This guide offers effective and tested ways of putting theory into practice. The book is packed with case studies and covers many aspects, including understanding youth work, building support and how good youth work looks.

"Young's description of the way in which good youth work can instil the key features of critical thinking that underpin educational attainment and the sense of citizenship is about as good as it gets... an eloquent, poetic and philosophical reassertation of the unique contribution of the youth work purpose." Rapport, on the first edition. Since its publication in 1999, The Art of Youth Work has become a standard text, for youth work practitioners and students, on the reading list for qualifying courses. Since then, things have changed for youth work and the Youth Service. So this valuable resource has been thoroughly revised to examine the implications for youth work purpose, principles and practice in the context of the changing social and political agenda for young people. Questioning whether 'transformed' youth work is still youth work, it reaffirms its commitment to youth work as an exercise in philosophy - not because young people are troubled or troublesome, but because they are people in the process of reconciling reason and passion in ways that make sense to them. You will find here a; clear theory of youth work; framework for making sound judgements about practice and the training of youth workers; reaffirmation of youth work, at its best, as a powerful educative and developmental process.

Back to the Heart of Youth Work is a passionate appeal to youth workers, both volunteer and professional, who from time to time may feel battered, bruised, and bleeding. Written from one homesick soldier to another, this book is offered in the hope of rekindling a flickering flame into a blazing inferno within the heart of every youth worker who reads it. Based on the truth that effective ministry can result only from the overflow of an intimate walk with Jesus Christ, this book shows you how to develop proven character, a biblical philosophy of ministry, and a practical methodology. - Back cover.

Some of the most energetic, effective, and passionate activists involved in grassroots politics are young people--but their voices are rarely heard in policy, research, or public debate. This book remedies that, giving young activists their due and showing the effects of passionate social service practitioners who build relationships with marginalized young people in the face of spending cuts and shifting governmental priorities. Written by an experienced youth worker, Grassroots Youth Work uses interviews, dialogue, and excerpts from research diaries to bring youth work to life in both theory and practice.

Provides an introductory overview of the professional practice of youth work and youth development. This book captures the elements that make youth work a unique and powerful experience for those working with young people. Topics include adolescence as a life stage, historical perspectives, approaches and orientations to youth work, practical program and leadership strategies, ethics, multi-culturalism, policy formation, professional career development and more!

"There's a kid in your youth ministry who hasn't somehow been affected by crisis. There's not a youth worker on the planer who won't benefit from the principles and practices in this book." -Kara Powell, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center for Youth and Family Ministry at Fuller Seminary Because when it comes to crisis, it's not a matter of if, but when Anyone who stays in youth ministry very long will encounter significant crises. Family break-ups, substance abuse, sexual assault, eating disorders, cutting, suicide, gun violence... But without proper and immediate care, crises like these cause years of emotional pain and spiritual scarring in students. Rich Van Pelt and Jim Hancock want to help you prevent that from happening. Through their experience and expertise, you'll learn how to: - Respond quickly and effectively to crisis - Balance legal, ethical, and spiritual outcomes - Forge preventive partnerships with parents, schools, and students - Bring healing when the damage is done When crises happen-and they will, ready or not-there are practical steps you can take. Van Pelt and Hancock provide field-tested advice and specific, biblically based guidance for each stage of crisis. Keep this book on hand as the go-to resource when you need it most.

Approximately 2.4 million Black youth participate in after-school programs, which offer a range of support, including academic tutoring, college preparation, political identity development, cultural and emotional support, and even a space to develop strategies and tools for organizing and activism. In Reclaiming Community, Bianca Baldridge tells the story of one such community-based program, Educational Excellence (EE), shining a light on both the invaluable role youth workers play in these spaces, and the precarious context in which such programs now exist. Drawing on rich ethnographic data, Baldridge persuasively argues that the story of EE is representative of a much larger and understudied phenomenon. With the spread of neoliberal ideology and its reliance on racism—marked by individualism, market competition, and privatization—these bastions of community support are losing the autonomy that has allowed them to embolden the minds of the youth they serve. Baldridge captures the stories of loss and resistance within this context of immense external political pressure, arguing powerfully for the damage caused when the same structural violence that Black youth experience in school, starts to occur in the places they go to escape it.