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Brian P. McGinley 2014
First published 2014
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013947838
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ISBN 978-1-4462-0185-5
ISBN 978-1-4462-0186-2 (pbk)
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CONTENTS
This book is dedicated to:
My early educators and mentors for instilling the self-belief and drawing
out the intellectual curiosity; my family for their continuous encouragement
and love; my colleagues for helping to create the space to write; my publishers
for their patience and guidance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian McGinley is a lecturer in Community Education within the School of Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde. Prior to taking up his full-time academic career in 2005, Brian was a senior officer in a Scottish Local Authority with responsibility for developing inter-organisational partnerships under the umbrella of Community Planning. Throughout his twenty-one years in practice, he built up substantial experience at operational, middle and senior management levels, directing inter-disciplinary teams and delivering multi-dimensional services. These experiences have enabled him to carve out an academic profile through regular research, teaching, learning and writing.
Brian is also a Director of the Scottish Centre for Youth Work Studies and Editor of the International Journal of Youth Work. He is also an elected politician in South Ayrshire and is chair of the councils Scrutiny and Governance Management Panel. He was a member of Strathclyde Police Authority (210213) which is a tripartite governance arrangement with Scottish Ministers and the Chief Constable to execute statutory functions. Brian is currently a substitute member of Strathclyde Passenger Transport, a member of the Ayrshire Educational Trust and a Fellow of Higher Education Academy (HEA).
Brians main research interests include investigating and substantiating different forms of community-based practice, especially youth work, with an emphasis on the learning process in informal educational settings. A main thread of his research has concentrated on the importance of the ethical learning relationship within informal educational settings to uncover the learners voice and identify the pedagogical features that are valued most. His research also identifies the use of practitioners reflective, personal and public voice as a way of encouraging improvements in teaching practice.
Another key feature of his research is exploring the extent to which the political and educational policy context in the UK continues to demand constant change which increasingly requires youth workers to be legally and politically aware, up to date and critically reflective. He also researches the effectiveness of policy implementation in establishing appropriate spaces and structures for meaningful and critical participation to overcome exclusion and help people to make a useful contribution to society.
PART 1
THE PRINCIPLE OF LAW AND YOUTH WORK
LAW, YOUTH WORK AND ETHICS
Chapter Aims
Introduce the notion of law, youth work practice and ethics
Discuss the contested nature and different dimensions of youth work
Demonstrate an understanding of the social and legal interpretation of childhood
Outline the legal context and operational guidance for the enactment of police powers
Identify the age restrictions placed on children and young people
Detail the importance of personal and professional values to developing ethical practice
INTRODUCTION
In simple terms, laws are the rules devised by government and enforced by an administration of justice to keep public order, outline and protect individual freedoms, regulate relationships, detail acceptable standards, and arbitrate on legal disputes. Although there are international laws, which are applicable to all countries in the world, each nation state devises its own laws which are socially and culturally bound. In Europe, for example, citizens are guaranteed the right of liberty, freedom of movement and freedom from discrimination. In England and Wales, there are different classifications of laws: international and national; public (including constitutional, administrative and criminal); and private/civil (including contract, family law, company law and tort).
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LAW AND YOUTH WORK
At first glance, it may be difficult to see the connection between law and youth work practice other than the need for this social practice to comply with the law of the land in which it operates. However, there is another connection in that both practices provide a distinct societal function which operates along the same continuum. The main aim of the law is to provide for human protection while youth work exists to advocate for human development. The former practice, given its protective task, provides a framework and view that require both case law and new legislation to reflect current and emerging social circumstances, whereas the latter operates best in a developmental creative space which necessarily grapples with the real-life everyday circumstances of the young people it serves. Both practices optimally serve society, in the service of justice and social justice, and work best together when the rules are enriched and integrated with a human developmental understanding.
