“Freedom of speech is like money – some people have more than others’. Rage Against The Machine. (1996)
Reports in the media at present talk of the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and force to remove students in protest on university campuses in the US. This article around the role of informal education and youth work to challenge dominant ideas through social activism aims to open a space for youth workers to consider the role of youth work to support young people in their learning and understanding of their world.
In relation to examining the principle of dominance, I will begin with an overview of hegemony and ideology, then lean into the many facets of youth work methodologies to encourage discussion and debate around the role of informal education in social and political challenge.
To define hegemony, the concept emerges in the context of social and political theory, with Antonio Gramsci developing the notion that hegemony from dominance through force, is also important to acknowledge ideology, and the cultural institutions in maintaining power structures. Gramsci created a view that ruling elites maintain their dominance not only through coercion but also by establishing cultural and ideological hegemony.
As an organic and observable feature in contemporary society, the power of hegemony can be experienced by young people in a variety of forms and in social institutions. This dominance in its various forms, including economic, political, cultural, or policing and military influence, is important due to the limitations of young people’s engagement and access to the power dynamics of change within a society. As this piece develops, it is with no doubt that as practitioners we consider ourselves in relation to hegemony; also an important factor!
As an example, creating cultural and ideological principles involves shaping the values, beliefs, and norms of society to align with the interests of the ruling class. Through institutions such as education, media, religion, and popular culture, the dominant group disseminates its worldview and maintains its control over the subordinate classes. A worthy question at this point if the function of youth work and informal education as an ‘institution’ that has a role to play in young people’s education, how we approach our work in a philosophical and ideological way is clearly an important feature.
This topic comes up regularly in supervision sessions that I undertake with colleagues and can be a valuable and interesting team discussion or team learning event. Establishing where each individual youth worker ‘sits’ in relation to the facets of hegemony and the role of youth work can create both insight and change. Contact me if you want to guidance or delivery on this type of work with teams.
The concept of hegemony illustrates the importance of cultural and ideological struggle in challenging existing power relations and towards promoting social change for those with less access to power. When we consider the role of intellectuals (dominant) and organic intellectuals (those will collective access to power) to use Gramsci’s language, we are discussing those who articulate and disseminate alternative visions of society. When a collective view connects, the will to challenge hegemonic systems and foster counter-hegemonic movements turn to action. This in parallel to the historic and contemporary marches and demonstrations, as an example of a counter-hegemonic movements such actions to promote voice and agency are prolific in societies around the world. With a focus upon young people, the often misunderstood defiance and opposition is a form of counter-hegemonic action when young people using the power they possess to stand and voice disapproval of dominant ideas. This can also take place in youth work, young people can challenge dominant ideas and understanding; the aversion remains important to create developed inclusion.
In the terrain of understanding unequal relationships, youth work and informal education with young people is a stable and effective place to engage in critical thinking around the experience young people have that can contribute to change.
Ideology and hegemony have distinct definitions and within social theory are connected. Ideology is the system of beliefs, values and ideas that shape an individual's or group's understanding of the world. In this view, their place in the world, and their views on various issues are evidence in their words and actions.
Ideologies can be considered as elemental arenas of thought; the political, economic, social, and cultural aspects work to justify and perpetuate certain power structures. Therefore, each individual will have a bell curve of consideration of each of the structures that they deem important. Some examples of formed ideologies include liberalism, conservatism, socialism, and feminism and it is important to remember that Ideologies can be heavily blended and on occasion controversial creating mixed and contradictory views. Ideologies reside in the explicit or implicit, conscious or unconscious voices, behaviour and actions of young people, and they play a significant role in shaping future cultural communities.
The relationship between ideology and hegemony can be complicated as there are many in operation at any one time; even within the youth centre. Ideologies often act as a foundation of hegemonic systems, moves to legitimise the dominance of certain groups or classes. Hegemony, by default reinforces and perpetuates dominant ideologies by controlling the means of cultural production and dissemination.
So what does this mean for youth work and young people?
Hegemony deficit culture, refers to the situations where there is a lack of dominant cultural influence or control over societal norms, values, and ideologies. In young people’s lives, the youth worker enables an environment and relationship in which norms are collectively determined. There is however an interesting dynamic at play for the practitioner regarding the balance of the ‘values compass’ and challenging notions of ‘right and wrong’ that valuable reflective practice and supervision can be useful to resolve some of the tensions that operating in this way can create.
Young people will often challenge hegemonic cultural paradigms by embracing diversity, questioning authority, and advocating for change. This can lead to challenge and disruption with institutions and older generations who may resist these shifts.
For example, young people might reject societal expectations regarding career paths, relationships, or gender roles, opting instead for more individualistic or non-conformist lifestyles. They may also challenge dominant narratives around issues like race, sexuality, and the environment, seeking to create a more inclusive and equitable society. As we are aware, young people can be ahead of the game due to an active lived experience of the topics and themes that surround their lives. Equally, we will have observed young people caught in hegemonic cultures and accepting the conditions, power and dominance are powerful social actors – informal educators can also be powerful social actors!
In principle, hegemony deficit culture among young people reflects an aspiration to redefine cultural norms and institutions to develop and reflect their values and hopes, often in opposition to established power structures.
Have you come across this in your practice or in discussions with young people? Post a comment in The Youth Work Common Room members area and share your thoughts.
The process of hegemony, can have significant impacts on young people in various ways. To break down this understanding, there are component areas that we can measure negative impact or work towards change and positive impact that is demonstrable within informal education and youth work. Within socialisation, young people are ‘taught’ or encouraged to accept dominant ideas around culture, limiting their exposure to alternative perspective and worldviews. The strong shaping of their beliefs, values and behaviours are established as norms by the hegemonic group. Youth work has an important role to play in considering the role in relation to socialisation and the opportunities and experience for young people to learn broader and more on alternative cultures.
During cognitive growth and identity formation, specifically in adolescence, considering how young people view themselves and their place in community or society is an important factor. Those who belong to marginalised groups may internalise the negative stereotypes and experience feelings of inferiority. Conversely, those belonging to the hegemonic group can develop a sense of entitlement and superiority. The notion of self in youth work, again an important factor in acquisition of self towards aspirations for young people.
Hegemony very often leads to an unequal distribution of resources and opportunities. Young people from marginalised backgrounds may face barriers in accessing education, employment, healthcare, and other essential services, limiting their ability to thrive and reach their full potential. Youth work has moved into a space outside of education and is now in many areas offering meals during sessions to respond to the challenges of the cost of living crisis on families and communities. Determining the action as beneficial alongside challenging the role of educator in provider opposes in some way the creator not consumer paradigm. ‘Food for Thought!”
Young people can be affected by a lack of engagement or apathy in relation to political processes. Young people who feel disenfranchised or marginalised may be less likely to participate in civic activities or exercise their rights, while those benefiting from the hegemonic system may be more inclined to maintain a sense of order in fear of losing control or the version of success that a false meritocracy has ideologically promoted.
Representation of hegemonic cultures tend to dominate mainstream media, literature, and other forms of cultural expression. This often reduces or tokenises the representation of diverse perspectives and experiences, making it difficult for young people to see themselves reflected in the media or find validation for their identities. The incredible youth work that demonstrates the complexities in the visual, digital, literal world with young people exploring diversity are a facet of informal education that opens representation.
Whilst there are many constraints imposed by hegemony, young people often resist and challenge dominant power structures. They may aspire to engage in activism or advocacy to promote social justice, equality, and inclusion, contributing to efforts to dismantle hegemonic systems and create a more equitable society. This occurs in youth work regularly, to an extent the impact is valid within the context of the youth centre or project and the wider scale activism is bound in hegemonic rule of law, policy and procedures that reduce the challenge young people and youth workers can elicit. In this space, the notion of informed choices and encouraging young people to have voice is arguably watered down to an ‘appropriate’ version that the dominant will accept – the complex and divisive influence of hegemony is ever present and the use of developmental supervision to resolve and settle the values compass is essential for youth work practitioners. Recognition and addressing the layers of hegemonic power dynamic in and outside the youth work arena is important to create a more inclusive and equitable society where all young people have opportunity.
So where do we start?
We begin with understanding and working with young people around cultural hegemony, identifying the dominant cultural norms, values, and ideologies that can shape the experiences and perspectives of young people. Youth work can act to challenge or reinforce these norms. For instance, youth workers may promote critical thinking and questioning of societal norms, or they may inadvertently perpetuate dominant ideologies. Asking the tough questions in the team, with young people and of yourself as a practitioner will lead to a developing personal and professional response.
Understanding in detail the political structures and institutions that are present that may exert influence over both youth work and young people through policies, laws, and current social ideas of youth. Youth work can engage young people in civic participation and activism to challenge existing power structures or can serve as a means of social control by channelling young people’s energy into a range of forms of participation.
In youth work and informal education, we are navigating the intersections of young people’s experience. Taking time to examine how dominant narratives are evident in the youth work setting or project create an essential criticality of thought towards disrupting power dynamics to work towards inclusive, empowering approaches. This will involve engaging in the critical consciousness and advocating for systemic change to address the root causes of inequality and injustice.
Using Youth Work Responses To Challenge Hegemony
Creating a framework of youth work methods to indicate impact and progression, the following key aspect of encouraging young people’s response to hegemony and marginalisation are founded through evaluative review of the measurable scale of change for individuals and groups.
Effective youth work can indeed challenge hegemony by providing young people with the tools, knowledge, and spaces to critically engage with dominant narratives and power structures. Here are some ideas on how youth work can be developed towards this:
Safe Spaces: Creating safe and inclusive spaces where young people feel comfortable expressing themselves and exploring their identities can counteract hegemonic norms that marginalise certain groups. For example, Discussions around Hollywood movies and UK television series often reflect a version of cultural values and perspectives, shaping global perceptions and influencing societal norms. Ask young people how this representation aligns to their lives and what their safe space should look like to represent their lived experience. Developing critical media literacy skills for the youth work team alongside young people can enable a deconstruction of mainstream media representations and narratives, exposing underlying biases and power dynamics. What does you safe space look like and for whom?
Critical Pedagogy: Youth work can incorporate critical pedagogy approaches, encouraging young people to question, research, analyse, and challenge dominant ideologies and power dynamics. This type of activity create an enhanced knowledge base, information as a guide rather than power principle to develop critical thinking that encourages development of ideology. Soft power refers to the ability to influence others through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion or payment. Hegemonic powers often wield soft power through their cultural, political, and economic influence, shaping global perceptions and preferences in their favour. The focus on consumer lifestyle politics in the realm of desirability and success is fostered in the false meritocracy that hegemony instructs society in. Projects around branding, hype, wealth and real world consumerism, poverty and disadvantage are pathways to enable critical dialogues.
Working to empower young people to voice their opinions, concerns, and aspirations can disrupt hegemonic discourses that silence marginalised perspectives. The process of empowerment is challenging to measure as the forces of social control limit the acceptability of alternative forms of empowerment. The role of the youth worker as agent of social change rather than agent of social control recognises young people through a rights-based approach and can connect through a partnership built on values and co-connected ideologies. The skills in reasoning and negotiation to enable an important generational response can be a valuable youth work response.
Examining Intersections: It is vital for the youth work practitioner to acknowledge and address the intersections of different forms of oppression (such as race, gender, class, sexuality). This can support youth workers and young people understand the complexity of hegemony and its impacts on various communities and how to develop projects and activities that respond with a clear demonstration of inclusion and valuing diversity.
Partnering with other organisations and advocating for policy changes that address systemic inequalities can amplify the impact of youth work in challenging hegemony. Working with young people to understand how institutions and structures function, enables a collective view on how to disrupt, and interplay with those structure to facilitate change.
Whist considering where hegemony operates in the community and in society and impact upon young people, the visible and invisible pre-conditions may appear to be too large a conflict to take on. It is however important to acknowledge that in each youth work interaction, in each youth work session or project that inclusive words and actions by informal educators are opening the doors of social justice. Developing and creating a depth of understanding to work towards enhanced youth work responses and methods to encourage young people to value self, challenge and raise alternative perspectives is a source of our work.
Have you had positive experiences of working with hegemony? Are there hegemonic challenges in your area of youth work? Why not post a comment in the Youth Work Common Room members area (Link HERE to the Democracy and Youth Work forum space) to continue this important discussion.