Social pedagogy, informal education and ethical youth work practice

This paper questions current approaches to youth work practice and evaluation in England and suggests that current practices based on tick-box targets and outcomes compromise the core values of the profession. The targeting of certain groups of young people is an over-simplistic and stigmatising process that does not reflect what is meaningful about youth work. It also marks a step away from informal education, which has traditionally provided the theoretical underpinning to youth work in England. Youth work in England needs to develop a stronger evidence base as a process based on informal education to be given consideration by policy-makers and funders. In the second half of the paper, we introduce social pedagogy-a form of theory and practice developed in wider Europe-and outline its values and approach. We argue that this approach may fit with the values of informal education and that it may contribute to offering an evidence base for a values-centred alternative to the currently dominant articulations of youth work. We hope this paper stimulates further consideration of this approach among youth workers and their educators.