‘Down with the kids’? Examining the male youth worker as role model and mentor to young men involved in violence
Harris, Pete (2019) ‘Down with the kids’? Examining the male youth worker as role model and mentor to young men involved in violence. Youth and Policy. ISSN 2057-4266
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Abstract
In our book ‘Responding to Youth Violence through Youth Work’ (2016) Mike Seal and I argued that ‘home grown’ youth workers could occupy a prime position in terms of their ability to understand and prevent youth violence. This article sets out to further scrutinise that claim, by focusing specifically on one aspect of the youth work offer to the field of violence prevention: male youth workers who may have their own experience of violent offending and who are perceived as ‘down with the kids’ (i.e. with reserves of street social capital) being offered as potential role models or mentors for young men involved in violence (see for example Taylor, 2007). I want to suggest that the nature and function of relationships between such workers and young men has perhaps been talked about too loosely, both within and outside the profession. My intention is to tighten up that loose talk and interrogate the rhetorical tropes surrounding these kind of youth work relationships on several fronts.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Youth & Policy on 23/05/2019, available online: https://www.youthandpolicy.org/articles/down-with-the-kids/. |
| Divisions: | Faculty of of Arts, Society and Professional Studies > Department of Social Science and Business |
| Depositing User: | Ms Hazel Barham |
| Date Deposited: | 23 May 2019 08:59 |
| Last Modified: | 23 May 2019 08:59 |
| URI: | https://newman.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/17258 |
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