Joanne G. Keith

Community Youth Development: Programs, Policies, and Practices

Preface Acknowledgments 1. Community Youth Development: Partnership Creating a Positive World - Daniel F. Perkins (Pennsylvania State University), Lynne M. Borden (University of Arizona), Joanne G. Keith (Michigan State University), Tianna Hoppe-Rooney, & Francisco A. Villarruel (Michigan State University) Part I: Individual Issues 2. The African-American Child & Positive Youth Development: A Journey from Support to Sufficiency - Edna Olive (ROCKET, Inc.) 3. Research Realities & a Vision of Success for Latino Youth Development - Michael C. Rodriguez (University of Minnesota), Diana Morrobel (Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center), & Francisco A. Villarruel (Michigan State University) 4. Positive Youth Development in Urban American Indian Adolescents - Tamara C. Cheshire & Walter T. Kawamoto (California State University, Sacramento) 5. Facilitating Positive Development in Immigrant Youth: The Role of Mentors & Community Organizations - Jennifer G. Roffman, Carola Suarez-Orozco (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), & Jean E. Rhodes (University of Massachusetts, Boston) 6. The Role of Gender in Enhancing Program Strategies for Healthy Youth Development - Jill Denner (ETR Associates) & Amy Griffin (Michigan State University) 7. Adolescent Sexuality & Positive Youth Development - Stephen T. Russell (University of California, Davis, & 4-H Center for Youth Development) & Nikki Sigler Andrews 8. Positive Development for Youth with Disabilities: Lessons Learned from Two Stories of Success - Esther Onaga, Marsha Carolan, Cathryn Maddalena, & Francisco A. Villarruel (all of Michigan State University) Part II: The Intersection of Youth and Community Programs 9. A Serious Look at Leisure: The Role of Leisure Time & Recreation Activities in Positive Youth Development - Linda L. Caldwell & Cheryl K. Baldwin (both of Pennsylvania State University) 10. Working Hand in Hand: Community Youth Development & Career Development - Theresa M. Ferrari (Ohio State University) 11. Workforce & Youth Development for Court-Involved Youth: Barriers & Promising Approaches - David Brown, Edward DeJesus, Sarah Maxwell, & Vincent Schiraldi 12. The Character of Moral Communities: A Community Youth Development Approach to Enhancing Character Development - Karen L. Pace (Michigan State University) 13. Youth Civic Development: A Logical Next Step in Community Youth Development - Constance Flanagan & Beth Van Horn (both of Pennsylvania State University) 14. Giving Youth a Voice in Their Own Community & Personal Development: Strategies & Impacts of Bringing Youth to the Table - Melissa S. Quon Huber (Michigan State University), Jeff Frommeyer, Amy Weisenbach, and Jennifer Sazama Part III: Youth Professionals, Communities, and Youth 15. Key Elements of Community Youth Development Programs - Daniel F. Perkins (Pennsylvania State University) & Lynne M. Borden (University of Arizona) 16. Positive Youth Development: The Role of Competence - Angela J. Huebner (Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University) 17. Adults Who Make a Difference: Identifying the Skills & Characteristics of Successful Youth Workers - Nicole Yohalem (The Forum for Youth Investment) 18. The Essential Youth Worker: Supports & Opportunities for Professional Success - Joyce A. Walker (University of Minnesota) 19. Community Youth Development: Youth Voice & Activism - Francisco A. Villarruel (Michigan State University), Daniel F. Perkins (Pennsylvania State University), Lynne M. Borden (University of Arizona), & Joanne G. Keith (Michigan State University) Author Index Subject Index About the Contributors

Participation in Structured Youth Programs: Why Ethnic Minority Urban Youth Choose to Participate--Or Not to Participate.

This study examines the cultural and contextual factors that influence the decisions of underrepresented urban youth, who identify themselves as Black/ African American, Latino, Arab, or Chaldean, to participate in youth programs. Although youth programs are increasingly recognized for their positive influences, little is known about the factors that influence a young persons decision to participate. Using the concept systems method, participants engaged in “brainstorming sessions” that led to more in-depth discussions about why youth participate in youth programs. Overall, youth emphasized how youth programs help young people stay off the streets, learn new skills, avoid boredom, and provide opportunities for fun and enjoyable activities. The perceived barriers preventing young people from participating differed between genders and ethnicities and included barriers related to personal decisions, peer influence, and parental restrictions.

Challenges and Opportunities to Latino Youth Development: Increasing Meaningful Participation in Youth Development Programs.

This study examines the cultural and contextual factors that influence Latino participation in youth programs. Although youth programs are increasingly recognized for their positive influences, little is known about the factors that influence a young person’s decision to participate. In this study, 67 Latino youth were asked about the reasons youth choose to and choose not to participate. Utilizing the Concept Systems method, youth participated in three phases of data collection—brainstorming, sorting, and ranking—to provide an in-depth understanding of reasons for and barriers to participation. Overall, youth ranked personal development and confidence as their top reasons for participation. Participants also ranked factors for participation higher than barriers to participation. Gender and intergenerational differences are discussed in more detail.

The Relationship between Parental Employment and Three Measures of Early Adolescent Responsibility Family-Related, Personal, and Social

Early adolescence is a crucial period in the development of autonomy which includes the taking of responsibility and self-management. The relationship between the development of responsibility and changing parental employment patterns was the focus of this study. Two-way analyses of variance were employed to determine whether levels of responsibility differed according to parental employment status and gender of adolescent. The sample consisted of 174 early adolescents and their parents who were part of a statewide survey conducted in Michigan in 1987. Interviews with adolescents and their parents yielded data in personal, family-related, and social responsibility. Neither parental employment status nor gender of child was found to be related to personal responsibility. Gender effects were significant for family responsibility with boys and girls assuming traditionally male and female roles. In the area of social responsibility, adolescents from two-parent families in which one parent was not employed participated in more volunteer activities than did adolescents from single-parent families. Girls were more likely than boys to participate in volunteer activities.

The Young Spartan Program: Partners with Students

Educational aspirations. Learning in community. Expansion of boundaries. Creating a sense of future possibilities. Career exploration. Understanding diversity. Seeing academic work in action. These activities are vital to educational goals for school age children, and for university students. How are they learned? How are they enhanced? Can students do this task alone or is community-based learning necessary? Are they learned best by default—or can they be designed?