal youth work comes at a time of genuine concern about the future of youth work in Scotland. It is timely because the new National Youth Work Strategy 2014 - 19 focuses the attention of young people, practitioners, and policy makers on the importance of youth work to our life as a nation and as local communities. The strategy explicitly includes the ambition to ‘explore the potential for commissioning research to demonstrate the role and value of youth work’. Timely - because Community Learning & Development is under the spotlight, with local authority CLD strategies being developed, even as local CLD services face severe cutbacks. Timely - because the recent referendum has generated an unprecedented engagement amongst young people with the political process and the reality of democratic participation. Youth work has always dreamt of this. At the same time, this research makes slightly uneasy reading as it presents a number of challenges to us. How do we continue to celebrate the best of youth work practice in an environment where public services are subject to radical surgery? How can we draw on real evidence about the way we work, rather than what we would like to hear? How can we invest time, energy, and resources to help us better understand the long term impact of youth work? Where does universal youth work sit within the National Youth Work Strategy? Thanks are due to many people and organisations: to the Robertson Trust, YouthLink