The present volume celebrates the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of Youth Studies (IYS) at Tangaza University College, Catholic University of Eastern Africa. The presence of IYS suggests that we need to acknowledge that ‘youth studies’ could be a legitimate academic programme, and youth work and ministry are inevitable employable professions. IYS prepares youth workers and counsellors through its academic programmes in youth ministry, youth studies and counselling psychology. The programmes focus on three components: theories – that explain the nature and behaviour of youth; skills – in dealing with youth and their families in a variety of contexts; and research – in order to evolve home-grown models and theories in youth work and counselling.
This book is a collection of papers that report studies carried out by the lecturers and students of IYS. Some of the papers that form chapters of this book are conceptual, in that they summarise existing theories that are useful in youth work; other chapters are empirical, which report findings emerging from data that have examined the situation of children, youth and women in the African situation; still others are review papers that examine a set of literature pertaining to a youth issue. Taken together, the papers discuss challenges and opportunities of youth in Kenya and elsewhere.