New Year, New Look at Positive Youth Development
Wendy Wheeler, President and CEO, Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development
Connect People and Ideas To Create Change
The PYD movement has matured and is stronger than ever. Today, positive youth development advocates have a strong conceptual foundation for their work. The publication of Community Programs to Promote Youth Development by the National Academies Press, for example, was a major turning point in the PYD movement; it provided a comprehensive, research-based framework from which to view youth development programs.
We can continue to move the PYD movement forward by developing and using common frameworks to guide research and evaluation. Over time, the consistent use of standard tools and measurements will deepen our collective understanding of PYD. Also, in addition to tracking outcomes for young people, PYD research can also expand its focus by asking questions about how adults facilitate positive youth development. Adults play significant roles in the effectiveness of programs; their ability to work in partnership with young people is critical to program success. Further, our research has shown that PYD organizations can work better with older youth by incorporating youth-driven social justice initiatives. The initiative may focus on any issue—safe streets, good schools, open space, or others that the youth identify. Young people are inspired, engaged and effective when they work on issues that are important to them.
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