Posts

Guide Helps Organizations Engage Youth in Program Evaluation

By and reprinted from the Annie E. Casey Foundation Youth Engage­ment in Research and Eval­u­a­tion, a new guide for youth-serv­ing orga­ni­za­tions, makes a com­pelling case for part­ner­ing with young peo­ple in the eval­u­a­tion of pro­grams and poli­cies. Pub­lished by the UCLA Cen­ter for the Devel­op­ing Ado­les­cent and fund­ed by the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion, the […]

The importance of engagement for adolescents in afterschool programs

Sjogren, A. L., Zumbrunn, S., Broda, M., Bae, C. L., & Deutsch, N. L. (2022). Understanding afterschool engagement: Investigating developmental outcomes for adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 69, 169– 182. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12554 Summarized by Charlotte Styron and Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Evidence suggests that participating in high-quality after-school programs promotes positive youth development & academic outcomes. […]

FY23 Government Funding Bill Increases Investment in Mentoring

By Caden Fabbi, Reprinted from MENTOR Thanks to this movement, the mandatory annual legislation that funds federal government programs signed into law this week includes significant investments that support the mentoring movement: The Youth Mentoring Program grant, managed by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), will be funded at $107 million for […]

New study explores how to incorporate a positive youth development framework.

Rajagopal, S., Harper, K., Holzhauer, K., & Kumra, T. (2022). Utilization of positive youth development framework by youth-facing organizations in Baltimore city. Journal of Youth Development, 17(4). https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2022.1225 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Positive youth development (PYD) is an approach that encourages youth to be productive, healthy, and engaged in their communities. Evidence shows […]

Students Offer Lessons on Enhancing Engagement in Youth Programs

By Deja Logan, April Wilson, Hannah Netschytailo, and Valerie Martinez, Reprinted from Child Trends Effective engagement with youth in programs is an essential element for those programs to achieve their desired positive outcomes. For example, a program that aims to support healthy relationships among youth is unlikely to be successful if enrolled youth do not […]

Six best practices to maximize youth leadership in out-of-school time programs

Wu, J. H.-C., Shereda, A., Stacy, S. T., Weiss, J. K., & Heintschel, M. (2022). Maximizing youth leadership in out-of-school time programs: Six best practices from youth driven spaces. Journal of Youth Development, 17(3).  https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2022.1179 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Youth-adult partnerships (Y-AP) are becoming a common approach to encouraging people to participate in youth […]

What factors promote positive youth development among Chinese youth?

Wang, Y., Li, X., Bronk, K. C., & Lin, D. (2022). Factors that promote positive Chinese youth development: A qualitative study. Applied Developmental Science, 0(0), 1–18.  https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2022.2060225 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Despite the pervasive use of positive youth development (PYD) in western countries, there’s a lack of work on PYD in mainland China, […]

Access to Quality Youth Programs and the Role They Play in Positive Youth Development

Reprinted from the Search Institute High-quality youth programs are a foundation for success for young people, allowing them to discover and build on their strengths and identities. They foster positive youth development in myriad ways, creating spaces where young people are known, seen, and valued. In particular, opportunities to participate in the arts, sports, and […]

Lessons learned from after-school program responses to COVID-19 in Spain

Morata, T., López, P., Palasí, E., Hodges, J. C., & Calvo, R. (2022). After-school programmes response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned from Barcelona, Spain. Child & Family Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12925 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  ​​ The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on youths’ academics and psychosocial well-being, particularly those from low-income […]

Supporting student success through joint decision-making in schools

Lyons, M. D., Edwards, K. D., & Fallavollita, W. L. (2021). Promoting mentoring relationships through joint decisions: Evidence from a national mentoring program. School Psychology, 36(4), 214–223. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000440 Summarized by Maggie Bayly Notes of Interest: A strong mentor-mentee relationship is established through a personal and emotional connection with a nonfamilial adult. The quality of the […]