The transition to adulthood for many is mediated by class, culture, and local/global influences on identity. This volume analyzes the global injustices that create inequities and restrict future opportunities for young people during this transitional time, including poverty, unemployment, human rights, race, ethnicity and location. It critically examines global instances of youth discrimination, offering positive strategies and practices such as youth work that successfully remediate these injustices. With international contributions from Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, England, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Morocco, Jordan and the U.S., this volume is particularly important to researchers and scholars in the fields of youth studies, education, and social work.

Michael Heathfield is Associate Professor of Social Work and Youth Programs at Harold Washington College, USA.

Dana Fusco is Professor of Teacher Education at CUNY, York College, USA.

Foreword by Howard Willamson Section I: Understanding Young People, Inequality and Youth Work 1. Youth and inequality: Weaving complexities, commonalities, and courage Michael Heathfield 2. Youth in a global/historical context: and what it means for youth work Howard Sercombe 3. History of youth work: transitions, illuminations and refractions Dana Fusco Section II: Social Progress through Youth Work: Welfare and Wellbeing 4. Intergenerational partnership and youth social justice in a Malaysian fishing village Steven Eric Krauss, Dzhuhailmi Dahalan and Shepherd Zeldin 5. Success stories from youth suicide prevention in Australia: the youth work contribution Trudi Cooper, Catherine Ferguson, Brooke Chapman, and Shane Cucow 6. The Istambays and transition crises: Locating spaces of social sufferings and hope in the Philippines Clarence Batan 7. Youth work in England: An uncertain future? Helen Jones 8. The scouting experience and youth development Olga Oliveira Cunha and Pedro Duarte Silva 9. Aotearoa's Indigenous youth development concepts explored in practice today Rod Baxter, Manu Caddie and Graham Bidois Cameron Section III. Social Progress through Youth Work: Radical and Democratic Possibilities 10. Democratizing urban spaces: A social justice approach to youth work Susan Matloff-Nieves, Dana Fusco, Joy Connolly, Monami Maulik 11. Between radical possibilities and modest reforms: The precarious position of adult allies in youth movements for racial justice Hava Rachel Gordon 12. Co-creating a culture of participation through a youth council Brian Hubbard 13. Indigenous youth and higher education: The role of Shipibo youth organizations in the Peruvian Amazon Region Oscar Espinoza 14. Working for justice in Chicago public schools Judith Gall and Michael Heathfield 15. A decade of youth civic engagement in Morocco and Jordan Loubna H. Skalli 16. Paternalism in educating and developing our youth: The perpetuation of inequality Marcus Pope Section IV: Themes and Conclusions 17. From hope to action: the future of youth work and other global actions in education Michael Heathfield and Dana Fusco