Positive youth development (PYD), while embraced in many sectors of youth work, has faced criticism for its primary emphasis on positive personal change and adaptation, without a strong emphasis on social justice and culture, especially relevant for African Americans. Additional models of PYD addressing these conceptual gaps have emerged, however…

In light of the proven benefits of high-quality afterschool STEM programming for teens, the author worked with colleagues at University of Maryland Extension to institute the Pollinator Ambassador program. The program was launched through a county-based 4-H program at a partner site in a community outside Washington, DC. Following the 4-H Thriving…

The challenges faced by youth can hinder them from reaching their full potential or help them grow and develop as they overcome their challenges. Grit and resilience provide young people with the skills, confidence, and perseverance to overcome challenges, pursue their goals and thrive. In this article, the authors examine the complex constructs…

College women are at more risk in terms of sexual behavior than male students. This study was carried out to determine the effect of the transtheoretical model-based Healthy Youth Program on college women's sexual health knowledge and behaviors. The sample of the study, which was conducted with a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental…

Purpose: This article addresses the gap in understanding the performance of emerging private agricultural advisory service (AAS) models in developing country contexts, in relation to their dual objectives of supporting farmer-clients and becoming profitable agribusinesses themselves. Methodology: Multiple case study of Service Providers…

Central American youth constitute one of the largest groups of newcomers in U.S. public schools, particularly in urban areas. Many have experienced traumatic events and interrupted or limited formal education. These factors, coupled with cultural and language differences, may lead these youth to struggle in public schools, unless specifically…

This paper critically evaluates the concept of innovation, in the context of the funding of youth work within Erasmus+ Key Acton 2, but the findings are applicable to other settings which emphasise innovation. The paper argues that, first, innovation is problematic because it lacks a definition. Second, innovation is founded on a neoliberal…

A current focus of youth-serving organizations is youth leadership development with an objective of helping youth become productive contributors to society. 4-H is a leading organization in the effort to expose youth to leadership opportunities. This study examined the leadership identity development of 4-H youth serving in statewide leadership…

Given the increasing value of lifelong learning, self-directed learning (SDL) has become increasingly relevant over time. In rural areas with limited service resources, the main approach to NEET-youth depicts them more as young people in need, and less as people with the potential for self-development and participation in lifelong learning. The…

When considering community impacts of outdoor education (OE), youth are community members, leaders, and experts who can and should be meaningfully involved in the design and evaluation of OE programs and research that impact them. Ensuring youth have agency in these processes can create opportunities for building community (Brennan, 2008), making…

In this introduction to the special issue, "Youth Participatory Action Research on Puerto Rican Students' Experiences with Hurricane Maria: Shifting from Resilience to Resistance," we outline the theoretical foundations of youth participatory action research (YPAR) and explicate the guiding principles that are seminal in the corpus of…

Community schools respond to a variety of risk factors that impede student learning and development. School and community leaders in Canyons School District (CSD) have created community schools across one highly impacted feeder pattern to strengthen academic learning efforts, school climate and youth development opportunities, parent and family…

As the COVID-19 crisis exposed inequities in civic, funding, and programmatic policies -- often grounded in systemic oppression and White Supremacy -- community based, youth-focused organizations, such as Creative Youth Development (CYD) programs, were catapulted into unplanned changes in order to survive. In this tumultuous environment,…

Purpose: While designing personally meaningful activities with data technologies can support the development of data literacies, this paper aims to focuses on the overlooked aspect of how learners navigate tensions between personal experiences and data trends. Design/methodology/approach: The authors report on an analysis of three student cases…

Background: The goal of the study was to develop and verify a pathway model (or theory of change) for STEM Scouts, an out-of-school time (OST), positive youth development program for elementary through high school-aged youth. Pathway models include connections between hypothesized activities to short-, mid-, and long-term outcomes. STEM Scouts is…