ABSTRACT
Any curriculum both influences and is influenced by the social and cultural norms, values and beliefs of the society within which it is located. However, this relationship is dynamic. As a result Lawton suggests that both ‘culture and curriculum should be concerned with “what might be” as well as “what is”’ (1996: 25). This results in a key aspect of any youth work curriculum. On the one hand, young people learn about, adapt to and navigate the existing state of affairs – for example, establishing and negotiating relationships or developing and seeking job opportunities or careers. On the other hand, a curriculum should encourage a critical dialogue about social reality, operating from the assumption that any given social reality is a construction and is contested rather than underpinned by consensus. The curriculum should be concerned with the effects of social structures on the lives of individuals, and ultimately it should attempt to influence and change the status quo. For example, it should develop an understanding about the circumstances within which our gendered lives are constructed, rather than merely encouraging young people to negotiate relationships within accepted gender constraints. Alternatively, it should not merely support young people to find work, but work ‘politically’, perhaps through lobbying, to challenge the circumstances within which jobs are hard to find.
