European Perspectives and Good Practices on Youth Work in Schools and Educational Institutions. Inspiration and Approaches for Youth Workers

Abstract

Youth work has the potential to promote and support young people’s well-being, equality, and inclusion. Alongside traditional forms of youth work, youth work in schools is becoming more widespread. As an institution, the school contains almost the entire age group and is a fertile environment for youth work. However, different countries have different starting points for implementing youth work and other possibilities for making it an integral part of everyday school life. This publication brings together a range of good practices for implementing youth work in schools. The good practices have been collected from Finland, Portugal, Estonia, and Greece through a questionnaire. The practices presented are linked to four different themes: sustainable development, democracy education, well-being work and strengthening the community. In this publication, 29 good practices that are suitable for implementation in a wide range of settings are introduced. Further, it briefly outlines the different starting points and contexts for youth work in the four countries mentioned above.

This publication is intended for professionals implementing and planning youth work in schools and educational institutions. It is an opportunity for municipal decision-makers, school staff and others interested in the subject to learn more about youth work in schools and educational institutions. The publication aims to share and disseminate information about youth work in schools. Thus, it strengthens the role of youth work and defines its role in the educational communities of schools. This inspirational publication for school youth workers has been produced as part of the YWIS – Youth work in schools project, funded by the Erasmus+ Cooperation partnerships in youth.