From Mark Smith’s exploration of youth work and social education – Creators not Consumers. Rediscovering social education (1982).
[page 57] I have only listed books or articles that I feel are particularly helpful.
Anybody who wants detailed references should contact me c/o NAYC
Publications.
1. Bernard Davies : Part-time Youth Work in an Industrial Community Leicester : National Youth Bureau, 1976.In Whose Interests? From Social Education to Social and Life Skills Training, Leicester : National Youth Bureau, 1979.
In the 1976 pamphlet Bernard Davies reflects on 7 years part-time youth work and tries to set the personal and individual focus of his work in its wider social and political context. In Whose Interests provides a critique of recent developments in social skills training and the impact of economic and political factors on youth work.
2. P Priestly, J McGuire, D Flegg, V Hemsley and D Welham, Social Skills & Personal Problem Solving, London, Tavistock 1978.
This book presents a practical approach to helping people, individually or in groups, to identify and then cope better with some of the problems they face using a wide range of social skills and problem solving methods.
3. John C Coleman, The Nature of Adolescence, London, Methuen 1980
A good summary of the current state of adolescent psychology.
4. David W Johnson and Frank P Johnson, Joining Together – Group Therapy and Group Skills, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1975.
The book attempts to provide “an experiential approach to learning about the social psychology of groups and to developing the skills needed to function effectively in groups”. Used in conjunction with Alan Brown, Groupwork, London, Heinemann, 1979, it provides an excellent introduction to groupwork practice.
5. C Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination, Harmsworth, Penguin Books 1970.
An introduction to the insights a sociological perspective can provide
6. Schooling and Culture, Issue 9, London, ILEA Cockpit Arts Workshop, Spring 1981
This issue, Youth, Community: Crisis, includes a number of relevant articles. See in particular, Mica Nava, Girls aren’t really a problem…, Tony Taylor and Roy Ratcliffe, Stuttering steps in political education, and Bernard Davies, Social Education and Political Education: In Search of Integration.
7. Mark Smith, Organise! A guide to practical politics for youth and community groups, Leicester, NAYC Publications, 1981.
Part 1 of this book describes a way of working and making decisions in groups that is both personal and democratic. Part 2 provides a step by step approach to getting information. Part 3 is a comprehensive guide to taking action. It includes sections on getting members, lobbying, using the press, organising petitions and public meetings and the other activities of politics.
8. Maury Smith, A Practical Guide to Value Clarification, La Jolla, University Associates, 1977.
In the early seventies there was quite a growth in ‘values’ literature in the States. This particular guide contains a brief introduction to the idea, 29 structured experiences, and a short but useful chapter on designing value clarification programmes. Also included are a number of readings of variable utility and a select bibliography.
9. Sidney B Simon, Leland W Howe, Howard Kirschenbaum, Values Clarification: A Handbook of Practical Strategies for Teachers and Students, New York, Hart Publishing, 1972.
This handbook contains 79 structured exercises, primarily for use in schools (both primary and secondary). Also included are suggestions for the use of the techniques.
10. NYB Youth Work Unit, Enfranchisement: young people and the law – An information pack for youth workers, Leicester, NYB, 1981.
The pack contains a wide range of material concerning legislation and the issues that arise from it.
11. NAYC Girls Work, Girls Work Pack, Leicester, NAYC Publications, 1981.
This pack contains reports from various projects and events, background briefing papers and an introduction. Two other excellent publications from Girls Work are the Working with Girls Newsletter and Girls can do anything – a set of nine posters.
12. Waiting our turn, Belfast, NIAYC, 1 981.
Produced in Northern Ireland, this book provides a step by step introduction into setting up and running a girls group.
13. Judy H Katz, White Awareness — A handbook for anti-racism training, Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Press, 1978.
White Awareness, after an introductory section on racism and relations training, offers a detailed and practical training programme plus a listing of readings and materials.
14. Charles B Handy, Understanding Organisations, London, Penguin Education, 1981.
A good introduction to basic organisational concepts and problems. It includes sections on leadership, power, roles, culture and the workings of groups. The tone and direction of the book are practical and the text includes a substantial number of exercises and examples.
15. Warren Redman, Guidelines for finding your own support, Leicester, NAYC Publications, 1981.
A short but very useful guide for workers to different methods of support with suggestions for carrying the guidelines into action.
Mark Smith (1982) Creators not Consumers. Rediscovering social education 2e, Leicester: National Association of Youth Clubs.
Reprinted with the permission of Youth Clubs UK.
Further reading: pages 57 – 60.
© Mark K. Smith 1980, 1982