Managing centre-based youth work

In this chapter we examine the role of the youth centre manager in the changing landscape of youth service provision. The chapter brings into sharp focus the dilemmas faced by many youth work managers in their attempts to reconcile the values, principles and practices of youth work with the culture of managerialism which has shaped many aspects of management and leadership of youth service provision in recent years. The chapter begins with the historical development of centre-based youth provision, highlighting the impact of post-welfarism (Gewirtz, 2002) on centre-based youth work. In this respect, the changing roles and responsibilities of the youth centre manager will be critically examined, particularly in relation to managing buildings and managing provision. This is followed by an analysis of the community context of youth work, and finishes with an attempt to describe the future of youth centre management, at the heart of which is the need to resolve the value conflicts resulting from managing youth work provision within a managerialist culture.