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Formally Informal: Youth and Community Work: Pedagogy and Practice
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Formally Informal: Youth and Community Work: Pedagogy and Practice

A special issue of Youth (ISSN 2673-995X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 3141

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Pam Alldred

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Social Work, Care and Community, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG1 4BU, UK
Interests: sexualities and sexual health; gender politics and diversity; parenting, and education for equality with young people, children and the professionals who work with them
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mike Seal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Research into the Education of Marginalised Children and Young Adults, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London, UK
Interests: youth and community work; participatory research and co-production; the scholarship of pedagogy in higher education; specialising in critical and queer pedagogy
Simon Williams

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby DE22 1GB, UK
Interests: social inequalities; migration; concepts of intelligence; successful student placements; professional maturity; academic snobbery; impact of youth work practice

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Youth and community work training is constantly changing to meet the changes in practice, philosophy, and approaches, although some aspects of training future professionals have remained constant over the years. This Special edition seeks to explore, challenge, and debate the role of training providers in developing future practitioners, exploring how we manage an active relationship with quality label providers, government institutions, and higher education establishments while ensuring that those youth and community work seek to serve are equally important and involved in the process. Proposed and invited papers will embrace a breadth of learning, practice, and research activity related to three continuing contemporary themes exploring the following:

  1. Pedagogy: what pedagogic approaches are needed to develop future practitioners of youth and community work, i.e., its challenges, opportunities and future possibilities.
  2. Community: how people have built communities, including communities of practice.
  3. Practice: how meaningful collaborations have been developed with the embedded involvement of young people and communities.

Prof. Dr. Pam Alldred
Prof. Dr. Mike Seal
Simon Williams
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Youth is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • youth work
  • informal education
  • pedagogy
  • community engagement
  • higher education

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 261 KiB  
Article
How Informal Approaches and Terminology Can Influence the Formal Training of Professionals
by Simon Craig Williams and Ruth Richardson
Youth 2025, 5(2), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5020038 - 15 Apr 2025
Viewed by 116
Abstract
Youth workers across the United Kingdom utilise varied terminology when referring to the professional practice of youth work, in both formal and informal spaces. A lack of formal approaches to terminology across the youth work sector is having a detrimental impact on the [...] Read more.
Youth workers across the United Kingdom utilise varied terminology when referring to the professional practice of youth work, in both formal and informal spaces. A lack of formal approaches to terminology across the youth work sector is having a detrimental impact on the way in which youth work is both taught and perceived by stakeholders outside of the sector. Consequently, this article strives to build upon previous research exploring professional maturity in youth work, focusing on the role that informal language and terminology, standardised or not, might play in the formal training and development of youth work practitioners. This is achieved within the context of professionalism in youth work, wherein consideration is given to youth work in bottom-up (social change movements) and top-down (university accreditation and government recognition) approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Formally Informal: Youth and Community Work: Pedagogy and Practice)
16 pages, 249 KiB  
Article
Beyond Inclusion: Mobilising Queer Pedagogy to Reframe Inclusive Practice Within Youth, Community and Educational Space
by Hannah Poklad
Youth 2025, 5(1), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5010023 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 349
Abstract
Beyond Inclusion aims to explore and revise embedded societal norms which are reproduced throughout practice. In this paper, Queer will be utilised not only to disrupt, but to divest from the cis-normative and hetero-normative standards which are often cemented by the fields within [...] Read more.
Beyond Inclusion aims to explore and revise embedded societal norms which are reproduced throughout practice. In this paper, Queer will be utilised not only to disrupt, but to divest from the cis-normative and hetero-normative standards which are often cemented by the fields within which we work. Informed by collected narratives, ethnohistory and theoretical developments in pedagogy, Beyond Inclusion will explore the multifaceted and multidisciplinary application of Queer pedagogy in order to celebrate Queer, and use Queer to celebrate all which deviates from normalcy. With the intention of empowering youth, community and educational pedagogues to feel confident in Queering their pedagogy, this paper aims to agitate systems of oppression by unusualising the usual, and usualising the unusual, by illuminating what is considered to be normal and why, and how normalcy impacts those who reside on the outskirts of hegemonic culture. Readers will be invited to mobilise Queer, in order to re-examine, reimagine and reconstruct new and Queered ways of upholding anti-oppressive practice. This research will present pragmatic actions which have been informed by questionnaires and interviews with Queer participants, and aim to improve lived experiences for young Queer people and Othered communities. This body of work emphasises negotiated practice, in that the reader will not be provided with definitive solutions, but instead be autonomised in deducing and producing their own knowledge and actions from the information presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Formally Informal: Youth and Community Work: Pedagogy and Practice)
9 pages, 192 KiB  
Communication
An Option or Necessity: Can the ‘Informal’ and ‘Formal’ Co-Exist Within Higher Education?
by Ian Jones
Youth 2025, 5(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5010005 - 14 Jan 2025
Viewed by 710
Abstract
In further understanding the importance of the informal/formal nexus, it is posited that they can co-exist, as explained in the case description example of a Youth Professional Practitioner Network (YPPN). It posits the influence of ‘informal education’ that creates the opportunity for value-based [...] Read more.
In further understanding the importance of the informal/formal nexus, it is posited that they can co-exist, as explained in the case description example of a Youth Professional Practitioner Network (YPPN). It posits the influence of ‘informal education’ that creates the opportunity for value-based notions such as respect in enabling individuals to form trusting relationships. Through such relationships, the possibility of a ‘community of practice’ is formed. Such notions are argued to be inherent within the YPPN. In presenting such discussions in the exploration of this question, it poses the argument that it is possible and is more of a necessity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Formally Informal: Youth and Community Work: Pedagogy and Practice)
14 pages, 247 KiB  
Article
Navigating Wellbeing Through Youth Work and Participatory Research: Insights from Post-COVID-19 Scotland
by Haley Sneed
Youth 2025, 5(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5010001 - 24 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1155
Abstract
This article draws on doctoral research conducted at the University of Glasgow and examines the role of youth work and participatory research in shaping young people’s wellbeing in post-COVID-19 Scotland. This study focuses on how participatory methods, such as photovoice and photo-elicitation, can [...] Read more.
This article draws on doctoral research conducted at the University of Glasgow and examines the role of youth work and participatory research in shaping young people’s wellbeing in post-COVID-19 Scotland. This study focuses on how participatory methods, such as photovoice and photo-elicitation, can foster socio-political awareness and agency among young people, engaging Scottish youth and local stakeholders. Using empowerment theory, critical pedagogy, and feminist theory, this research reveals how youth participation contributes to personal and collective empowerment, offering insights into the complexities of supporting youth wellbeing. The findings indicate that young people gained control and awareness of community needs through youth work and research engagement, reflecting critical consciousness. However, this study highlights challenges in achieving sustainable change, as structural barriers often constrain the transformative potential of these initiatives. Despite the safe spaces for connection and skill-building provided by youth work, some participants experienced disillusionment when their contributions did not lead to tangible outcomes. This study recommends more inclusive and responsive youth work practices, emphasising the importance of genuine youth-led decision-making and aligning stakeholder efforts with youth aspirations. It contributes to discussions on youth agency, community engagement, and the critical role of supportive relationships in fostering resilience post-pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Formally Informal: Youth and Community Work: Pedagogy and Practice)
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