With the proposed development of the 'youth professional' and the consolidation of graduate professional qualifications, this is an important time for youth work. This book sets out the current state of debate about youth work for those considering, or about to embark on, a degree course. Contemporary debates in youth work are explored, and help to give students a sense of its history and its future contribution. By combining the experience of its editors and the contemporaneous experience of the voices of contributors, this book provides an excellent introduction to work as a youth worker in the twenty-first century.

What do we mean by youth work?
Policy analysis: a first and vital skill of practice
Participation
Youth work as border pedagogy
Detached youth work
Creativity and partnership
Youth work practice within integrated youth support services
Targeting for youth workers
Developing global literacy and competence in youth work
Youth work with girls: a feminist perspective
Anti-racism to community cohesion
Youth work and the surveillance state
Youth work prospects: back to the future?