Playing Politics: Is youth work a site for political education – can it be?

Ramsey, Tracy (2025) Playing Politics: Is youth work a site for political education – can it be? Doctoral thesis, Liverpool Hope University.

Text Tracy Ramsey EdD Playing Politics FINAL Passed Version.pdf Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (5MB)

Abstract

This thesis explores the potential for youth work to be a site for youth participation and political education. This interest has been grown from many years of practice, experiencing the challenges and changing landscape of youth work under the influence of contemporary neoliberal discourse and drives (Davies, 2024, Jeffs, 2015). Youth work is considered a contested practice, evoking a diversity of positions regarding its principles, purpose and practice (Cooper, Gormally and Hughes, 2015). The contention within this research is that neoliberalism and austerity have impacted significantly on youth work that orientations and opportunities for a practice located on social justice values are been profoundly compromised (Pope, 2016, de St. Croix, 2010, Davies, 2024). Working from a historical analysis to locate notions of youth participation and political education within youth work and social policy over time, this research seeks to understand the existence and nature of a radical heart of within professional practice and promote its reinvigoration.

Utilising a Participatory Action Research [PAR] orientation to explore the central research question – Is youth work a site for political education – can it be? Research endeavours were located in two research sites, one an open access, universal project and one referral only project for young people with disabilities, over a period of three years. PAR cycles were developed with young people and practitioners to explore the nature and potential of youth work, as sites for youth participation and political education. Within the PAR cycles creative methodologies were introduced and utilised for data collection. These methods promoted enjoyment, engagement, inclusion and anti-oppressive practice in action, as well as seeking to demonstrate working through social justice values and commitments.

The findings were analysed through a robust Thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006, 2023) and six key themes were drawn from the data set which were, 1. Roles, 2. Cuts & Money, 3. Youth Work Values & Principles, 4. Youth Participation, Power & Political Education, 5. Contemporary Challenges Impacting on Young People's Lives and 6.
Opportunities, Outcomes & Impact. The findings were presented and discussed aligning with each theme in turn, connecting with the rich data from the PAR Group to bring forward meanings and conclusions for my own and wider professional practice. From the analysis of the findings two frameworks evolve, the first the ‘Taking Part – Taking Apart Spectrum which seeks to promote the expansion of practice into political and social justice terrains. Secondly, a ‘DEEP Learning Framework’ is constructed to support my own professional development and as a contribution to the youth work sector to return to, and rebuild, a social justice orientated practice. The ‘DEEP Learning Framework’ has utility to reinvigorate both social justice youth work practice and the teaching of youth work through university based programmes.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Additional Information and Comments:	Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Education
Depositing User:	Matthew Adams
Date Deposited:	02 Oct 2025 09:25
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2025 09:25
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/4768

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