Navigating the Moral Landscape of Youth Development and Community Education

This book analyses the language used and approaches employed by community education organizations, focusing on the values that educators and practitioners promote among the young people in their care.
Young people participating in nonformal community education programs are encouraged by staff to identify with certain ideas or values: “Acquire life skills, become an entrepreneur!” “Fight for your rights!”, “Discover your true self!”, “Get out of the house and re-establish your connection with nature!”. Whether implicitly or explicitly, these messages are imbued with values.

Based on a study of 12 community organizations in North America, this book identifies four “ethical frames”: the ethical frame of the entrepreneur, of the activist, the artist, and the naturalist. Ilya Zrudlo argues that while each of these frames brings strengths to community education, they also carry certain ethical and educational ambiguities that render them ultimately inadequate, whether alone or in combination. Drawing on the work of philosophers including Hannah Arendt, Simone Weil, Iris Murdoch, Mary Midgeley and Charles Taylor, Zrudlo offers guidance for community organizations, policy makers, and researchers when navigating the moral landscape of nonformal youth education.