scholarly journals Positive Youth Development in the 21st Century: Exploring Online Environments

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Mark Light ◽  
Jessica Falkenthal
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Target Audience ◽  
Youth Organizations ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
Online Environments ◽  
New Strategies

The manner that young people and adults are communicating with each other is rapidly changing in society that is, in part, driven by the latest technology. As a youth-driven program, we must engage in new strategies and methods by which we communicate with youth members, volunteers, families, and the community at large. Social and mobile media are a growing and popular venue for much of our target audience and youth development practitioners must learn how to leverage these networks to create positive youth development in online environments. If we ignore and don’t engage in the opportunity to be connected to youth online, then youth are left to make their own paths online and set the online norms. As youth organizations, we also must seize the opportunity to be online mentors and use the resources that are available and being used by our target populations.

scholarly journals Components of Camp Experiences for Positive Youth Development

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla A. Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
National Study ◽  
Youth Organizations ◽  
Religiously Affiliated ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Program Components

Youth development specialists advocate that well designed, implemented, and staffed youth centered programs result in positive outcomes for young people. Youth organizations have provided opportunities for young people to participate in camping experiences for over a century. The purpose of this paper is to describe what program components were related to camp environments and positive youth development. We describe these program components related to positive youth development based on a large scale national study of ACA (American Camp Association) accredited camps that included independent, religiously affiliated, government, and not-for-profit organizations. Based on the responses given by camp directors, contact and leadership from trained staff and the supportive relationships they provided were essential elements of camp. Other aspects leading to positive youth development in camps were program mission and structure along with elements of accountability, assessment of outcomes, and opportunities for skill building.

Positive Youth Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 87-108
Author(s):  
Nora Wiium ◽  
Fitim Uka
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Social Competencies ◽  
Use Of Time ◽  
Positive Identity ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Communist Countries

Consistent with the positive youth development perspective, the experience of internal and external assets is associated with positive development or thriving among young people. This proposal has been developed and tested mainly in the United States but it also appears to be considerably true for Roma youth living in post-communist countries. This chapter examines Roma youth (N = 354) experience of various developmental assets and how these assets are related to thriving. Study results indicated positive relations between the assets and thriving, in general. In addition, the experience of constructive use of time was quite low among Roma youth relative to internal assets, such as commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity, and other external assets such as support, empowerment, and boundaries and expectations. While this low experience of constructive use of time could be a general trend among young people, it could also reflect the discrimination and social exclusion that Roma youth often face. Because Roma youth across Europe form a significant and growing proportion of the school-age population and consequently the future workforce, policies and programs that promote both internal and external assets necessary for thriving are essential because thriving has been associated with the development of self and society.

Queer and Trans Youth Organizing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Sinclair-Palm
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Sexuality Education ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Youth Organizing ◽  
Youth Organizations ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Civic Society ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Trans Youth

Youth organizing is a form of civic engagement and activism. It offers a way for young people to identify and address social inequalities impacting their local and global communities. Youth are provided opportunities to learn about power structures and pathways to create meaningful change to support their communities. In formal institutional approaches, youth organizing is understood as part of positive youth development and a strategy to train young people about civic society and democracy. Youth organizing is also seen as a way for young people to seek support, empowerment, and resources and to develop their leadership capacity. Central to the field of youth organizing are questions on the role of youth within youth organizing. Researchers examine the leadership structure within youth organizations, the acquisition of resources for the organization, the process for identifying issues that the organization will address, and how youth experience their involvement. Youth organizing has been especially important for young marginalized people who may feel isolated and face harassment and discrimination. Researchers have extensively documented how youth organizing by people of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer and questioning (LGBTQ) young people in North America have played a large role in fights for social justice. However, it was not until the mid-20th century that queer and trans youth started organizing in groups connected by their shared experiences and identities related to their sexuality and gender. The development of Gay–Straight Alliances (GSAs) in schools and debates about sexuality education in schools provide examples for exploring LGTBQ youth organizing in the 21st century.

scholarly journals The Five Cs of Positive Youth Development in an Aotearoa/New Zealand Program Context

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 36-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayne Mercier ◽  
Catherine Powell ◽  
Georgina Langdon-Pole ◽  
Daleki (Fole) Finau ◽  
Karen Hicks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Outdoor Education ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Five Cs

This study took a qualitative look at an Aotearoa/New Zealand-based positive youth development outdoor-education program in schools using the 5 Cs model of positive youth development. The viewpoints of young people, parents, and teachers were gathered, providing an opportunity to explore additional perspectives of the 5 Cs. All 5 Cs were seen to be present in the program and the 6th C of contribution was also observed. The Cs of competence, confidence and connection featured strongly, whilst the C of connection appeared to be important to young people’s experience of the program. Young people and adults prioritized different outcomes, with adults focusing more on future impacts and young people identifying more immediate benefits. The findings of this study add to an understanding of the 5 Cs model beyond the American context and highlight areas for future research.

scholarly journals Contributions of Youth Centers to the Development of Young People in Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-89
Author(s):  
Belay Tefera ◽  
Melese Getu ◽  
Befekadu Zeleke ◽  
Yekoyealem Dessie
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Youth Centers ◽  
Global Initiative ◽  
Improve Service Quality ◽  
Youth Friendly ◽  
Youth Friendly Services

There has been a global paradigm shift in conceptualizing how best young persons can be assisted from a conventional deficit-based approach of targeting youth  to a more enabling approach of promoting their strengths and competencies. Establishment of youth centers was one such global initiative meant to catalyze positive youth development through supervised and youth-friendly services. In recognition of this, several youth centers have been established in Ethiopia in the last few decades. This research was thus conducted to examine contributions of these centers to the development of young people. Data were collected through questionnaire from a sample of 2,165 participants (service providers and service users) and observation of 94 youth centers drawn from all regions of the country. Findings indicated that the contributions of youth centers were generally minimal in terms of promoting overall positive youth development. Some evidence even showed that youth centers could serve as a platform for acquiring undesirable behaviors among the youth mainly because supervisory and follow up services were not evident. While expanding establishment of youth centers is indeed commendable to ensure access to the greater majority of youth, the need to improve service quality, however, is a priority concern for the relevant actors.

scholarly journals A Roadmap for Youth Thriving: A Commentary on the Arnold and Gagnon Vision for Positive Youth Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 147-161
Author(s):  
Richard M. Lerner
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Developmental Science ◽  
Science Theory ◽  
The Common ◽  
Theory Research ◽  
Development Practice

Youth development researchers and practitioners have the common goal of understanding and enhancing the positive development of all young people. The work of Professors Mary Arnold and Ryan Gagnon on the 4-H Thriving Model provides a creative and richly theoretically and empirically informed vision for promoting positive youth development (PYD) through integrating youth development research and practice. Their vision is an exemplar of how theoretically predicated and cutting-edge developmental science and the enactment of youth programs can be mutually informative. Drawing on the theory, research, and ideas for program design encompassed within the Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) Alliance, which applies developmental scholarship that integrates research from multiple disciplines and underscores the malleability, agency, and specificity of mutually influential coactions between youth and their contexts, Professors Arnold and Gagnon illustrate the features of researchópractice integration that must be enacted for innovative progress in programs aimed at enhancing youth thriving. The compelling roadmap for promoting PYD through the integrations framed by the 4-H Thriving Model will advance youth development practice, developmental science theory and research and, most important, the lives of the diverse young people of our nation.

scholarly journals Convergence of a strengths perspective and youth development: Toward youth promotion practice

10.18060/5 ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong Woong Cheon
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Strengths Perspective

In recent years, increased attention has been paid to the development and application of the strengths perspective and positive youth development. This paper develops youth promotion practice as a convergence of a strengths perspective and youth development principles. Historical and contemporary contexts of a problem-focused perspective in social work with adolescents are reviewed and a critique developed with emphasis on the evolution of strengths-focused practices. The importance and possibility of combining the strengths perspective and youth development toward youth promotion practice are addressed. Youth promotion is defined as a process of enhancing youth strengths and resources to promote positive outcomes and help young people be healthy adults. Complementary aspects of the two perspectives are expected to support and supplement the strengths and weaknesses of each perspective in synergistic ways. Several advantages of youth promotion practice are discussed as well as its implications for improved social work practices with adolescents.

scholarly journals How adult volunteers contribute to positive youth development in the twenty-first century

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-33
Author(s):  
Denis O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Life Issues ◽  
Development Outcomes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Adult Volunteers

AbstractThis article reflects on the importance of adult volunteers in Foróige, a leading Irish youth development organisation. Volunteers make up some 97 per cent of all youth workers in Ireland. Outcomes for huge numbers of young people are mediated through and depend upon volunteers’ suitability, availability, knowledge and skills. The article takes as its starting point three pieces of research in Foróige. Using this evidence, I describe what appear to be the key strengths of the cohorts of volunteers we studied and how Foróige builds on these to reach positive youth development outcomes similar to those sought by the Queensland framework. To support this, Foróige has invested heavily on volunteer development to increase volunteer engagement and provide more roles in which volunteers can participate in achieving youth development outcomes. I explore the value of the positive interactions between volunteers and young people, the role of volunteers in increasing young people's connectedness to community, and the impact on volunteers of other life issues that compete for their time. I outline how the outputs and outcomes of youth work in Foróige would be hugely diminished without adult volunteers.

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