Making a difference? Researching the effectiveness of youth work over time

A gap remains in understandings the impact of youth work over time growing up in marginalised communities. This grant will support the development of a large, international research proposal that will investigate how and to what extent does the youth work service contribute to sustainable, positive change in young people's biographies? For example, how significant were youth workers in their life course? Did the support and guidance shape or influence difficult decisions later in life? How do young adults reflect on their experiences of youth work? Do they feel it shaped or informed critical moments in their lives? Or did the relationships with youth workers inform how, in later life, create and sustain their own relationships, both social and spatial?

The grant will fund initial preliminary research, alongside research visits to develop the project with collaborators.