journal articles and book chapters 1975- | infed articles 1996-2026 | exploring south ronaldsay 2025-
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Journal articles, book chapters and presentations 1975-
Smith, M. and Barnes, D. (1975). ‘The uncharted careers officer’, Careers Quarterly 26(3): 37-38.
Smith, M. (1976). ‘A community approach to careers work training’ Careers Quarterly 27(2): 21-6. epub version | pdf version
Smith M. (1980).’A practice for freedom: informal political education and youth work’, Teaching Politics 9(1) 22-35. A Practice for Freedom – Mark Smith -1979 [pdf]
Smith, M. (1981).’Learning interpersonal skills. Social group work in schools’, Social Science Teacher 10(4): i-vi.
Smith, M. (1987). ‘Non-formal political education’ in C. Harber (ed.) Political Education in Britain. Lewes: Falmer Press. pp. 74 – 89. Smith-non-formal-political-education [pdf]. Also available online:
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (1987). What future for initial training’, Youth and Policy 20: 7-14). (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-20/).
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (1989). ‘Youth’ in M. Haralambos (ed.) Developments in Sociology Vol. 5. Ormskirk: Causeway Press, pp. 1-20.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (1990). ‘Youth work, Youth Service and the next few years’, Youth and Policy 31: 21-29. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-31/)
Smith, M. (1991). ‘In the Service of Youth Revisited’, Youth & Policy 34: 36-40. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-34/)
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (1991). Fallacy: The school is a poor base for youth work. A version of this piece by Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith was published in: O’Hagan, B. (ed). (1991). The Charnwood Papers. Fallacies in community education. Ticknall: Education Now Publishing Cooperative Ltd. [https://infed.org/mobi/28446-2/]
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (1992). ‘Youth’ (with Tony Jeffs) in M. Haralambos (ed.) Developments in Sociology Vol. 8. Ormskirk: Causeway Press. pp. 65-91.
Smith, M. (1992). ‘The possibilities of public life: educating in the community’ in G. Allen & I. Martin (eds.) Education and Community: the politics of practice. London: Cassell, pp. 105-117. The possibilities of public life – Mark Smith [pdf].
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (1992). ‘Putting youth work in its place’ Youth and Policy 36: 10-16. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-36/).
Smith, M. (1992). ‘Researchers, practitioners and working with young people around HIV/AIDS’ in P. Aggleton (ed.) Young People and HIV/AIDS Research. Swindon: Economic and Social Research Council.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (1993). ‘Getting the job done. Training for youth work – past, present and future’, Youth and Policy 40: 10-32. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-40/).
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1994). ‘Young people, youth work and a new authoritarianism’ Youth and Policy 46: 17-32. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-46/).
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1995). ‘Youth’ in M. Haralambos (ed.) Developments in Sociology Vol. 11. Ormskirk: Causeway Press. pp. 63-88.
Smith, M. K. (1995). ‘Developing critical communities of practice’, Groupwork pp. 134 – 151.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1996). ‘“Getting the dirtbags off the streets” – curfews and other solutions to juvenile crime’, Youth and Policy 53: 1-14. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-53/).
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1998). ‘Youth’ in M. Haralambos (ed.) Developments in Sociology Vol. 14, Ormskirk: Causeway Press, pp. 55-79, 1998a.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1999). ‘Informal education and health promotion’ in I. Simnett, E. R. Perkins and L. Wright (eds.) Evidence-Based Health Promotion: Principles and practice. Chichester: John Wiley, pp.206-215.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1999). ‘The problem of youth for youth work’), Youth and Policy 62, pp. 45 – 66. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-62/).
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1999). ‘” Tainted money”: ethical dilemmas in the funding of youth and community work’ in S. Banks (ed.) The Ethics of Youth Work. London: Routledge, pp. 55-74.
Smith, M. K. (2000). ‘Informal Education – Classic texts revisited’, Youth and Policy 70, pp 78-90. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-70/).
Smith, M. K. (2001). ‘Settlements and adult education’ in R. Gilchrist and T. Jeffs (eds.) Settlements, Social Change and Community Action. London: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 123-151. Click to download a pdf of the article: Settlements and adult education
Smith, M. K. (2001). ‘Josephine Macalister Brew: youth work and informal education’ in R. Gilchrist, T. Jeffs and J. Spence (eds.) Essays in the History of Community and Youth Work. Leicester: Youth Work Press, pp. 203-220.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (2001). ‘Youth’ in M. Haralambos (ed.) Developments in Sociology Vol. 17, Ormskirk: Causeway Press, pp. 77-101.
Smith, M. K. (2001). ‘Place, space and informal education’ in L. Deer-Richardson M. Wolfe (ed.) Informal Education and Lifelong Learning: Principles and practice. London: Routledge. [https://infed.org/dir/place-space-and-informal-education/]
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (2002). ‘Individualization and youth work’ Youth and Policy 76, pp 39-65. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-76/).
Smith, M. K. (2002). ‘Socialpædogogik’, Tidskrift for Socialpædogogik, nr 10, pp. 20-26.
Smith, M. K. (2003). ‘From youth work to youth development. The new government framework for English youth services’, Youth and Policy 79, pp. 46-59. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-79/).
Smith, M. K. (2004). ‘Eduard C. Lindeman and the meaning of adult education’, Youth and Policy 82 pp. 75-86. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/y-and-p-82.pdf).
Smith, M. K. (2004). ‘The case for youth work’ – a presentation to the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. http://infed.org/dir/the-case-for-youth-work/
Smith, M. K. (2005). ‘Voluntary organizations’, in The International Encyclopaedia of Lifelong Learning. London: Palgrave.
Smith, M. K. (2006). ‘Beyond the curriculum’ in Zvi Bekerman; Nicholas C. Burbules & Diana Silberman (eds.) Learning in Places: The Informal education reader. New York: Peter Lang USA. You can read an earlier version of this piece on infed.org (https://infed.org/dir/beyond-the-curriculum-fostering-associational-life-in-schools/)
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (2006). ‘Where is Youth Matters taking us?’, Youth and Policy 91 pp. 23-39. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-91/).
Smith, M. K. (2007). ‘Social capital’ in Gary McCulloch and David Crook (eds.) The International Encyclopaedia of Education. London: Routledge.
Smith, M. K. (2007) ‘Youth work and clubs’ in Gary McCulloch and David Crook (eds.) The International Encyclopaedia of Education. London: Routledge.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (2009). ‘Valuing youth work’, Youth and Policy 100. (https://www.youthandpolicy.org/y-and-p-archive/issue-100/).
Smith, M. K. (2009). ‘Why history?’ in Ruth Gilchrist et al. (eds.) Essays in the History of Youth and Community Work. Lyme Regis: Russell House Press.
Smith, M. K. (2010). ‘Informal education’ in W. Curtis and A. Pettigrew (eds.) Education Studies. Reflective Reader. Exeter: Learning Matters. Pp. 154-9.
Smith, M. K. (2011). Young people and the 2011 ‘riots’ in England – experiences, explanations and implications for youth work. London: The Rank Foundation [YARN]. https://markksmith.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The-2011-riots-yarn-v3.pdf or https://infed.org/dir/young-people-and-the-2011-riots-in-england/.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (2021). The education of informal educators, Education Sciences.
Smith, M. K. (2022). Why cohousing is good for people and communities – the evidence. Hope Cohousing.
infed.org articles 1996-2026
Over 150 articles written by me are on infed.org, which started in 1996 and finished in 2026. They can be accessed via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
These are some of the listed articles:
Andragogy: what is it and does it help thinking about adult learning?
Animate, care, educate – the core processes of pedagogy
Pierre Bourdieu on education: Habitus, capital, and field. Reproduction in the practice of education
Josephine Macalister Brew, youth work and informal education
What is curriculum? Exploring theory and practice
Dialogue and conversation for learning, education and change
What is education? A definition and discussion
Haltung, pedagogy and informal education
Octavia Hill, housing and social reform
Viewing Impington – Henry Morris and the idea of the village college
What is informal education? (with Tony Jeffs)
Ivan Illich on deschooling, conviviality, and systems. Possibilities for education and social change
Pearl Jephcott, youth and the lives of ordinary people
Writing and keeping journals. A guide for educators and social practitioners
Naomi Klein: globalization, capitalism, neoliberalism and climate change
What is learning? A definition and discussion
Eduard C. Lindeman and the meaning of adult education
Maria Montessori and education
Hannah More: Sunday schools, education and youth work
Nel Noddings, the ethics of care and education
Marie Paneth: Branch Street, the Windemere children, art and pedagogy
What is pedagogy? A definition and discussion
Jean-Jacques Rousseau on nature, wholeness and education
Donald Schon (Schön): learning, reflection and change
Richard Sennett: Class and the new capitalism, craftsmanship, cooperation and cities
Social pedagogy: the development of theory and practice
Maude Stanley, girls’ clubs and district visiting
M. Joan Tash, youth work and the development of professional supervision
Richard Henry Tawney, fellowship and adult education
What is teaching? A definition and discussion
Basil Yeaxlee, lifelong learning and informal education
Exploring South Ronaldsay
You don’t have to go far in South Ronaldsay to find fascinating places to visit and things to do. On the website – exploringsouthronaldsay.net – we are highlighting settings that, hopefully, give people a flavour of the island and insights into its history and daily life. We also list a range of sites of historic interest. What follows are some of the currently published pages. Further pages are in development.
New: Smith, Mark K. (2026). A (very) brief history of Burray and South Ronaldsay – the later years. [https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/a-very-brief-history-of-burray-and-south-ronaldsay-the-later-years/]
Smith, Mark K. (2025). Exploring listed buildings in Burray and South Ronladsay, Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. [https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/listed-buildings-from-north-to-south/].
Smith, M. K. (2025). A (very) brief history of South Ronaldsay, Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. [https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/a-very-brief-history-of-south-ronaldsay/.
Smith, M. K. (2025). Five places you must visit and experience in South Ronaldsay, Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. [https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/five-places-you-must-experience-in-south-ronaldsay/.
Smith, M. K. (2025). Archaeological sites in South Ronaldsay. Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. [https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/archaeological-sites-in-south-ronaldsay/].
Smith, M. K. (2025). Churches and chapels to visit and explore in South Ronaldsay and Burray. Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. [https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/churches-and-chapels-in-south-ronaldsay-and-burray/.
Smith, M. K. (2025). Exploring listed buildings in Burray and South Ronaldsay. Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/listed-buildings-from-north-to-south/
Smith, M. K. (2025). Mills – water and wind – in South Ronaldsay. Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/mills-water-and-wind-in-south-ronaldsay/.
Smith, M. K. (2025). Schools in South Ronaldsay and Burray. Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/schools-and-halls-in-south-ronaldsay/.
Smith, M. K. (2025). Standing stones in South Ronaldsay. Exploring South Ronaldsay. St Margaret’s Hope. https://exploringsouthronaldsay.net/standing-stones-in-south-ronaldsay/.
Listening walks
Three other articles from the site were born of the The Listening Walk project [part of the Creative Islands Network, Culture Collective programme funded by Creative Scotland and run by An Lanntair, Pier Arts Centre, Shetland Arts and Chearsabhagh].
The Burwick, St Peter’s and St Margaret’s Hope Listening Walks featured on these pages were developed from two grants awarded to Sheena Graham-George by the Culture Collective Fund to bring communities together after Covid. As the artist, she worked with different folks in the community. The result was a fascinating collage of local life. When you click a link, you can listen to local people talking about different aspects of local life over the years.
Exploring Burwick [the listening walk]
Exploring St. Margaret’s Hope [the listening walk]
Exploring St Peter’s Kirk [the listening walk]
You can also view other elements of Sheena’s work via her website: https://www.sheenagrahamgeorge.com/.
Photograph – Hannah Arendt, portrait in the courtyard of her birthplace – by Hannes Grobe – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=148728155