UK-German youth exchange formats, topics, outcomes, and benefits
Encouraging UK-German Youth Exchanges
in marginalised circumstances are understood to require higher levels of support and therefore benefit from exchanges with a higher ratio of youth workers to young people.
The importance placed on working with marginalised groups by UK youth workers (see Chapter 5) may also explain their preference for working with small groups compared to their German counterparts. Young people
Graph 3.2 Youth workers – Length of youth exchange considered suitable, by country group
Graph 3.3 Young people – Group sizes of interest, by country group
100%
UK (n=194) DE (n=690)
45.7% 35.4%
82.6% 86.1%
19.6%
7.6%
82.2
80%
73.2
72.9
66.5
Very short stay (3-4 days)
Short-term stay (up to 14 days)
Long-term stay (14+ days)
60.0
60%
Valid % multiple answers possible
41.2
40.2
40%
30.0
UK (n=46) DE (n=79)
20%
0
Group size For group exchanges, the sizes of groups desired by young survey participants in both the UK and Germany were similar. Small group (less than 10 people) was the most popular format, closely followed by mid-sized group (11-25 people). Large group (25+ people) exchanges appealed to only around a third of young people in both countries. There was a much greater interest in individual exchanges within Germany than there is in the UK. Nearly three quarters (72.9%, n=503) of German participants are interested in this compared to less than half of UK participants (40.2%, n=78) (Graph 3.3). The results from youth workers were comparable to the results from young people, apart from much less support for individual exchanges from youth workers. Youth workers' preferences on group sizes were similar between countries (Graph 3.4). Small groups and mid- sized groups were the strongest two preferences, but UK participants exhibited a stronger preference for small groups , and German participants saw both sizes as near equally favourable.
Individual
Small group (up to 10 people)
Mid group (11-25 people)
Large group (25+ people)
The interviews with youth workers provided some context to these responses. Although youth workers did see a value in individual exchanges, their primary interest was in developing opportunities for group work. Group work was identified as a core part of youth work practice and therefore a core part of youth exchange. For nearly all youth workers in the interviews a youth exchange was an opportunity to provide group-based learning experiences, lasting over an extended period of time. “For me, it's simply the classic group size of 20 people, where at some point a group dynamic can develop so that everyone can easily integrate and complement each other in the group and take on different roles.” German youth worker
Graph 3.4 Youth workers – Group size considered suitable, by country group
80%
UK (n=46) DE (n=79)
71.7
58.7
60%
57.0
58.2
40%
19.6 19.0
20%
15.2
10.1
0
Individual
Small group ( up to 10 people)
Mid group (11-25 people)
Large group (25+ people)
24
25
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