Socially Just, Radical Alternatives for Education and Youth Work Practice: Re-Imagining Ways of Working with Young People

283 Pages·2015·2.82 MB·English

by  Charlie Cooper

Socially Just, Radical Alternatives for Education
and Youth Work Practice
This page intentionally left blank
Socially Just, Radical
Alternatives for Education
and Youth Work Practice
Re-Imagining Ways of Working
with Young People
Editedby
Charlie Cooper, Sinéad Gormally and Gill Hughes
Selectionandeditorialmatter©CharlieCooper,SinéadGormally
andGillHughes2015
Individualchapters©Respectiveauthors2015
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-39358-6
Allrightsreserved.Noreproduction,copyortransmissionofthis
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inaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Firstpublished2015by
PALGRAVEMACMILLAN
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theUnitedKingdom,Europeandothercountries.
ISBN 978-1-349-57284-7 ISBN 978-1-137-39359-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137393593
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countryoforigin.
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Sociallyjustradicalalternativesforeducationandyouthworkpractice:re-imagining
waysofworkingwithyoungpeople/editedbyCharlieCooper,Lecturer
inSocialPolicy,UniversityofHull,UK;SinéadGormally,Lecturer,UniversityofHull;
GillHughes,ProgrammeDirector,UniversityofHull.
pages cm
Summary:“Challengingdominantneoliberaldiscoursesaboutwaysofworking
with‘disconnected’youngpeople,thisbooksetsoutideasforgeneratingradically
differentwaysofthinkingaboutsuchpractices.Drawingoncontemporaryand
historicalmaterial,thebookarguesthatalternativeapproachestoformaland
informaleducationarenecessarytochallengerepressivepractices,andtohelpbuild
amoreequal,socially-justsociety.Thebookachievesthisbyre-imagining–withthe
aidofutopianstudies–howformalandinformalwaysofworkingwithyoung
peoplemightbemademoreempowering.Eachchaptercontributestoaddressing
theheterogeneityofexperienceofdiverselife-worlds–incontrasttothe
homogenousone-sizefitsallapproachtoeducationandyouthworkthathasbecome
thedominantmodeinneoliberalsocieties.Whilstmanyyoungpeopledomake
successfultransitionstoadulthood,asubstantialminorityarefailedbyan
increasinglymarketizedsocialsystem–particularlyeducationwhereyoungpeople
areexpectedtoachievespecifiedoutcomesinastructurethatdoesnotspeakto
them,andleavesthemwonderingontheirrelevanceofacademicqualificationsthat
seemtobeoutoftheirreach”—Providedbypublisher.
1. Education—Aimsandobjectives—GreatBritain. 2. Criticalpedagogy—Great
Britain. 3. Non-formaleducation—GreatBritain. 4. Educational
change—GreatBritain. 5. School-to-worktransition—GreatBritain.
6. Youngadults—Employment—GreatBritain. I. Cooper,Charlie,1952–editor.
II. Gormally,Sinéad,1984–editor. III. Hughes,Gill,1961–editor.
LA632.S64252015
370.11(cid:2)50941—dc23 2015021438
Contents
ListofFigures vii
Acknowledgements viii
ListofContributors ix
1 TheCaseforRe-ImaginingWaysofWorkingwithYoung
PeopleinEducationandYouthWork 1
CharlieCooper,SinéadGormallyandGillHughes
2 ChallengingtheOrderofThings:Independent
Working-ClassEducationasaModelforContemporary
Praxis 17
JohnGrayson
3 CriticalPedagogyinHigherEducation 39
CharlieCooper
4 EmancipatoryPraxis:ASocial-JusticeApproachto
EqualityWork 65
AnnetteCoburnandSinéadGormally
5 SocialJusticeandSocialPedagogy 85
PatPetrie
6 AlternativeProvisionFreeSchools:EducationalFireworks
orSparksofOptimismforExcludedYoungPeople? 107
MaxA.Hope
7 InPursuitofaCommonValuesBaseforWorkingwith
YoungPeopleinFormal,InformalandSocialLearning 127
JulieRippingale
8 FeministAgendasinInformalEducation 145
JanetBatsleer
9 ‘Race’,EthnicityandYoungPeople 169
MomodouSallahandRichardKennedy
v
vi Contents
10 InclusiveandAccessibleCitizenry:MakingSpacesfor
WorkingwithYoungPeoplewith(Dis)abilities 195
SusanCullen
11 ‘ImaginingOtherwise’orTinkeringwiththeSystem? 220
GillHughes
12 Re-ImaginingWaysofWorkingwithYoungPeoplein
EducationandYouthWork 245
CharlieCooper,SinéadGormallyandGillHughes
Index 265
Figures
4.1 Asocial-justiceapproachtoequality 79
vii
Acknowledgements
Thisbookstemmedfromaconversationinthesummerof2012between
Charlie and Annette Fitzsimons, who had introduced community and
youthworkstudiestoHulltenyearsearlier.Annettehadjustretiredafter
her fight against ill health. We wanted to continue working together
aroundoursharedbeliefthatmorehumaneandeffectualsocialpolicies
were needed to enhance the well-being of young people and society,
and that these were imaginable. Sadly, this journey never happened.
Annette died in 2013, shortly after this book had been commissioned
byPalgrave.Happily,though,whatAnnettehadhelpedtogerminate–
acaseforreimaginingwaysofworkingwithyoungpeopleineducation
and youth work – has been brought to fruition by the three of us. We
believethatAnnettewouldbepleasedwithmuch–ifnotall–ofwhat
isreimaginedhere.
EachofuswouldliketoexpressourthankstoallatPalgravewhowere
involved in the evolution of this book: Andrew James (commission-
ing editor), Ann Martin (contracts administrator), and Maryan Rutter,
Beth O’Leary and Eleanor Christie (editorial assistants) in Basingstoke,
England; and especially Marie Felina Francois and her team at Integra-
PDY, India, for their skilful and smooth handling of the production
processofthebook.
Charlie dedicates this work to the ever-joyful Amélie-Rosa, and her
mummy.
Sinéad would like to acknowledge her mum and dad, whose contin-
uous fight for a more socially just world has been a continual source
ofinspiration,andPaddy,foralwaysbeingthereandprovidingendless
supportandencouragement.
Gill would like to offer love and thanks to her mum, Liz Charles,
and her dad and step-mum, Ron and Pam Hughes, for their unwaver-
ingsupportandencouragement;shededicatesthisworktothememory
ofJimClare,hergranddad,whoinstilledinhisfamilythefightforsocial
justiceandthehopeforchange.
Charlie,SinéadandGill
Hull,UK
August2015
viii
Contributors
Janet Batsleer has worked as a principal lecturer at Manchester
Metropolitan University in the Faculty of Education and in the field
of youth and community work for many years. In her writing she has
focused on the ways in which informal learning can be other than
a practice of containment and control of working-class communities.
In this context, she has had a particular interest in how feminist and
anti-racistagendasemerge.
CharlieCooperinitiallyworkedasawelfarepractitionerwithWomen’s
Aid and worker-collective housing associations. Since moving into
academia,hehastaughtandresearchedonarangeofthemesincluding
housingstudies,socialpolicy,andcommunitydevelopmentandyouth
work.Heisaprofessionallyqualifiedhousingmanager,andcommunity
developmentandyouthworker,andalifelongBlade.
Annette Coburn has worked in higher education since 2003. This fol-
lowed a 23-year career in community education, specializing in youth
workandyouthpolicy,reflectingacommitmenttoequalityandsocial
justice. Annette’s research and teaching interests consider how criti-
cal pedagogy and positive psychology contribute to social change and
communitydevelopment.
Susan Cullen has research interests covering ‘citizenship’, ‘body pol-
itics’, critical pedagogy and social constructions of ‘ability’. These
themesbolsteredherinsightfulPhDresearchinto‘citizenship’and‘con-
sumerist’ society. She currently teaches social sciences in both higher
andfurthereducationsettingsinLincolnshire.
SinéadGormallyisLecturerinYouthWorkandCommunityDevelop-
ment at the University of Hull. Her recent publications have followed
twomainthreads,onefocusingonyouthworkandcommunitydevel-
opment research, policy and practice; the other on youth, gangs and
violence.Sheisalsoatrainedpractitionerandhasexperienceofworking
withintheUKandabroad.
ix