Przedstawienia młodzieży jako zbiorowego aktora sfery publicznej
Representations of Youth as a Collective Player in the Public Sphere

Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on three main topics. The first is a reflection on the status of youth in sociology in respect to static (classifications, typologies) and dynamic (processual) aspects. The second topic deals with analysis of institutional forms of socialisation offered to young people in modern society, described as a result of ideology and social practice. The phenomenon of so-called youth work has been taken as the main example. Analysis of the ideological background behind models of youth work leads to the conclusion that there is a significant tension between 'romantic' and 'pragmatic' attitudes. Finally, with regard to Jeffrey C. Alexander's theory of the 'neo-modern', the article presents a list of postulates of a new paradigm of youth work. This is based on four principles: community involvement; the process of building groups, supporting social relations and working with others; young people's understanding of goals and the principles of committed action; and precise segmentation of youth work into several phases, such as debate, decision-making, action and reflexive evaluation.

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