A History of Youth Work

Youth Organizations form:

• In response to society’s concerns (or apprehensions) for youth at the moment.
• To provide social control to youth (gangs and “hooligans”) threatening social order
• As prelude to and support for lifestyles and values (religious, political, military, agricultural, recreational, etc.)

1831: The Juvenile Mission Society becomes America’s first national youth organization.

1851: The first YMCA opens in Boston.

1855: The first YWCA, as well as the first YMHA and YWHA open.

1861: Boys’ Club founded for disadvantaged youth.

1870s: Many churches begin forming juvenile societies.

1880s: Settlement houses built and outreach to immigrant youth begins.

Since the early 1900s youth work has been characterized by:

• Focus on young people
• Emphasis on relationship between youth and youth workers
• Friendly and informal, acting with integrity
• Mostly volunteer association
• Concern with welfare and development of young people
• Commitment to group activities

1902-1920: British Scouting, modeled on military patrols (badges, ranks, citizenship, service, character development, survival skills) serves as model for Boys Scouts, Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls, etc.

1913-1917: Ethnic heritage service clubs founded.

1920: The term “youth work” begins to be used.

1928: Vocational organizations founded (FFA, Future Homemakers, Future teachers, etc.) with an emphasis on what it means to be a man or woman in society.

1941: Outward Bound founded.

1940s: Sports teams (like Little League) and patriotic efforts are created.

1957: Alateen founded.

1960s-1970s: Highlander Folk School formed, Youth-led Civil Rights Movement takes shape, and a decline is seen in membership in traditional youth organizations.

1980s: A focus on prevention models are prevalent, as well as an emphasis on “at-risk” youth.

2000s: Shift to positive youth development: asset-based, contextual, tension between personal and social control agendas. Participation in youth organizations less voluntary, more custodial (“latch-key” kids).

2010s: This generation brings more virtual, non-restrictive youth associations.

Sources:

Board of Education. (1944). Teachers and Youth Leaders. Report of the Committee appointed by the President of the Board of Education to consider the supply, recruitment and training of teachers and youth leaders, London: HMSO.
www.infed.org/archives/e-texts/mcnair_part_two.htm.

Bucholtz, M. (2002). "Youth and Cultural Practice." Annual Review of Anthropology. 31: 525-552.

Council of Europe Youth Policy Topics. http://youth-partnership-eu.coe.int/youth-partnership/ekcyp/ Understanding_2008

History of Youth Work and Policy in Europe http://youth-partnership-eu.coe.int/youth-partnership/research/
Workshops/Blankenberge2.html

Jeffs, T. & Smith, M. (2008). "Valuing youth work." Youth & Policy. 100: 277-302.

Kleiber, D. A. & Powell, G. M. (2005). "Historical Change in Leisure Activities During After-School Hours." In Mahoney, J. L. et al (Eds.) Organized activities as contexts of development. New York: Psychology Press.

Stearns, P. N. (2005). “Childhood Amid Modernization and Globalization.” In Growing Up: The History of Childhood in a Global Context. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press. pp. 39-65.

"Youth Work-An Introduction." www.infed.org/youthwork/b-yw.htm

King, Claire. 2010. “An Incomplete History of Organizing for Youth Development”, http://prezi.com/jreukxzoaxkm/an- incomplete-history-of-organizing-for-youth-development/