Youth-work and young people’s agency in a Mediterranean context: an evaluation research in the South of Italy

This study aimed at evaluating informal and non-formal learning in youth centres located in the South of Italy and funded by a regional policy called “Bollenti Spiriti”. Particularly, the evaluation purpose was to provide empirical evidence about how non-formal learning affect young people’s agency. The research involved all the young people attending all the non-formal education courses occurred in the youth centres between January and May 2011 (159 young people in 23 training courses of 10 youth centres). A single group design has been adopted and a self-administered paper questionnaire has been administered at the beginning of the training programmes, at the end and 6 months later. For the case studies included in this research, participation in non-formal and informal education seems associated with an agency improvement in half of the young participants. The research results also suggest that young people’s agency is associated with an autonomy supportive learning.