Session 6: Youth Development
Monday, September 30

Major Themes to Be Covered

1. The challenges to and the opportunities for healthy, positive development among contemporary American youth.

2. The differences between prevention versus promotion as potential intervention strategies for capitalizing on opportunities for positive youth development.

3. The attributes of positive development among young people (the "Five Cs" of positive youth development: Competence; Confidence; Connection; Character; and Caring/Compassion).

4. The assets for positive development that is are present among young people and within their families and communities.

5. The influence of communities and families on youth development . The importance of community-based initiatives (e.g., community youth charters, community charting of developmental assets for youth) in enhancing the ability of families to enhance the lives of young people.

6. The influence of youth development on the transition to adulthood.

7. The importance of community-based programs that have been proven to be effective. Examples are include:

8. Integrative programs that integratively promote youth civic engagement and positive development in-school and through after-school activities for young people (e.g., through service learning or experiential learning activities);

9. Programs that enhance youth participation in community building (e.g., through character education or apprenticeship programs);

10. Programs that strengthen school-to-work transitions;

11. Programs that involve mentoring of and by youth (e.g., peer counseling and dispute resolution programs); and

12. Programs that enhance volunteerism and offer youth opportunities for community leadership.

13. The characteristics of effective youth programs versus programs that have been shown through evaluation research not to be effective (e.g., the DARE program to prevent drug and alcohol abuse).

Students Will Learn

1. The strengths possessed by young people, and the role of "community youth development," that is, youth civic engagement with communities,- in furthering positive, healthy development.

2. The means through which youth programs based on the "Five Cs" of positive youth development promote youth participation in civil society and prepare young people to contribute to self, family, and community.

3. The relations between the possession of youth, family, and community assets and problem prevention and health promotion.

4. Examples of community-based programs (for example youth charters) that effectively integrate prosocial/moral commitment, positive youth development, and citizenship and civic engagement.

Undergraduate Required Readings

Pittman KJ. Winter 1996. Community, Youth, Development: Three Goals in Search of Connection (pp. 4-8). New Designs for Youth Development.

Graduate Required Readings

Lerner RM, Fisher CB, Weinberg RA. 2000. Toward a science for and of the people: Promoting civil society through the application of developmental science. Child Development, 71:11-20.

Yates M, Youniss J. 1996. Community service and political-moral identity in adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 6(3):271-284.

Suggested Readings

Damon W. 1997. The Youth Charter: How Communities Can Work Together to Raise Standards For All Our Children. New York: The Free Press.

Lerner RM. 2000. Developing civil society through the promotion of positive youth development. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 21(1):48-49.

Lerner RM, Perkins DF. 1999. Social Interactions in Adolescence and Promoting Social Contributions of Youth. New York: Garland.

Lerner JV, Lerner RM. 2001. Adolescence in America: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio.

Lerner RM. 2002. Adolescence: Development, Diversity, Context, and Application. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Sampson RJ. 2000. The neighborhood context of investing in children: Facilitating mechanisms and undermining risks (pp. 205-230). In: S Danziger, J Waldfogel (Eds.), Securing the Future: Investing in Children from Birth to College. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Scales P, Benson P, Leffert N, Blyth DA. 2000. The contribution of developmental assets to the prediction of thriving among adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 4:27-46.

Sampson R, Raudenbush SW, Earls F. 1997. Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277:918-924.