Youth work across two diverse domains of practice

Here again two distinct domains of practice are presented side by side: parks and recreation (presented by Jim Sibthorp and M. Deborah Bialeschki) and child/youth care in Canada (presented by Carol Stuart and Jack Phelan). Both come from a tradition of supporting the well-being of children and youth but that’s where the similarity ends, at least at first glance. These two profiles of what youth work is and what a youth worker aims to do offer a comparison that seems beyond logic. Each has its own competencies, credentialing, and curriculum and there is little overlap between the two. The reader is stretched in imagining how a field as diverse as is represented in these two domains can both be considered “youth work.”