Youth Work in the Commonwealth A Growth Profession Commonwealth Secretariat Youth Work in the Commonwealth A Growth Profession Commonwealth Secretariat 3726_Book.indb 1 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom © Commonwealth Secretariat 2017 All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise provided it is used only for education purposes and is not for resale, and provided full acknowledgement is given to the Commonwealth Secretariat as the original publisher. Published by the Commonwealth Secretariat Edited by Allison McKechnie Typeset by NovaTechset Private Limited, Bengaluru & Chennai, India Cover image by Andrew Aitchison / Alamy Stock Photo Printed by xx Views and opinions expressed in this publication are the responsibility of the authors and should in no way be attributed to the institutions to which they affiliated or to the Commonwealth Secretariat. Wherever possible, the Commonwealth Secretariat uses paper sourced from responsible forests or from sources that minimise a destructive impact on the environment. Copies of this publication may be obtained from Publications Section Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6500 Email: [email protected] Web: www.thecommonwealth.org/publications A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. ISBN (paperback): 978-1-84929-173-6 ISBN (e-book): 978-1-84859-965-9 3726_Book.indb 2 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM iii Credits Lead writer: Dr Brian Belton Co-writer, baseline design and compilation: Dharshini Seneviratne Baseline design support: Christopher Jones Editors: Dharshini Seneviratne, Dr Tim Corney, Dr Robyn Broadbent Research/analysis and youth consultations: Sionlelei Sina Mario Research support: Tiffany Daniels Regional Consultants: Dr Alphonce Omolo (Africa), Ashraf Patel (Asia), Glenyss Adam James (the Caribbean), Dr Brian Belton (Europe and Canada), Dr Tim Corney (The Pacific). Case Study Contributors: Dr Shantha Abeysinghe, Sri Lanka Dr Brian Belton, the United Kingdom Dr Tim Corney, Australia Dr Alphonce Omolo, Kenya Anya Satyanand, New Zealand Simon Schembri, Malta Arjun Shekar, India Dr P Sivakumar, India Dr John Tan, Singapore Review Team: The Commonwealth Alliance of Youth Workers’ Associations Dr Shantha Abeysinghe, Sri Lanka Dr Jennifer Brooker, Australia Dr Robyn Broadbent, Australia Dr Tim Corney, Australia Francis Kapapa, Zambia 3726_Book.indb 3 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM iv Youth Work in the Commonwealth Jane Melvin, United Kingdom Dr Lee Kwan Meng, Malaysia Tanya Merrick Powell, Jamaica Ashraf Patel, India Anya Satyanand, New Zealand Simon Schembri, Malta Dr John K E Tan, Singapore Andrew Tandeo, Zambia Youth Division, Commonwealth Secretariat Layne Robinson, Head, Programmes, Youth Division Sionlelei Sina Mario, Assistant Programmes Officer, Youth Division Christopher Jones, Assistant Programmes Officer, Youth Division Commonwealth Youth Council Akouyu Alphonse Akohleng Chefor, Cameroon, Membership Committee, Commonwealth Youth Council. Farzana Akther Chowdhuri, Bangladesh, Member, Commonwealth Youth Council Country Consultants: Name Country Africa Dr Emmanuel M J Tamanja Ghana Tonny M Odera Kenya Boniface Chibwana Malawi Emmanuel Etim Nigeria Dr Bernice Hlagala South Africa Dr Natujwa Mvungi Tanzania Elone Natumanya Uganda Francis Kapapa Zambia Asia Tanvir Mahmud Bangladesh Nidhi Srivastava India Dr Lee Kwan Meng Malaysia Lugma Maldives Muhammad Shahzad Khan Pakistan Felicia Yong, Gracia Yong, Michelle Ling, Dr Singapore John K E Tan Dr Shantha Abeysinghe Sri Lanka 3726_Book.indb 4 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM Credits v Name Country The Caribbean Cleviston Hunte Barbados Glenda Diaz-Gordon Belize John Roach Dominica Glenyss Adam James Guyana Tanya Powell Jamaica Mary Wilfred St Lucia Philcol Jeffers St Vincent and the Grenadines Anna Kay Seaton Trinidad and Tobago Europe and Canada Dr Patti Ranahan Canada Anna Dalosi Cyprus Miriam Teuma Malta Dr Brian Belton United Kingdom The Pacific Dr Tim Corney, Sushil Ram Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands Anya Satyanand New Zealand Irene Paulsen Solomon Islands 3726_Book.indb 5 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM 3726_Book.indb 6 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM vii Contents Credits iii List of figures xi List of tables xiii List of boxes xv Acknowledgements xvii Foreword xix Message from the Commonwealth Alliance of Youth Workers’ Associations (CAYWA) xxi Abbreviations and Acronyms xxiii Glossary xxvii Executive Summary xxxi 1 Background 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 A Youth Work definition and contexts 1 1.3 The Commonwealth’s role in strengthening youth work practice 1 1.4 Purpose of the Survey 4 1.5 Methodology and Data 5 Notes 8 2 Introduction to Youth Work 9 2.1 Introduction 9 2.2 The nature of youth work 9 2.3 Youth work for all, especially the marginalised 12 Notes 13 3 Defining Professionalism 15 3.1 Introduction 15 3.2 Professional practice 17 3.3 Professionalism in organisations 17 3.4 The baseline’s criteria for assessing professionalism and outcomes 18 3.5 Professionalism exemplified 21 Note 23 3726_Book.indb 7 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM viii Youth Work in the Commonwealth 4 Paradigms of Practice 25 4.1 Introduction 25 4.2 An overview of paradigms of practice 25 4.3 A mixed heritage 26 4.4 Uganda: bottom-up initiatives for the recognition of youth work? 26 4.5 Country X: youth empowerment and party political goals 29 4.6 Canada’s work with youth: is it youth work? 30 4.7 Psycho-social ‘models’: Canadian child and youth care work and Pravah (India) 31 4.8 Youth work in youth development – New Zealand and Zambia 31 4.9 Economics driving instrumentalist youth work: Bangladesh 32 4.10 Critique of instrumentalist youth work: India 32 4.11 Diverse contexts, diverse needs 33 4.12 Youth work needs to be inclusive, but is not everything 35 Notes 35 5 A Selective History of Youth Work 37 5.1 Introduction 37 5.2 Histories 37 5.3 The growth of formal state processes and mechanisms 41 Note 42 6 Trends in National Youth Work Practice 43 6.1 Introduction 43 6.2 State/national responses to youth work 43 6.3 Trends in regional responses 45 6.4 Conclusion 63 Notes 65 7 Legislation and Policy 67 7.1 Introduction 67 7.2 Legislation and policy for youth work 67 7.3 Regional trends in legislation and policy 69 7.4 Conclusions 87 Notes 89 8 Professional Associations for Youth Work 91 8.1 Introduction 91 8.2 What is a professional association? 91 8.3 An overview of youth work associations in the Commonwealth 95 8.4 Regional trends 95 8.5 The Commonwealth Alliance of Youth Workers’ Associations (CAYWA) 105 8.6 Conclusion 105 Notes 105 9 Qualifications Pathways 107 9.1 Introduction 107 9.2 A qualifications pathway for youth workers from short courses to PhD 107 9.3 What is a professional qualification? 108 3726_Book.indb 8 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM Contents ix 9.4 A professional qualification in youth work 110 9.5 Accredited courses 111 9.6 Short courses (usually non-accredited) 122 9.7 Qualifications and competencies of teachers of youth work 131 9.8 Practice assessment 132 9.9 Conclusion 133 Notes 135 10 Regulating Practice 137 10.1 Introduction 137 10.2 Regulatory processes in youth work 137 10.3 Regional trends in regulating practice and practitioner safety 138 10.4 Trends in youth safeguarding and practitioner vetting 149 10.5 Conclusions 153 Notes 153 11 Professional Validation of Youth Work Education and Training 155 11.1 Introduction 155 11.2 A model of the professional accreditation of youth work 155 11.3 Replicability of professional accreditation 155 11.4 Professional accreditation in Commonwealth regions 155 11.5 Justifying the professional label 159 11.6 Conclusion 160 12 Professional Supervision 161 12.1 Introduction 161 12.2 What is professional supervision in the context of professional learning and development? 161 12.3 Youth work supervision in the Commonwealth 162 12.4 Developing professional supervision practice 167 12.5 Core factors in teaching supervision 169 12.6 Ways and contexts 169 12.7 Practice without supervision can become malpractice 171 12.8 Conclusion 171 13 Financial Investment and Youth Worker Remuneration 173 13.1 Introduction 173 13.2 Investment in youth work 173 13.3 Youth worker remuneration 176 13.4 Conclusion 178 Note 178 14 Conclusions and Recommendations – Way Forward for Professional Youth Work 179 14.1 The ‘Musts’ 181 14.2 The ‘Shoulds’ 186 Notes 187 3726_Book.indb 9 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM x Youth Work in the Commonwealth Annex 1: Identified Commonwealth Youth Workers’ Associations 189 Annex 2: Baseline Questionnaire 193 Annex 3: Baseline Interviewees 201 Annex 4: State/National Youth Representation Structures as of mid-2016 207 Annex 5: Principles Linked To Course Content and Subject Areas 215 Annex 6: Core Building Blocks for Youth Work Education and Training: An Example from Youth Workers’ Association, Australia 219 Annex 7: Graduate Capabilities: Youth Workers’ Association – Australia 221 References 227 3726_Book.indb 10 24-Jul-17 7:36:22 PM xi List of figures Figure ES.1 Regional trends – commitments to professionalising youth work xxxiii Figure 1.1 The Commonwealth’s youth work initiatives 3 Figure 2.1 Youth work as a global phenomenon 10 Figure 2.2 Key tenets of youth work 11 Figure 2.3 The place of youth work in difficult/extreme contexts 12 Figure 2.4 Social development, learning, healing and respite 12 Figure 3.1 Professional practice 16 Figure 3.2 Professionalism in organisations 17 Figure 3.3 Benefits of professional youth work to young people and society 20 Figure 4.1 ‘The dialectic of youth work’ 26 Figure 4.2 State–NGO interactions in youth work 27 Figure 6.1 Types of ‘youth work’ practised 44 Figure 7.1 Regional trends – No.