Summer camp programs provide adolescent counselors with opportunities to work alongside adult staff, aiming to develop critical skills such as communication, responsibility, independence, and teamwork. Growing research supports the value of camp-based developmental relationships through youth-adult partnerships. However, tensions often arise as…

Summer youth employment programs (SYEPs) are a workforce development strategy used around the country to provide early work experiences to young people each year. These programs partner with local employers to provide subsidized wages for young people between the ages of 14 and 24. The programs often include job-readiness training (which prepares…

This evaluation research addressed the gap in the stress management education literature related to short-term mindfulness programs for youth in non-formal educational settings. The Mindfulness Moments: Today and 4-Life program was adapted from existing curricula and delivered in Ohio and Pennsylvania during summer 2019. The purpose of the program…

Authoring Action (A2) is a youth-focused, arts-based, afterschool and summer program. A2's mission is "to transform the lives of youth and the world through the power of creative writing, spoken word, visual and media arts, film-making and leadership education that promotes positive systemic change." Using in-depth interviews, this study…

This article aims to illuminate the perceptions of a pilot grief- and trauma-informed empowerment arts summer program for adolescents who lived in an at-risk Southern, urban neighborhood identified by the city in question as having a high percentage of street violence. The study it is based on was grounded in qualitative techniques, which…

In this article, we conceptualize youth-led antiracism research in developmental science. First, we discuss how Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) principles converge with critical race epistemological approaches to knowledge production. Second, we propose that youth-led antiracism research requires a commitment to multiple ways of…

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has proliferated across the United States, and in the process, it has disrupted all sense of normalcy. Because adolescents are in a critical period for growth and development, youth are particularly susceptible to negative impacts of disruption from COVID-19. Therefore, sustaining youth development programs is essential to…

This article presents a mixed methods investigation of discourse about action on climate change and other socioenvironmental challenges in the context of an informal climate change and film education program. We focused on how action was framed by students, their mentors, and in their co-produced films. Students and films predominantly framed…

Summer camp can be a setting for positive youth development, yet more understanding is needed about how camps measure youth development outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp--a medical specialty camp-- using the American Camp Association's Youth Outcomes Battery (YOB) over six years.…

Dances and drum rhythms from African traditions have been integrated into summer camp activities in the United States as a response to the ever-globalized environments in which these camps are located and the diversity of the campers and teachers that they attract. This reflective article draws on critical reflections, observations and experiences…

This Information Capsule provides an overview of the Summer Youth Internship Program (SYIP) for Miami-Dade County Public School students sponsored by Miami-Dade County, The Children's Trust, Career Source of South Florida, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, JPMorgan Chase, and the Foundation for New Education Initiatives. The SYIP is a five-week paid…

Creative youth development (CYD) is a dynamic area of community arts education that successfully bridges youth development and arts education. CYD is an intentional, holistic practice that combines hands-on artmaking and skill building in the arts with development of life skills to support young people in successfully participating in adolescence…

There is currently a lack of theoretically based research regarding positive youth development (PYD) and youth in recreational sport settings, including residential summer sport camps. This qualitative research study explored the ways in which positive developmental experiences are facilitated at a residential summer sport camp. Using a case study…

Taking a comprehensive approach to wellness--which includes healthy eating and physical activity and extends to additional aspects of health, such as social and emotional skills and competencies--can provide the necessary supports to help healthy children grow into healthy adults. Afterschool and summer learning programs are well-situated to be an…

A variety of activities are used in camps to help promote positive youth development, improving social skills and self-esteem in campers. I expanded on previous camp research in this study to address the influence camps have on trust, belief in the honesty of others, empowerment, and care for others in youth in Eastern Europe. Since 1999, New…