Working with girls and young women : a broken history.

Abstract

Historical knowledge makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of contemporary questions and the recovery of the history of youth work is no exception. It is tempting therefore to read the past through contemporary sensibilities and with a view to making a case for specific approaches to professional practice. Whilst this can be strategically useful and informative, the history of single sex youth work with girls and yougn women suggests that it is necessary to exercise caution in the process. this chapter argues that in the history of work with girls and yougn women the continuities of method and form obscure a deeper disjuncture in political philosophy and purpose.