key note speech 1

1. Ethics, professionalism &
youth work
∂
Sarah Banks
s.j.banks@durham.ac.uk
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2. Summary
1. The current climate
2. The nature of youth work, professions/
professionalism, ethics/professional
ethics.
∂
3. An ideal type for youth work
4. Types of ethical challenges in youth
work and examples
5. Conclusions
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3. The current climate
• Managerialism – targets, outcomes,
performance management, risk
management, procedures, regulations
∂
• Marketisation – contracts, bidding for
services, growth of private sector
provision
• Austerity – cuts in public services and
in state funding for NGOs
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4. Implications for
• youth work – its survival and/or the
role it plays (open, targeted, etc)
• Professions and professionalism –
increasing regulation of professions,
∂
‘de-professionalising’ trends
• Ethics – perennial dilemmas in new
contexts. E.g. education versus control;
inter-agency confidentiality and
information-sharing
4

5. Youth work in relation to other approaches
to working with young people
Youth leisure Youth work Youth social work
work – Recreat- Care, education &
Informal control, including
ional activities, education, advice, counselling,
often in groups, compulsory youth
usually with
voluntary ∂ programmes (individual
group work; often & group work).
engagement,
based on Youth training
may have
voluntary Formal education &
informal training to prepare for
educational engagement of jobs, enhance life skills
process & young people. (individual & group
work)
outcomes e.g.
sports teams.
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6. Work with young people
Youth work as with an informal
a specialist educational and/or
developmental approach
occupation and purpose that is
carried out by people
who are qualified as
∂ youth workers, or who
consciously adopt the
identity of ‘youth
worker’, within an
organisational setting
(this includes volunteers
and part-time workers).
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7. Youth work as a profession?
• An occupation serving the public good, based
on transcendent values
• Specialist education and qualifications?
• Professional association and code of ethics?
• Protected title, professional registration?
∂
• An occupation making a bid for status and
power?
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8. Professionalism in youth work
• Set of values underpinning the work
• Competence/expertise – knowledge & skills
relating to young people and work with young
people
∂
• Ethical practice – doing good, not harming,
exploiting, deceiving
• Awareness of boundaries – e.g. personal/
professional; carer/controller
• Ability to identify and work on ethical
challenges that arise in the work
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9. Ethics is about principles and norms of
behaviour relating to right and wrong action;
the good and bad qualities of people’s
character; and relationships that are
relevant to human, animal and planetary
flourishing.
∂
This includes matters of rights, duties,
needs, interests, relationships, motives and
the maintenance or transgression of
prevailing norms.
Professional ethics is about these matters
in a work context 9

10. Professional ethics: key themes
1. Decision-making – how to make good judgements/
decisions. Rational decision-making models; dilemmas and
cases. Key ethical theories: principle-based ethics (Kantian,
utilitarian). Key theme: reasoning.
2. Dialogue – how to empathise, listen, communicate, work
collaboratively. Ethical being as well as doing; contextual,
dialogical process. Key ethical theories: character and
∂
relationship-based ethics (virtue and care ethics). Key
theme: relationships.
3. Regulation – how to develop comprehensive and clear
rules and ensure people understand and stick to them.
Systems of registration, disciplinary hearings. Key ethical
theories: rule-utilitarianism, anti-ethical theory. Key theme:
rules.
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11. Professional ethics: key phases
1. Professional autonomy – focus on the professional
practitioner as trustworthy expert with the right and
responsibility to make her own judgements/decisions,
within remit of the professional role and code of ethics
(1900s to 1960s)
2. Democratic professionalism – focus on service user-
∂
professional relationship in context, shared decision-
making, empowerment, social justice (1970s/80s)
3. Professional regulation – focus on development of
defined roles and detailed rules of conduct by
professions or the state, enforcing/ensuring
accountability to service users and the state (1990s-
2010s)
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12. The purpose, values & ethical principles
of youth work – an ideal type (UK)
From Banks, S. (ed) Ethical Issues
in Youth Work (2010), pp. 10-11
∂
Drawing on various sources,
including: National Youth Agency
(2004) Ethical Conduct in Youth
Work; Lifelong Learning UK (2008)
National Occupational Standards for
Youth Work; Bernard Davies (2005);
Tony Taylor (2009)
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13. The key purpose of youth work is to:
Enable young people to
develop holistically,
working with them to
facilitate their personal,
∂
social and educational
development, to enable
them to develop their
voice, influence and
place in society and to
reach their full potential.
(LLUK, 2008)
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14. Youth work has the following
characteristics and values
[this is the contested part]:
• a voluntary relationship
• an informal educational
process ∂
• the value of association
• the value of young
people participating
democratically
(Davies, 2005; Taylor 2009; LLUK 2008)
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15. Youth workers have a commitment to
the following ethical principles:
• Treat young people with respect.
• Respect and promote young
people’s rights to make their own
decisions and choices
∂
• Promote and ensure the welfare
and safety of young people
• Contribute towards the promotion
of social justice for young
people and in society generally.
• Practise with integrity,
compassion, courage and
competence 15
(NYA, 2004)

16. The form of ethical challenges in youth work
Ethical dilemmas – arise when the youth worker faces a
decision-making situation involving a difficult choice between
two equally unwelcome alternatives, often involving a conflict
of principles, and it is not clear which choice will be the right
one. Any decision leaves a ‘remainder’ or ‘residue’ (e.g.
remorse or regret).
Ethical problems – arise when the worker faces a difficult
∂
situation, where a decision has to be made, but there is no
dilemma for the person making the decision – that is, it is clear
which course of action to take.
Ethical issues – pervade youth work practice in that it takes
place in the context of state-sponsored systems of welfare and
control, where matters of needs, rights, duties, interests,
relationships and the maintenance or transgression of
prevailing norms are at stake.
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17. The content of ethical challenges in youth work
• How to balance care, education, empowerment
and control
• How to handle inter-professional value conflicts –
especially with police
• How to work with confidentiality & information
∂
sharing
• How to balance the rights and needs of one young
person/group & those of others
• Whether to take funds to target specific young
people
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18. 1. Surveillance and relations with the police
Two youth workers based in a school, but with an area remit, had
been working in a youth work project in a seaside village. The
project was a response to political pressure ‘to do something’
about a large group of young people who gathered by the beach in
the evenings. The young people generally behaved well. Although
there were a few instances of drinking, mostly the young people
just wanted to be together, in a large group as they were
accustomed to do at school. Youth workers established good
∂
relationships with group members, whom they felt were in danger
of being unreasonably criminalised. A minor incident with one
young man drinking led to images of group members being
captured on surveillance cameras. Youth workers were asked to
meet with police and school leaders, shown video images of the
group and asked to identify the young people. They felt little
understanding of, or respect for, their role as youth workers from
the other agencies.
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19. • Ethical dilemma – break
Case 1: trust with young people
versus lose credibility with
Possible school and police
framings • Ethical problem – say ‘no’
and be prepared to deal with
consequences. Agree to work
∂with young people without
involving school or police
• Ethical issues – stereotyping
and demonisation of young
people by adults; climate of
surveillance and control in
society
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20. 2. Bangladeshi young people and
sexual health advice
In Wales, UK, a drop-in youth project offered a range of
services, including sexual health advice. The project made
great efforts to make its services accessible to young people
of Bangladeshi origin living in the area, who were largely
Muslim. The project was aware there would be problems for
the Muslim community, but felt they could not refuse the
∂
service to Muslim young men, as all young people had the
right to access its services. After a year the Bangladeshi
young men stopped coming. The mosque had found out
about the ‘condom service’ and called a community meeting
barring all young people from accessing the project. Project
staff found no solution. 4 years later, still no Bangladeshis
come to the project.
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21. • Ethical issues – accessibility
Case 2: of services for different
ethnic/religious groups; inter-
Possible generational conflict
framings • Ethical dilemma – whether to
challenge the leaders in the
mosque, or to accept their
∂
decision
• Ethical problem – decide
that it is right to meet with
leaders in mosque, even
though difficult, and discuss
youth provision
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22. 3. Self-harm and threat of suicide
Clearing up after an evening youth work session, a 15 year-old
young woman, Dawn, approached the youth worker and asked if
she could speak in private. Dawn said she couldn’t go on any
longer. She hated her life. She showed the youth worker scars on
her arms and told the worker how she cut herself. She pleaded
with the worker not to tell anyone. The worker said afterwards:
“I felt apprehensive and unsure. I felt as though I could make this
situation much worse by saying or doing the wrong thing.
∂
Although I understood our policy about reporting such serious
concerns, and had taken training in self-harm, these did not help
me when faced with this young woman in distress. I knew I had to
tell my manager, but I felt this would start a process that would
put this young woman under even more pressure before she
could receive any relief. It might make things worse before they
could get better. I felt as though what I said and did could
determine whether or not she made it through the night.”
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23. • Ethical problem – decide that it is
Case 3: right to tell the manager, even
Possible though this will contradict the
request from the young woman.
framings The main question is how to relate
to the young woman.
• Ethical dilemma – whether to tell
∂
the manager, or anyone else, or to
respect the young woman’s
request and risk harm.
• Ethical issues – bureaucratic
procedures for working with risk;
youth worker’s responsibilities to
protect young people from harm
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24. The importance of framing and
reframing
For example, the most pressing question in
Case 3 is not whether or not to tell the manager
(decision-making dilemma), but how to relate to
this young woman in this situation (dialogical
relationship). This is not just a matter of
∂
following procedures (regulatory ethics), but of:
 Context
 Relationship
 Sensitivity
 Empathy
• 24

25. Professional wisdom & ‘ethics work’
• Ethical sensitivity or attentiveness of the youth worker to
the salient ethical features of situations; recognition of the
political context of practice and the practitioner’s own
professional power (reflexivity); use of emotions –
empathy, care, compassion.
• Ethical character - the moral struggle to be a good youth
worker; maintaining personal and professional integrity
while carrying out the requirements of the agency role,
∂
including moral courage to challenge unethical or
oppressive behaviour by young people and colleagues;
and to challenge poor, bad and unjust practices and
policies.
• Ethical reasoning in making and justifying difficult ethical
decisions; critical appraisal of relevant rules and
regulations and deciding whether, where and how to apply
them.
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26. Concluding comments
• The importance of youth workers’
sensitivities to the particularities of
each case – not just following
rules/procedures
• The need for clarity and confidence
about professional roles and
responsibilities, especially in inter-
∂
agency working
• The need for
occupational/professional groups to
affirm, maintain and debate
professional identity (purpose,
values, ethical principles)
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27. ∂
Ethics and Social Welfare journal
www.informaworld.com/esw
Ethics and Social Welfare Network
To join, e-mail:
Ethicsandsocialwelfare@tandf.co.uk
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