Case Study: Cobblers Youth Club

Introduction

The following case study will give you a flavour of the sorts of issues and challenges that a community educator deals with on a day to day basis. It concentrates on youth work, which is only one aspect of the wide range of work carried out by community educators today. As you will see from the information about the BACE programme, we provide you with a generic training, which means that it relates to all aspects of the work. Having said this, the training emphasises working with young people, adult education and community work. In featuring youth work, the case study obviously focusses on one area. This means that certain issues that are particularly prominent in youth work, such as the importance of building a friendly relationship with young people, come to the fore. This is a point of emphasis, rather than absolute difference, however, as building good relationships with people is a feature of all work in community education.

How to Use the Case Study

Read through the case study and imagine that you are Alex, the character visiting Cobblers for the first time. As you go through, take a few moments to list and think about what you see as the problems, issues and challenges being illustrated. What do you think Alex will be thinking and feeling? Imagine that you are in Alex's shoes. What would be going through your mind on the walk home? What is youth work about? What is the Club trying to do? Is there something more to youth work than what you have seen on this night? What contribution can a community educator make in such a situation? How would you react and how would you begin to explain or understand what you are seeing?

These are the sorts of fundamental questions addressed by the BA in Community Education. 

After reading and thinking about the issues raised, and noting any questions you may have, make sure that you follow the links under WHAT NEXT below. These will take you to three first year courses, and you will see how they help you to address the sorts of questions posed by the case study.

A Night at the Youth Club

You are 30 years old and your name is Alex. As a concerned and active member of your community,you think you might be interested in working with young people. A friend arranges for you to visit the youth club, which you know has a poor reputation in the area. You have passed the uninviting, graffiti covered building many times, but you have never been inside before tonight. It is 7.30pm and you nervously push your way through the front door, wondering what you will find and what kind of reception you will get as a stranger. Freda, who appears to be the Leader, greets you and two young lasses of about 11 or 12 offer you a coffee.

You sit down to watch a game of Trivial Pursuits being played by a group of young boys at a table next to the coffee bar. One of them seems to know all the answers and is chided as ‘brainy’ by the others, a reputation which he obviously enjoys.

After the game finishes, you pluck up the courage to go through a set of swing doors, from whence is coming a great deal of noise...

A table-tennis table completely dominates the dingy room. A game of doubles is in progress. Two pairs of older lads, aged you think 16 to 18; boisterously try to beat each other. There is much shouting, loss of temper, and disputes over whether the ball has hit the table, slamming of bats, facial gestures changing instantly from smiles to grimaces. On the other side of the room, a group of lads of similar age sit restlessly along a line of small tables. They are the source of a constant barrage of abuse, the precise content of which is difficult to tell, although it is directed in equal measure at the lads on the table and four girls in the corner of the room. The most frequent verbal expression is ‘f***’.  It is hard to know if all of this is harmless or about to break out into a fight. It seems to you that it could go either way. You guess that the four girls in the corner are all about 15. A tune that you don't recognise is playing amazingly loudly from what looks like a mobile phone held by one of the girls. They ignore the abuse. You notice that they are reading something, which you later find out is a letter from a club member now in prison for assault. 

There seems to be no discernible pattern to events. At about 8.00 pm, the lads who had been playing or watching table tennis suddenly leave the club. A few younger lads cluster around a shoddy looking pool table. The surface is ripped in a couple of places and there are no tips on the cues. Some younger ones chase each other dizzy round and round. You are horrified when two of these spit on each other until they are covered in phlegm and spittle. Although there are a couple of adult helpers present, they do not intervene.

About half way through the evening, a swell of people pushing in and out of the swing doors signal an incident. A woman suddenly appears screaming at one young lad: ‘Just tell me who did it!’ A car window has been smashed directly in front of the club. You find out later that this is not the first time this has happened. The woman shouts at the adults: ‘Wait till it happens to your cars. You’ll be a bit more concerned then!’ It is unpleasant and you are surprised that nobody attempts to sympathise with the woman or follow up on her complaint. Although there are secretive smiles and sniggers on the part of the young lads, nobody raises the issue with the young people. 

In fact, there is little contact between adults and young people. You see Freda talking briefly to the group of girls in the corner but after this she seems to spend her time drinking coffee and talking to the other helpers in the coffee bar. You are relieved when the club finishes at 10.00 pm. The adults quickly gather together the games equipment, do a perfunctory tidy round the coffee bar, make sure that doors are secure, and usher the young people into the dark winter night. You are swept out with the throng. You say your goodbyes to Freda and walk home, wondering about what you have just witnessed.