MA Childhood, Youth and Family Studies: Youth Work Pathway

Program Overview

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This course is aimed specifically for those wanting to work with young people in a variety of settings. It will give you the skills and knowledge to pursue or develop your career in youth work. It runs alongside the MA in Childhood, Youth and Family Studies and you can find out more about this pathway here.

Your studies will provide a broad level of understanding which will allow you to build your knowledge and critically consider the theoretical underpinning of youth work across the range of youth services, both in statutory and voluntary settings. You will explore the cultural and social constructions of childhood, youth and families, including the impacts that such constructions have on young people’s everyday lives.

This Youth Work Pathway is validated by the University and the National Youth Agency, giving you a JNC professional qualification. This means you will need to be in placement whilst studying this course, which can either be paid or voluntary. You will need to complete 400 practice hours across 9 months if studying full-time, or two years if studying part-time. If you are not currently in practice then we can help support you to find a placement, but this must be confirmed along with a DBS check before the start of the course. You will need to have a named Placement Supervisor at the practice-setting who will oversee your work and sign off your practice at the end, when you submit your Professional Practice Portfolio.

This course offers evidence-based knowledge and skills acquired from theory, practice, research and policy to the changing contexts of young people in a globalised world. You will be able to understand the relationship between children’s rights, the ideologies and responsibilities for welfare and the application of such in the diversity of experiences across young people’s lives.

This course will enhance your employability and career prospects across professional boundaries within young people’s services by facilitating the identification and the application of new learning within professional contexts.