The organisation and practice of local youth work needs …

to document and make visible young people’s non-formal and informal learning outcomes, i.e. knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, achieved through youth work and to support the validation of achieved competences.

Equally important to talking about learning objectives is that the learning that has taken place is documented and recognised. Making the learning that has taken place visible will, in itself, strengthen it and at the same time make it possible for the young person to show his/her abilities to others.

Being able to show that young people develop new competencies through taking part in youth work will also strengthen the recognition and position of youth work.

Do you agree on what this means in practice?
Do you agree on to what degree youth work meets this bullet point?
Here you find the questions you need to discuss to find out!

If you think that this is something you need to work on, click the “Add to development agenda” button below. You will then find your agenda on your personal page and be able to start a development process.

Please note!
If you start a development process related to this bullet point you will find the below questions also under the page “Discuss and assess”. There you will also be able to take notes.

Questions to discuss

Do local youth workers talk to young people about what they have learned through taking part?
Is local youth work documenting young people’s non-formal and informal learning?
- Is local youth work using recognised methods for this documentation?
What are the risks of not documenting and making visible young people’s learning in youth work?

References & tips

In the EU Council conclusions on the contribution of quality youth work to the development, well-being and social inclusion of young people (2013), member states are invited to “Promote, through quality youth work opportunities and programmes, experiential learning and skills development, including transferable skills for young people, and the recognition and validation of such skills and competences.”
Two well-recognized tools for documenting young people’s learning are Youthpass and ELD.