MOVING TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO YOUTH WORK EDUCATION

Abstract

This article will discuss a working model of an integrated approach to youth work, developed in the context of the new graduate program at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Considering an array of competing and contradictory conceptual frameworks that inform youth work, this model proposes blending diverse traditions while incorporating both community youth-development approaches and clinical models of intervention. Illustrated as a tree, we identify guiding principles: a developmental perspective, an ecosystemic approach, collaborative relationships, a rights-based approach, and the ethical and reflexive principle. Implementing an integrative model of pre-service training requires consideration of how teaching and learning are carried out in the program. Experiential learning activities, collaborative evaluation, a realignment of the teacher and learner roles, and the challenges of applying an integrated approach are examined.

Keywords

• youth work
• child and youth care
• pre-service education
• graduate education