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In this blog post I reflect on a collaborative research project that explored youth workers’ knowledge, skills and attitudes towards digital practice. Youth work in the UK is a profession guided by a distinct regulated by the National Youth Agency (NYA), which can be understood through the concept of informal education in which practitioners meet young people where they choose to gather (Corney et al., 2024). As with many forms of education, Covid-19 required a move to digital youth work practice (Vermiere et al., 2019) and further impacted youth provision at a time when the UK had been feeling the pressure of budget constraints due to austerity measures (Reynolds & Charraighe, 2022). As a result, youth work during lockdowns included online engagement, presenting challenges of understanding and building new provisions.

This blog post shares insights from educational research conducted with youth workers (n=42) from the south-west of England (2023–24) participating in discussion groups, exploring questions about their knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Following analysis, we developed a framework called ‘The Seven ‘C’s of Why’. This analysis categorises key questions shared by participants. Each ‘C’ represents a theme, forming the spine of a reflective framework designed to address practitioners’ needs.

Capacity – Participants expressed concern about their capacity to deliver digital offers to young people. Barriers included limited time and budgets, with participants questioning how they could deliver a meaningful digital youth offer when they had neither the hours nor technical assets to do so.

Connections – There were significant concerns about the quality of human connections that young people make through computer-mediated communication. Many participants felt digital media limit quality relationship building, with in-person relationships creating significantly better outcomes for young people.

Care – There were repeated concerns about instances of abuse of young people through digital platforms, prompting conversations around safeguarding and wellbeing as a significant issue with questions about how to help young people stay safe online.

Control – Participants voiced concerns regarding control of digital environments, considering these spaces unsafe, due to not knowing who might be in rooms with young people, nor having administrative control of some spaces. This led to discussions revealing some reluctance to allow young people to manage digital spaces themselves safely.

Curriculum – The NYA has yet to provide national guidance on a digital curriculum, which has left some workers concerned about the consistency of delivery, with a lack of guidance regarding best practices.

Confidence – Participants discussed feeling overwhelmed by the speed of development and the lack of ability to keep abreast of digital technology. This revealed a lack of confidence in their personal skills and knowledge regarding the digital world. All participants felt this was a concern regardless of age.

Competence – Participants felt they were not sufficiently skilled or qualified to practise using digital and technological methods. Not knowing how to navigate the digital world was considered an issue of professional competency. What strengths do I possess as a youth worker which can be transferred to digital practice? Where would I benefit from additional training or support to use digital practice?

‘Participants discussed feeling overwhelmed by the speed of development and the lack of ability to keep abreast of digital technology.’

The interweaving and untangling of these concepts

The seven ‘C’s do not exist in isolation – they generate an interwoven barrier of engagement for participants sourced from differing elements of practice. To address the ‘C’s, participants identified possible approaches. Funding allocation, policy development and strategic leadership were identified as paths to alleviating some barriers; while others may be addressed by allocating hours to training and development, encouraging continued reflection on their personal disposition and growth.

Ongoing reflections

Digital youth work is now an important form of contemporary practice and is here to stay. Addressing the seven ‘C’s is central to unlocking digital practice as a cohesive, meaningful method of youth engagement. Participants identified that the speed of the introduction of digital practice presented several issues, highlighting barriers to effective practice and enabling them to clearly articulate areas to address in order to successfully integrate digital practice into youth work.

References

Corney, T., Marion, J., Bairda, R., Welsh, S. & Gorman, J. (2024). Youth work as social pedagogy: Toward an understanding of non-formal and informal education and learning in youth work. Child and Youth Services, 45(3), 345–370.

Reynolds, A., & Charraighe, A. N. (2022). Post-Covid youth work and mental wellbeing of young people across Scotland and England. Concept (The Journal of Contemporary Community Education Practice Theory), 13(2), 1–10.

Vermiere, L., Van den Broeck, W., Van Audenhove, L., & Mariën, I. (2022, July). Digital youth work in Flanders: Practices, challenges, and the impact of COVID-19. Seminar.net, 18(1).