Is Disruptive Innovation Impacting You?

The intersection of leadership and innovation has led to disruptions in our lives from technology to social media and beyond. To a leader, the disruptions occur from new technology, situations like the pandemic, and how society puts things in motion. Innovations occur because of the ideas and questions that are shared. How you as a leader, a youth worker, or a community member, respond to the disruptions and innovations often impacts how you manage changes that occur in your work.

Learning to Improve Program Systems While Navigating Program and Institutional Constraints

Many youth worker professional development (PD) efforts tend to focus on individualized skill development, rather than learning as a contextualized phenomenon that impacts youth workers’ everyday experiences in the field. Youth worker learning is fundamentally embedded in a broader ecosystem of programs, institutions, and systems that influence how they make sense of and implement their learnings. Examining institutionalized experiences and how they shape youth workers’ response to PD requires attention to the larger ecology of the contexts in which they work. In this paper, I analyze a PD initiative facilitated by a school district in the Rocky Mountain West. Data collected during the PD show that participating youth workers made changes to their program systems. At the same time, participants reported a range of institutional constraints that did not cohere with the PD. I bridge sensemaking theory to research on youth worker self-efficacy to unpack youth workers’ reaction to and implementation of the PD, and I discuss implications for youth worker PD. I propose that PD efforts could more closely attend to youth workers’ institutional contexts.

Development of a theoretical framework for examining youth worker perspectives on their relationships with adolescents and emerging adults in the United States

It is important to understand how youth workers perceive their work with clients to support them in facilitating positive outcomes (e.g., gainful employment, academic achievement) for those they serve. There is a paucity of peer-reviewed research that explores youth workers’ perspectives on their social service practices in the United States despite their integral role in supporting positive adolescent and emerging adult development. This article discusses a theoretical framework founded on anthropology and social work paradigms. Researchers can use this theoretical framework to examine youth worker perspectives on building relationships with adolescents and emerging adults in the United States.

The program «Youth worker» as an efficient tool for the implementation of the youth policy in Ukraine

In the article there has been presented the analysis of results for implementation of the educational program «Youth worker» for the period of 2014-2021. The aim of the program implementation is the development of the national system for training and skills enhancement of specialists in the youth sphere as well as youth activists – youth workers. There have been identified major approaches in the training system of the youth workers: means of the non-formal education, three training levels (basic, specialized, for trainers); common trainings for representatives of the state and public sectors; implementation on the national, regional and local levels; interdepartmental interaction; information support. The program «Youth worker» is being implemented by the Ministry of youth and sport of Ukraine in collaboration with the State institute for family and youth policy and the Development program of the UN in Ukraine (UNDP). The program is being implemented through organization and conducting of educational trainings, a contest for the best practices of work with youth in Ukraine, an all-Ukrainian forum of youth workers, youth exchanges. Based on the results of the analysis of the «Youth worker» program implementation, there have been identified main conditions for organization of the national system for training and skills enhancement of specialists in the youth sphere: non-formal education as per the 3-level unit system; making up educational topics in accordance with the needs of the youth audience and specialists, who work with youth; a team of national trainers, who are coaching youth workers; scientific and methodological support of the program; collaboration between executive authorities, state facilities and institutions, NGOs, international organizations and funds, scientific and educational institutions; combination of training and practice (trainings, the contest for the best practices, experience sharing on youth forums and through youth exchanges). The results of the program implementation is the definition of the term «youth worker», given in the Law of Ukraine «On the basic principles of the youth policy», the definition of standardization terms and specialized training procedures for youth workers in Ukraine.

Adolescents with different life problems seeking help before and after the introduction of a low-threshold service model: a Finnish qualitative study

There are several concerns related to adolescents living in families with severe and persistent problems. Childhood conditions may contribute to later social exclusion, for example. The aim of this study was to describe study participants’ service experiences before and after the introduction of a low-threshold service model. This model—based on the reformed Youth Act—was developed and implemented during a 2-year project. Data were collected through interviews of seven adolescents during phase one. In phase two, four adolescents responded to essay questions. The views of a youth worker working for this project were also collected, as she played a key role in helping the adolescents. The adolescents participating in this study were girls aged between 12 and 17. Thematic deductive analysis was performed. Two main themes were evident in the participants’ responses regarding their service experiences: the accessibility and acceptability of services. The model highlights the importance of listening to adolescents related to their various problems. The focus is on preventive services and early support. Coordination of preventive services requires special expertise and joint development in inter-professional practices. Moreover, adolescents’ experiences should be taken into consideration in the development of services.

Compounding education disengagement: COVID-19 lockdown, the digital divide and wrap-around services

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to share reflections on the frontline delivery of a wrap-around secondary school re-engagement programme on compounding digital inequality during the COVID-19 lockdown. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a deliberative reflection on practice and policy lessons learned while negotiating the digital divide during the COVID-19 lockdown in the delivery of the yourtown education youth engagement programme. Findings Frontline youth worker practice lessons highlight the compounding effect of digital inequality on vulnerable young people who are already disengaged or disengaging from secondary education and the necessity for a reflexive, agile and adaptable practice response, particularly during unprecedented events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value This paper presents a wraparound service perspective and outlines important practice lessons gained from adapting an education re-engagement programme to respond to the COVID-19 lockdown in the Greater Brisbane area, Australia.

The Potential of Human–Horse Attachment in Creating Favorable Settings for Professional Care: A Study of Adolescents’ Visit to a Farm

Previous research has shown features of an attachment bond to be fulfilled in, for instance, human–dog dyads; however, there is a considerable lack of research on the potential attachment in human–horse relationships. Employing Bowlby’s criteria of an attachment bond and Pierce’s model of therapeutically powerful activity, this article studies whether short-term exposure to horses brings about elements of emerging attachment for adolescents and if this interaction holds potential in creating a favorable early-stage setting for professional care. It draws from group discussions carried out with nine 16–17-year-old adolescents who participated in an EASEL (Equine-Assisted Social and Emotional Learning) session when visiting a farm with a youth worker. A qualitative content analysis of the discussions revealed that some characteristics of the four principal criteria of an attachment bond—proximity maintenance, safe haven, secure base, and separation distress—were identifiable in the adolescents’ expressed experiences of observing and interacting with horses. Moreover, the three main sources of therapeutic power—appeal, accuracy, and intactness—intersected with the emerging development of the adolescents’ attachment to horses. Additionally, space for self-reflection was enhanced by the presence of the horses. The study offers insights into the potential of human–horse attachment in dealing with adolescents with and without special needs for various therapy and care purposes.