This authoritative text is a must-read for anyone working, or training to work, with young people. It considers how theory, policy and practice intersect and influence one another in today's challenging and rapidly changing social, economic and political contexts. Offering a timely contribution to the debate, it covers key themes and developments, including:

" the principles that underpin work with young people

" the policy and practice in a wide range of contexts, both national and international

" the key concepts currently high on the policy and practice agenda

" how we understand the lives of young people, in particular investigating their 'real worlds' and understanding their social construction.

An essential companion for the professional training of youth workers, this core text will also be of interest to students in a wide range of fields such as education, criminology and youth justice, sociology and social policy.