This book focuses on how youth work and music is measured and valued. The collection explores the landscape of youth work and music, music production and young people's identities, and the opportunities and constraints within the measurement of these kinds of programmes. In addition, it analyses the impact of music-making on young people's wellbeing, the criminalisation of minoritized groups of young people and subcultures, and the evaluation of informal education and creative education. Amid ubiquitous music-making and sharing by young people globally, these essays provide a practical resource with particular relevance for educators and cultural policymakers.

Chapter "Listening to Practice: Valuing the Informal in Youth Work Evaluation" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Autorentext

Dr Frances Howard is Associate Professor of Youth Research, at Nottingham Trent University and has been the evaluator for several Nottingham-based Youth Music projects. She has published research on young music-makers, youth work and music-making and arts programmes with at risk youth. Frances' research monograph: Global Perspectives on Youth Arts Programs: How and Why the Arts Can Make a Difference, was published in 2022.

Dr Brian McShane is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at De Montfort University. Brian's research focuses on masculinities, violence and preventative responses. Recent research includes evaluation work for Youth Justice Services on non-statutory offers to young people and for Youth Endowment Fund on A&E Navigator services supporting young people at risk of violence. Brian is co-editor of the collection Youth, Transitions and Social Justice: Researching Spaces of Social Action, published in 2025.

Simon Glenister is the founder of Noise Solution, a multiple national award-winning social enterprise established in 2009 that leverages music technology to create social impact. Simon's work is equally informed by a career as a professional musician and his research in digital youth work and well-being, during his MEd at the University of Cambridge.