Should you enrol on EZL132 instead of E132?
Introduction
EZL132 provides an APEL route through the course material of E132 Leading Work
with Young People, enabling students to complete the course and its assessment in
four months instead of eight. If you chose this route, it could enable you to begin work
on the next course in the Foundation Degree (E218 Leading Work with Young People
in Practice) a year earlier than you would otherwise be able to.
APEL stands for ‘accreditation of prior experiential learning’, and you should choose
this route only if you are sufficiently well prepared for it. That is to say, you will already
have substantial experience of working with young people, and you may also already
have obtained a qualification in the area – for example, you might have recently
completed an NVQ or RVQ at Level 3 in Youth Work, which will have given you a
recognised Youth Support Worker qualification. Alternatively, you might have
undertaken a part time youth work qualification in the past, for example a certificated
course provided by your local authority and validated through RAMP or a qualification
of a similar level provided within the voluntary sector. This document is designed to
help you to judge whether what you have learnt from that experience is sufficient to
enable you to complete the course and prepare for the assessment in half the normal
time.
The document outlines the main components of the course, indicating the main ideas it
covers, and the readings it uses from the literature on working with young people.
Obviously if this material, or most of it, is unfamiliar to you, you should not choose
the APEL route, but enrol on the parent course E132 instead. But if most of the
material seems familiar, then you might consider choosing the APEL route.
In making your decision, remember that you will have to study any parts of the course
that are new to you – as well as revising material that you have met before – in just four
months. Bear in mind too that a thorough knowledge of the material covered in E132 is
important not only for success in the E132/EZL132 assessment. E218 (the next course
in the Foundation Degree) assumes familiarity with the theoretical material in E132.
The course materials
E132 has four main categories of course material.

Study Topics

Course Reader

Audiovisual case studies

Assessment
We can look briefly at each of these in turn.
The Study Topics
There are eight Study Topics in all. The first is a general introduction to the course, and
the last is a review of your learning over the course. The other six topics cover a range
of specific issues. We give outlines of them below, indicating the main theories and
ideas that they cover. We also mention briefly any readings that are used: full details
of these can be found later in the document, when we describe the Course Reader.
1
1
Introducing the course
This study topic outlines the scope and aims of this course, and what we mean by
‘leading work with young people’. It introduces you to some of the themes which will
recur throughout the course, such as ‘reflection’ and ‘professional capability’, and
outlines how the teaching and assessment for the course is designed to develop your
strengths as a reflective learner and a capable practitioner. Those who have studied
other courses in this award will already be familiar with these ideas, but in this course
we take them a little further, paying particular attention to the role of context as an
influence on learning and development. (Reading: Williamson ‘Youth work and the
changing policy environment for young people’)
2
Making sense of leadership
This study topic introduces different ways of thinking, or ‘theories’, about leadership. It
makes the point that the term ‘leadership’ has many definitions, but no settled
meanings. Two key points emerge from this: that leadership is not simply a
characteristic of those who hold official positions of power in organisations, and that if
we are to understand leadership and how it works we need to understand the
organisational setting, and the wider social context in which it operates. (Reading:
Doyle and Smith ‘What is leadership?’; Bracey ‘The accidental leader’)
3
Making sense of practice
This study topic examines practice, not just from the point of view of the individual
practitioner, but from the perspective of the organisation as a whole and the wider
setting in which it works. It makes the point that building quality provision for young
people is not simply an individual endeavour but a joint production involving a range of
stakeholders, from colleagues and other organisations to funding bodies and policy
makers. (Reading: McCulloch ‘Ethics, accountability…; Gore ‘Leading and managing
anti-oppressive youth work’; Badham and Davies ‘The active involvement of young
people’; Jeffs ‘Crossing the divide: school-based youth work’; Thomas ‘The impact of
community cohesion on youth work’)
4
Leading individuals and teams
Study Topic 4 looks at the relationships between members of an organisation and ways
in which these can be managed to produce the best outcomes for young people. This
kind of work is often characterised as ‘people work’ and the topic examines a range of
settings in which this work goes on; from supervision to teamwork to staff recruitment.
It introduces specific techniques and approaches but emphasises the importance of
organisational culture as an influence on the relations between individuals. (Reading:
Hudson ‘Managing people’; Thompson ‘Using supervision’; Reid ‘Structuring support
and supervision for different contexts)
5
Leading change
This study topic explores the nature and meaning of change, once again making
connections between the local organisational context, and the wider social
environment. It looks at a number of different approaches to managing change and at
some of the implications of these for organisations and individuals. It also makes the
point that whilst change can often feel imposed from above, the way it is managed at
2
an organisational level can make a difference to how it is received and to the outcomes
for young people which might follow. (Reading: Hawkins and Shohet ‘Towards a
learning culture’; Thompson ‘Influencing skills’; Merton, Hunter and Gore ‘Getting better
all the time…’)
6
Working in partnership
Working in partnership with other organisations in delivering ‘joined up’ services to
young people is now an important theme in policy. This topic examines some of the
reasons behind this, some of the challenges it poses and some strategies and
approaches which can help you to get the best outcomes from partnership work.
(Reading: Gilchrist ‘Linking partnerships and networks’; Chauhan ‘Partnership working
in the voluntary and community sector’)
7
Keeping on track
This topic is concerned with the management of day-to-day practice and the need for
accountability to a range of stakeholders including funding bodies, taxpayers and
young people themselves. The topic examines the meanings of accountability and the
ethical questions it raises for practitioners and organisations. It identifies a number of
approaches to evaluating practice and measuring outcomes and discusses ways in
which these can be used to achieve different purposes. (Reading: Smith and Jeffs
‘Organizing the daily round’; Merton, Comfort and Payne ‘Recognising and recording
the impact of youth work’; Subhra ‘Reclaiming the evaluation agenda’)
8
Working and learning
Working professionally involves a continuous process of reflecting on and monitoring of
your own performance. In this topic you will be able to reflect on the learning you have
accomplished on this course, its impact on your practice, and what you now feel are
your priorities for future professional development. This will help you prepare for the
next course in the programme E218 Leading Work with Young People in Practice.
Reader
The Course Reader, Leading Work with Young People, edited by Roger Harrison,
Cathy Benjamin, Sheila Curran and Rob Hunter, is a collection of readings, some of
which have been specially written for this book, and some of which are edited versions
of texts that have been previously published in books or journals. They have been
chosen to give students a sense of the different viewpoints that are available in the
current literature on work with young people and allow you to pursue key themes and
issues in more depth than is possible in the study topics.
A list of the contents of the Reader is attached. Most of them are set readings for one
of the Study Topics of the course, as indicated above in the Study Topic outlines. If you
are unfamiliar with any of these pieces, you should be prepared to devote some time to
reading them.
DVD
The DVD contains three case studies illustrating different settings for work with young
people and discussing different aspects of leadership which emerge from them.. You
will find both audio and video resources on a single DVD – the video bands showing
the work taking place, and the audio bands providing discussion of it.
3
Assessment
The course has three assignments: two formative ‘Tutor-marked assignments’ (TMAs),
and a summative ‘end-of-course assessment’ (ECA).
You will be asked to submit the TMAs to your tutor during your work on the course, one
near the beginning and the other roughly in the middle of your studies. Your tutor will
comment on each TMA and give it a grade. However, these TMAs are purely formative.
This means they are for teaching purposes, and your grade for them will not count
towards your final assessment. So, in practice they are not compulsory, and it is
possible to complete the course successfully without doing them. However, we very
strongly recommend that you do prepare and submit them. That will enable you to
judge how you are doing on the course, and whether the way you are studying and
writing is appropriate for the course. If there are any problems, then your tutor will be
able to advise you on how to tackle these, and help to ensure that you are well
prepared for the ECA.
The ECA is summative – that is to say, your grade for it will determine whether you
pass or fail the course. It takes the place of a final examination. Like an examination, it
covers the course as a whole; but unlike an examination, it is something you prepare in
your own time, rather than in three hours in an examination room.
In the TMAs, you will be asked to apply the theories, models and ideas of the course to
the analysis of your own practice, past and present, of leading work with young people.
But in the ECA, you will be asked to apply these theories etc to a particular case study.
Conclusion
We hope that this document has given you a reasonable idea of what the course E132
involves, and helped you to make a judgment as to whether you are well enough
prepared to take the EZL132 APEL route.
It may be that after reading it, you feel you need more information before making your
decision about taking EZL132 or the parent course E132. If you live reasonably close
to one of the Open University’s Regional Centres, you may be able to visit it and look at
a copy of the actual course materials there. A list of these Centres, with their addresses
and telephone numbers, is attached. Or if you have any specific questions, you could
get in touch with the Course Manager, Lara Knight (telephone no.: 01908 653766 or
email: l.c.knight@open.ac.uk) who would be happy to talk with you.
Whatever decision you make, may we wish you all the best for your studies, and your
work with young people.
Roger Harrison
E132/EZL132 Course Team Chair
4
E132/EZL132 READER CONTENTS
Introduction
Roger Harrison, Cathy Benjamin, Sheila Curran and Rob Hunter
Part 1 Leadership
1.
2.
3.
What is leadership?
Michele Erina Doyle and Mark K. Smith
The accidental leader
Michael Bracey
Youth work and the changing policy environment for young people
Howard Williamson
Part 2 Practice
4.
Ethics, accountability and the shaping of youth work practice
Kenneth McCulloch
5.
Leading and managing anti-oppresive youth work
Harriet Gore
6.
The active involvement of young people
Bill Badham and Tim Davies
7.
Crossing the divide: school-based youth work
Tony Jeffs
8.
The impact of community cohesion on youth work
Paul Thomas
Part 3 People
9.
Managing people
Mike Hudson
10.
Towards a learning culture
Peter Hawkins and Robin Shohet
11.
Using supervision
Neil Thompson
12.
Structuring support and supervision for different contexts
Hazel L. Reid
Part 4 Change
13.
Managing Change
Mike Hudson
14.
Influencing skills
Neil Thompson
15.
‘Getting better all the time’: a case study of leading and managing change
Bryan Merton, Rob Hunter and Harriet Gore
Part 5 Partnership
16.
Linking partnerships and networks
Alison Gilchrist
17.
Partnership working in the voluntary and community sector
Vipin Chauhan
5
18.
Managing in integrated services
Rob Hunter with Dee Hammerson and Dee Treweek
Part 6 Evaluation
19.
Organizing the daily round
Mark K. Smith and Tony Jeffs
20.
Recognising and recording the impact of youth work
Bryan Merton, Hilary Comfort and Malcolm Payne
21.
Reclaiming the evaluation agenda
Gersh Subhra
6
Regional Centre Contacts
The Open University in London
1-11 Hawley Crescent
Camden Town
London
NW1 8NP
Tel: +44 (0)20 7485 6597
Fax: +44 (0)20 7556 6196
Email: london@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in London (01)
areas covered: Greater London.
The Open University in the South
Foxcombe Hall
Boars Hill
Oxford
OX1 5HR
Tel: +44 (0)1865 327000
Fax: +44 (0)1865 736288
Textphone: +44 (0)1865 486202
Email: south@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in the South (02)
areas covered: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Channel Islands, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle
of Wight, Oxfordshire, part of Wiltshire (including Salisbury).
The Open University in the South West
4 Portwall Lane
Bristol
BS1 6ND
Tel: +44 (0)117 9299641
Fax: +44 (0)117 9888067
Email: south-west@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in the South West (03)
areas covered: Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Isles of Scilly,
most of Wiltshire (excluding Salisbury).
7
The Open University in the West Midlands
66 High Street
Harborne
Birmingham
B17 9NB
Tel: +44 (0)121 426 1661
Fax: +44 (0)121 427 9484
Textphone: +44 (0)121 428 3513
Email: west-midlands@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in the West Midlands (04)
areas covered: Herefordshire, Shropshire, most of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West
Midlands, Worcestershire, BFPO (except Cyprus).
The Open University in the East Midlands
Clarendon Park
Clumber Avenue
Sherwood Rise
Nottingham
NG5 1AH
Tel: +44 (0)115 9625451
Fax: +44 (0)115 9715575
Textphone: +44 (0)115 9715507
Email: east-midlands@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in the East Midlands (05)
areas covered: Most of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire,
Nottinghamshire, Rutland, part of Staffordshire (Burton-on-Trent area).
The Open University in the East of England
Cintra House
12 Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 1PF
Tel: +44 (0)1223 364721
Fax: +44 (0)1223 355207
Email: east-of-england@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in the East of England (06)
areas covered: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk.
8
The Open University in Yorkshire
2 Trevelyan square
Boar Lane
Leeds
LS1 6ED
Tel: +44 (0)113 2444431
Fax: +44 (0)113 2341862
Email: yorkshire@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in Yorkshire (07)
areas covered: North, South and East Riding of Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, BFPO
Cyprus.
The Open University in the North West
351 Altrincham Road
Sharston
Manchester
M22 4UN
Tel: +44 (0)161 998 7272
Fax: +44 (0)161 945 3356
Textphone: +44 (0)161 956 6816
Email: north-west@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in the North West (08)
areas covered: Cheshire, part of Derbyshire, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Greater
Manchester, Merseyside.
The Open University in the North
Eldon House
Regent Centre
Gosforth
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 3PW
Tel: +44 (0)191 2841611
Fax: +44 (0)191 2846592
Textphone: +44 (0)191 284 8449
Email: north@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in the North (09)
areas covered: Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Teesside, EU
(except Ireland) and Switzerland.
9
The Open University in Wales
18 Custom House Street
Cardiff
CF10 1AP
Tel: +44 (0) 29 2047 1019
Fax: +44 (0) 29 2038 8132
Email: wales@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in Wales (10)
areas covered: Wales.
Contact with this office can be in either English or Welsh.
Gallwch gysylltu â'r swyddfa hon yn Gymraeg neu Saesneg.
The Open University in Scotland
10 Drumsheugh Gardens
Edinburgh
EH3 7QJ
Tel: +44 (0)131 226 3851
Fax: +44 (0)131 220 6730
Email: scotland@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in Scotland (11)
areas covered: Scotland.
The Open University in Ireland
40 University Road
Belfast
BT7 1SU
Tel: +44 (0)28 90245025
Fax: 028 90230565
Email: ireland@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in Ireland (12)
areas covered: Ireland.
The Open University in the South East
St James's House
150 London Road
East Grinstead
RH19 1HG
Tel: +44 (0)1342 327821
Fax: +44 (0)1342 317411
Email: south-east@open.ac.uk
website: The Open University in the South East (13)
areas covered: Kent, Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex.
10