Youth Work and Digital Technologies

Author(s):  
Zeinab Zaremohzzabieh ◽  
Seyedali Ahrari ◽  
Steven Eric Krauss ◽  
Asnarulkhadi Abu Samah ◽  
Siti Zobidah Omar

In today's digital world, digital youth work is rapidly becoming a novel area of specialization. The digital environment in professional practice is an up-to-date dynamic force that places us at the forefront of the hi-tech revolution, inspiring youth work both as a scientific field and as a profession. First, this chapter provides a synopsis and a serious perspective on digital technologies in youth work practice. Researchers believe that the functions of digital technology have an impact on a wide range of youth service settings. Various nations have reacted in different ways in terms of policy and practice. Second, research concerns, as well as a new policy development plan, research accuracy, more theoretical complexity, and awareness of the need for multidisciplinary work, are discussed. Moreover, there is a need for participatory research that can provide a better understanding of the experiences and needs of youth workers using digital technologies as well as how these needs can be met.

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cleopatra Monique Parkins

Even though youth work has played a critical role in fostering the holistic development of today’s youth, much controversy has surrounded the practice. Nevertheless, youth workers are slowly being accorded professional status, and a code of ethics has been developed in some jurisdictions. Some states are still to adopt this code; consequently the credibility of youth workers and the sector in general sway with the wind. This article presents a comparative analysis of ethical practices of youth work in Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, examining current trends in observing ethics and addressing ethical issues. In the case of Jamaica, the researcher used the non-probability convenience sampling technique and collected primary data from a questionnaire administered to a sample of youth workers. The perspective of the ministerial arm responsible for youth work in Jamaica was also captured through an interview. In the case of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the framework of the profession and specifically matters pertaining to ethical practices were examined through the use of secondary data sources, which included reports on youth work practices in the selected countries. A mixed methodology was employed in analysing the data collected. The major findings of this study confirmed that advancing youth work as a profession is dependent on the acceptance and integration of a formal code of ethics, that youth workers must receive training on ethics and that a national youth work policy is important to guide youth work practice. In accordance with the findings, the researcher makes a number of recommendations and highlights notable best practices that may help with the overall professionalisation of the sector.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-128
Author(s):  
Dean Williamson

AbstractThere is increasing scrutiny on the factors necessary to ensure that youth development programs consistently enhance the learning and development of young people. One of these key factors is the involvement of high-quality youth work practitioners who can facilitate an individual or group process to the benefit of all participants. While the practice of reflective learning is a core best-practice principle of youth workers, there is little emphasis on their own structured learning and development beyond their initial qualification. Based on findings from a pilot project testing the first practitioner-led outcomes framework in New South Wales, Australia, this article examines the role of outcomes data in contributing to the ongoing development of youth workers and youth development organisations. It argues that external performance data is both critical to individual and organisational development, and can enhance existing reflective practices such as workplace supervision.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-74
Author(s):  
Ramadimetje Bernice Hlagala ◽  
Catharina Sophia Delport

There are many youth workers who continue to design their interventions without any theoretical basis, despite a long history of youth work as a field of practice. The aim of this article is to present selected ideologies and theoretical frameworks underpinning youth work practice. These ideologies and theories, although predominantly borrowed from other disciplines, provide insight on how youth work should be practised.Based on a thorough literature review, the authors have selected different theories and ideologies that youth workers, like other professionals, are expected to know, understand and to adapt to youth work practice. These theories are important and would serve as theoretical frameworks on which youth work interventions will be based and, thereby, provide youth workers with the means to predict and analyse the situations of young people from different viewpoints to enable the development of different strategies to address relevant problems.The article concludes that theories and ideologies should be used as reference points, and youth workers mix and match different theories and ideologies depending on the nature of problem they are addressing at that particular time.


Author(s):  
Mike Seal ◽  
Pete Harris

In this chapter, the authors present an outline of the philosophical underpinnings of youth work practice and discuss how youth work is conceived, organised and delivered in different member states, and specifically in those the authors encountered in their study (Germany, Austria and the UK). They then introduce their working definition of youth violence. The authors were keen to move beyond the narrow confines of conceptualisation of youth violence as ‘gang’ violence, partly because this is a heavily populated area of enquiry, but also because they recognised that youth workers will be engaging with young people whose experience of violence falls both within and outside of the bounded and contestable phenomenon of the ‘gang’.


Author(s):  
Haslinda Abdullah ◽  
Hamizah Sahharon

Recently, the field of social innovation (SI) is making rapid progress and this development is being supported by unprecedented opportunities for digital technology. However, digital social innovation (DSI) should be seen as part of a youth work practice where alternative solutions can be found to improve the living conditions of communities and young people. DSI encourages young people to explore how innovative technology can be used to address societal challenges. To date, no studies have been conducted to support youth workers in the areas of digitalization and SI. This book chapter, therefore, explores the relevance of DSI to youth work practices. This chapter gives an overview of the meaning of SI, DSI, and a renewed focus on DSI and related concepts in youth work practice. It concludes with a framework for DSI in the field of youth work and the implications of indicators.


2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Fleming ◽  
Sally Merry

Background:Attitudes of social service providers towards computerized CBT (cCBT) might affect use of cCBT by their clients and may provide important insights that should be considered in dissemination. There is no literature exploring the attitudes of providers of youth work services towards cCBT despite the likelihood of them having close relationships with young people at high risk of mental ill-health.Method:Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were undertaken with a total of 40 providers (21 youth workers and social service staff providing alternative schooling, justice or other intensive youth work programmes to adolescents, 6 youth service managers, 2 trainers, 5 peer leaders and 6 trainees).Results:Participants considered supporting young people who were distressed to be an important part of their role. They were generally interested in cCBT, especially those who were more mental health oriented and those who saw a cCBT programme in action. Their greatest concerns regarding cCBT related to it possibly displacing human contact, while advantages were seen as its appeal to young people and its potential therapeutic power. They would utilize cCBT in a range of ways, with many wishing to offer it in group settings. Training and resources would be required for them to use cCBT.Conclusions:Many providers of youth work services would like to be involved in the use of cCBT; this might extend the reach of cCBT to vulnerable young people. They would wish to utilize cCBT in ways that fit their current approaches. Providers’ opinions need to be considered in the dissemination of cCBT.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Borislav Aleksandrov ◽  
◽  
◽  

Nowadays, within just one generation digital technologies have revolutionized visual communication – from the process/the act of creating a “message”, through the communication channels to the “addressees”, to the interaction with the viewer-participant in this ancient civilization process. As an important component of “communicating through images”, strong impetus was given to traditional technologies and media. Meanwhile, multimedia and the Internet emerged and have quickly developed. It can be said that Internet is a factor transforming almost every aspect of modern culture. This report will attempt to present a small part of my observations (as part of the generation that was witness and process participant) for about twenty years, and mostly in the field of graphic design as an important “forming factor” in visual communication. Due to the wide range, and varied forms of graphic design, I‘ll focus on (and only on some aspects of) my creative experience and my observations in: • The transformations in typography and fonts development; • The forms combining text and graphics / photography (book, publication, page etc.); • Some multidisciplinary aspects of the graphic design. Also I will share some conclusions from my observations.


Author(s):  
Khatidja Chantler ◽  
Nughmana Mirza ◽  
Mhairi Mackenzie

Abstract This article draws from our mixed methods study of forced marriage (FM) in Scotland focusing on policy and practice responses to FM in Scotland using the concepts of candidacy and structural competency. Through an analysis of FM policy in six case-study areas, interviews with Child or Adult Protection Leads and twenty-one interviews with a range of welfare professionals, we discuss the conceptual, emotional and practical challenges of responding to FM. Despite a standard Scottish Government policy and statutory framework, the varied policy and professional responses to FM across local authorities demonstrate a need for practitioners to be fully cognisant of the ways in which structural inequalities play out in individual lives. The four key themes explored in this article are as follows: (i) patchy ownership of FM policy at a local level; (ii) ‘race anxiety’; (iii) event versus process-based understandings of FM and (iv) the challenges of protecting adults experiencing FM who have capacity. These themes are highly relevant to social work practice and offer a significant and original analysis of the ways in which structural, social and cultural factors shape practitioner understanding, response and support of victims of FM.


2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 319-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Subotsky

Risk management is a requirement of clinical governance and a new paradigm for child and adolescent mental health services. Issues are different from those of adult services and a wide range need to be considered, which include not only the risk of harm to self, to others and from others but also from the system (by omission or commission) and to the staff. Systematic policy development, using information from audits, complaints, incidents and inquiries, will be helpful and interagency agreements necessary to promote coordination. The complex regulatory framework is discussed.


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