Three guiding principles underlie the structure the Child and Youth Care field. First, this is an eclectic field, with knowledge derived from many disciplines. No single discipline, with its own set of concepts and theories,... [ view full abstract ]
Three guiding principles underlie the structure the Child and Youth Care field.
First, this is an eclectic field, with knowledge derived from many disciplines. No single discipline, with its own set of concepts and theories, would suffice to explain the many aspects of children and youth at risk. Encompassing the body of knowledge – and establishing methods of training, professional facilitating, and research – requires working in a great variety of disciplines. Among these are developmental and social psychology, education, social work, sociology, anthropology, criminology, law, and economics – with the latter playing a major role in contemporary work.
The eclectic nature of Child and Youth Care has theoretical and applied implications, especially on planning the professional training of workers who will require resources that one discipline alone – as taught in colleges and universities – cannot provide. Even if the actual training is affiliated with a single track of studies, planning it requires interdisciplinary knowledge, a complex task as evident by the many specialized training programs worldwide.
Eclecticism leads to complexity, and acknowledging this includes the realization that there is no order to this complexity, nor is it necessarily accepted by all practitioners. At times training programs develop simultaneously in several disciplines without proper interfacing, perhaps because of competition or over-professionalization in some disciplines (especially the more established and prestigious ones), “usurping” more generalized disciplines. Child and Youth Care work is a relatively young discipline, and the confusion around duties and definitions is part of its growing pains. An outcome of this situation is the lack of an accepted setting for certification of Child and Youth Care workers in Israel, and therefore, a lack of a legal standard for such professionals.
Another manifestation of these growing pains and complexity is the lack of an accepted definition of youth at risk. Distress and risk situations are broadly defined – both in theory and in practice – and consensus is elusive.
The second organizing principle is the unique arena in which most Child and Youth Care activities take place – nonformal education. While the gap between formal and nonformal education is narrowing, there are differences in their characteristics. The nonformal dimension demands pedagogical insights that differ from those in formal education, especially regarding the difference between relationships of residents with care workers in the former, and teacher-student relationships in the latter. Furthermore, Child and Youth Care involves voluntary activity, with the volunteers being both the young people themselves and some of the workers. In addition, Child and Youth Care involves creating an educational environment that will allow the young people a proper moratorium – “time out” – for establishing their identity.
The third organizing principle is integrating “education” and “therapy,” an integration best seen in the interaction between the concept of therapy and the actual care work. In psychology, psychiatry, and social work, therapy refers to looking into the client’s situation, being committed to specific ways of work, and a requirement to be licensed to do so. These elements are all part of the work of caring for children and youth, and by the very nature, of this work, these interventions are more eclectic and “softer” than the approach taken by social workers and psychologists. The educational-therapeutic interventions characteristic of programs for children and youth in distress and at risk include aspects focusing on education, together with techniques and interventions from the therapeutic professions.
The field of Child and Youth Care is indeed challenging and eclectic – much as are the children and young people with whom we work.
