There Are so Many Layers That We're Not Even Aware of: Youth Worker Perceptions in U.S. Public Housing and South African Township Communities

Background & Purpose:  Youth residing within impoverished communities encounter a myriad of risks, such as increased exposure to violence, poverty, disease, unemployment, and crime.  Youth workers providing support to young individuals within marginalized communities are at the forefront of this peripheral experience, and share in the daily endeavors with the youth they serve.  Understanding the mechanisms that guide youth workers is important to providing the most culturally responsive services, and how to best support the healthy development of oppressed youth. The findings obtained from this qualitative study portrays the reality of the daily experiences of youth workers in two different, yet similarly-situated communities:  South African townships and US public housing neighborhoods. The research questions under investigation explored how youth workers define success and what factors inhibit young individuals from that success.

Methods:  A phenomenological approach guided this qualitative study.  All participants in this study are youth workers engaged in providing services to young individuals in seven townships of South Africa and four public housing neighborhoods in the US.  Sixteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with youth workers. The sample is comprised of 63% South Africans, 56% are female, with a mean of 12 years of professional experience. This convenient sample is based on numerous years of building professional relationships with the respondents. Interviews were transcribed by the research team, and member-checked to maintain accuracy. Transcriptions were analyzed using the Atlas.ti software, and then pattern coded.  

Results:  Respondents detailed distinctly similar, yet vastly different responses. The findings illustrate how oppression impacts youth, despite the location. The data suggest that youth success is broadly defined, based on the individual and the context of community. Respondents additionally addressed many factors that inhibit youth success.  The consequences of poverty, exposure and impact of trauma, oppression, and the absence of youth voice were the dominant themes emanating from the data. Differences in responses were examined across nations and professional experience, and indicate that youth in impoverished communities encounter substantial obstacles in obtaining success. 

Conclusion & Implications:  The findings from this study have direct implications for providing services to oppressed youth.  Findings indicate that youth workers broadly define success, while detailing numerous inhibiting factors associated with residing in high-risk communities. This research suggests that youth workers providing support to young individuals in marginalized communities must deliver culturally-responsive and context-specific services. The consequences of globalization are inevitable, and it is important to understand how youth workers can effectively engage in cross-cultural learning, sharing information that provides the best possible support to the young people they serve.