Youth work, informal education and LGBTQ+ youth

This article presents an empirical, qualitative study examining how youth work practitioners in one Scottish community engage with young LGBTQ+ people. While existing literature has explored how formal educators, such as teachers, manage these interactions, there is a notable gap concerning informal educational roles such as youth work. The research took place within a local community in a city in Scotland and involved semi-structured interviews with eleven youth work practitioners. The overarching research objective was to investigate how Youth Workers in one location in Scotland understand the landscape that young LGBTQ+ people currently inhabit, and how confident they feel supporting those young people in the contemporary context. Four key themes emerged from the analysis: the perceived pace of change, fear of getting the terminology wrong, the Youth Work approach, and staff development. These themes highlight both the challenges practitioners face and the opportunities presented by the ‘youth work process.’ Participants also identified areas where further professional development could enhance their practice. The article argues that the ethos underpinning youth work may offer unique relational freedoms not typically available in more formal educational settings, positioning youth work as a potentially powerful space for inclusive engagement with LGBTQ+ youth.