International youth work
The international youth work is a theoretical and practical field of youth education and differentiated research as a field of formal education non- scientifically based. It is part of the national child and youth (welfare) policy and at the same time integrated into the context of external relations and the associated overall political objectives. It offers spaces for encounters and exchanges between young people and professionals with different cultural backgrounds and from different nations.
Formats
International youth work is carried out in different formats. The offers that are aimed at young people include short and long-term formats, group and individual offers such as B. bilateral and multilateral youth exchanges , international work camps or voluntary services abroad . International measures for specialists in child and youth welfare, including exchange programs , internships and international specialist events, enable mutual learning and contribute to the further development of child and youth welfare in the participating countries through the transfer of knowledge. They represent a specific format for further and advanced training for honorary, part-time and full-time specialists.
activities
Successful measures in international youth work are characterized by qualified pedagogical support by interculturally trained volunteer or full-time specialists. They live from a trusting and intensive partnership between the participating institutions at home and abroad, which is mutual. All activities are geared towards the interests of the young people and are co-determined and shaped by them. International youth work is a pedagogically supported field of non-formal education that also offers a variety of informal learning opportunities. For young people, it represents a voluntary educational offer that gives them scope for design and development, promotes and demands their own commitment and ties in with their interests and motivations.
In the pedagogically supported encounter with the other and the stranger, national and cultural attributions are experienced and reflected upon. Young people perceive new and (to them) strange actions, attitudes and interpretations and process them. At the same time, one's own understanding of what is considered "normal" experiences uncertainty and a change of perspective is encouraged.
meaning
The importance of mobility and international experience for young people in Germany and all of Europe is evident not least in the publication of the European Commission's green paper Promoting the mobility of young people for learning purposes . Also in view of the current challenges associated with multicultural, multinational societies and the globalized world, international youth work as an independent offer of non-formal education, alongside the area of formal education, is becoming increasingly important.
After all, international youth work is more than a mere mobility experience. In its different settings, it provides diverse learning opportunities, the positive, sustainable effectiveness of which has also been empirically proven. Learning processes take place both on a non-formal level (prepared and planned program parts of an encounter) and on an informal level (in the sense of unintended learning events outside or on the edge of the planned program).
effect
As part of a scientific study, the sustainable effects of international youth encounters were proven. It was found that even short-term international experiences have a lasting influence on the development of young people. The personality development of young people is promoted with regard to self-confidence , social competence , openness to new experiences, intercultural competence and identity formation . Many young people benefit from an international encounter experience, for example by learning to cope with unknown situations better or to actively participate in a group. Not only do you have a positive attitude towards the host country, but you are also more open to another stay abroad. Inhibitions about expressing oneself in a foreign language are reduced and existing knowledge is improved. In addition, the encounter experience has an impact on the overall biography: 31% of the former participants stated that the encounter triggered a number of further activities and decisions in their lives, 7% even describe it as the starting point for a biographical change. International youth work thus makes a decisive contribution to the personal development of young people and promotes - in addition to language skills - self-confidence, teamwork and openness to the world. The access study published in 2019 examined why certain young people, especially those from an educationally disadvantaged background, are less represented at youth encounters. A central conclusion of the study is that international youth work can only be promoted by strengthening youth work as a whole.
The interim evaluation of the EU Youth in Action program also yields similarly positive results. Diverse learning experiences were found in the area of social, linguistic and professional-technical skills. Job-related skills such as mobility, initiative, entrepreneurship and creativity are promoted through international encounters. In addition, the program, in particular the European Voluntary Service , offers a wide range of experience areas and a decisive professional orientation function: 72% of young people learn better through their participation in the project to recognize opportunities for their personal and professional future; 53.3% of the young people stated that they made contacts through the project that would be beneficial for their professional development and 66.4% of the young people had a clearer idea of their further education.
Many international youth work organizations use the evaluation process of the research association for leisure time evaluation for the evaluation . The online platform i-EVAL was developed in this context for the independent evaluation of international youth encounters . The results of a survey of over 5,000 young people from this research project show the mostly positive feedback from the young people and substantiate experience, particularly in the area of social and intercultural learning. Since 2017, the research association has also been responsible for a panel study that provides regular data-supported monitoring of the field of work.
Young people, who are in a crucial transition phase in their development with all the uncertainties and questions of further career and life orientation, benefit from the potential, learning and development opportunities of international youth work. The learning experiences range from personal development to job-related skills. International youth work is therefore a relevant area of non-formal learning and can offer many young people diverse opportunities and possibilities that are hardly possible in the context of formal educational offers alone.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cf. Thimmel, Andreas: Pedagogy of international youth work: history, practice and concepts of intercultural learning. Schwalbach / Ts. 2001 and: Friesenhahn, Günter J. and Thimmel, Andreas: International youth work: retrospect and outlook, in: dies. (Ed.): Key texts. Commitment and competence in international youth work. Schwalbach / Ts. 2005
- ↑ See Thimmel, Andreas / Riß, Katrin: Binational exchange of skilled workers on the subject of migration in the German-Spanish and German-Turkish skilled workers program. Online: Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (as of February 15, 2011)
- ↑ Thomas, Alexander / Abt, Heike / Chang, Celine: Experiences that change. Long-term effects of participation in international youth exchanges. Göttingen 2007
- ^ Helle Becker, Andreas Thimmel: The access study for international youth exchange. Entrances and barriers. Wochenschau Verlag, Schwalbach 2019, ISBN 978-3-7344-0790-1 , p. 222 .
- ↑ IKAB eV, Research Group Youth and Europe, Youth for Europe (ed.): Under the microscope. Results of the scientific monitoring of YOUTH IN ACTION, report 2009, p. 36 ( http://www.jugendfuereuropa.de/downloads/4-20-1905/Unter%20der%20Lupe-09%20end_FP.pdf , as of mid-February 2011 ).
- ↑ Wolfgang Ilg, Judith Dubiski: Encounter creates perspectives. Empirical insights into international youth encounters. 2nd Edition. DFJW, Berlin / Paris / Warsaw 2014 (also available in French and Polish).
literature
- Guidelines for international youth policy and youth work from the federal and state levels
- Key points - International youth policy of the BMFSFJ "Promote encounters - use experiences - shape together"