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15 Jun 2011 16:33:58
Youth workers from Finland and Estonia saw the British youth work and education system at work during a visit to the University of Bedfordshire.
The University has teamed up with other institutions in Finland and Estonia to offer a Masters in Comparative European Perspectives: Youth Work and Social Disadvantage
Fiona Factor, MA Course Development Manager, in the Institute of Applied Social Research at the University, organised the week-long trip to the UK. Starting last September, the course group of 19 has already been to Helsinki, Finland for a week and its next trip will be to Viljandi, Estonia in September.
The week included a series of lectures and workshops led by University academics, as well as visits to Islington and Camden in London to see British youth work in action. Topics included school exclusion, drugs and alcohol and youth crime.
Sergei Drogin, a student from Estonia, said: “It was a great week. The best part was meeting with the UK youth workers and learning about their different approaches to working with young people at risk of exclusion. It’s exciting to see how we can learn from each other.”
Funded by the European Union’s Erasmus Curriculum Development scheme (Lifelong Learning), the Masters is a two-year part-time programme. All the students are in full time youth work jobs and many have used their annual leave to attend the study weeks.
Roy Smith, a UK-based Youth Work Manager from Kent added: “The best thing about the course is that I get to travel and see different cultures and their responses to youth work. It gives you a different perspective on how you go about your own work.”
The tutors want to keep the course as work-orientated as possible, with all students from different countries sharing their experiences. During the rest of the year, the group stays in touch via video conferencing, the learning platform and email.
Sari Hoyla, from HUMAK University in Finland said: “It’s been a really fruitful partnership and the European funding has meant that youth workers can learn from each other and improve their own professional responses to young people.
“This week has been interesting – the time goes so quickly! We do lots of video conferencing during the course but there is no substitute for face to face interaction.”
Latest news» 2011» June» Youth work in action for Finnish and Estonian visitors
