I shall attempt to delineate the approach to the socialization of maladjusted youth in Africa, first trying to specify the activities involved in this task, and then briefly discussing what is expected of an educateuror, more precisely, what role the educateur plays in African society. But let me, before all else, try to provide a general perspective on the problem of maladjusted children in developing countries. In the past, the closely knit structure of our traditional societies, with their tight, independent, family units, permitted a more casual attitude to be taken toward maladjusted children. Parental authoritypaternal or maternal, depending on the social structurethe influence of aunts and uncles, and adoption systems (i.e., the tacit assumption of guardianship by a friend or relative) all exercised a positive influence in matters of youthful maladjustment. Unfortunately, these family structures have greatly deteriorated, even in the most secluded villages; and in the urban or industrial centers, the problems of childhood and adolescence are becoming particularly acute. The schools and the socio-economic development programs of which they are an integral part are uprooting children from the countryside and attracting them to the towns; and the manpower demands in the urban and industrial centers are gradually eroding the integral family unit, the result sometimes being that children are abandoned. The continued existence of polygamy also has important consequences in this regard. The uprooting of village populations leads to increasing unemployment in urban centers and gives rise to an unstable situation in rural areas, thus accentuating both sides of the general problem of underdevelopment. This aspect of underdevelopment has occupied the full attention of African nations in their efforts to provide brighter prospects for maladjusted youth. Not only those problems specific to maladjusted children but also those relating to youth as a whole must be given adequate consideration within the long-range programs of social and economic development.