This study examined youth participants in a structured leisure activity and their perceptions regarding the benefits accrued as a result of participation. 4 male and 12 female youth between the ages of 13-16 participated. Data was collected through focus group discussions and analyzed using a thematic analysis. The perceived benefits of participation and the characteristics of the program that caused this accrual were identified. Perceived benefits included improvement in school marks and self-confidence, increased volunteer participation, and the development of prosocial behaviours, social competencies and cognitive skills. Program characteristics included meaningful and supportive relationships, opportunities to build an identity, and involvement in unique learning opportunities. The study was not generalizable to other programs and focused solely on the benefits of participation; not the negative repercussions. It has implications for program design and implementation, and provides support for the need to develop programs that incorporate a positive youth development philosophy.

This thesis explores the impacts of afterschool programs on youths’ feelings of inclusion and exclusion in small communities. A case study of the Fusion Youth Activity and Technology Centre in Ingersoll, Ontario was conducted to learn from youth about their experiences growing up, about the challenges they faced and the benefits they gained from participating in Fusion’s programs. This project focused on the youths’ perspectives, and employed various task-centered activities such as visualization and narrative techniques to engage youth and gather data. It also highlighted different tensions between youth and the community and how youth navigate these tensions while growing up. The study found that the space, staff and programs offered by the Fusion Youth Centre do change youths’ feelings of inclusion and exclusion in Ingersoll. However, there remains work to be done to change the systems of exclusions that make youth feel disconnected from their community.

This thesis investigates the impact of after-school programs on youth in rural communities. A case study of the Fusion Youth Activity and Technology Centre in Ingersoll, Ontario was conducted to explore the relationship between program participation and the development experiences of youth participants ages 12 to 18 years. The Youth Experience Survey created by Hansen and Larson (2002) was selected for this study to assess the positive and negative youth development experiences of Fusion youth participants, measuring experiences within conceptual domains of Identity Work, Initiative, Basic Skills, Positive Relationships, Team Work and Social Skills, Adult Networks and Social Capital, and Negative Experiences. The study found that all domains measuring positive youth development experiences were positively correlated, with the strongest experiences associated with the domains of Identity Work, Basic Skills, Positive Relationships, and Team Work and Social Skills. In addition, the study concluded that participants’ youth development significantly increased with duration of membership and intensity of participation at Fusion.

No description available.

Character education assumes responsibility for influencing and educating youth on morals, values, beliefs and positive character attributes in order to influence them into being positive and contributing members of society. Character education is most often taught in the home, schools and community. One community organization that integrates character education into its programming is 4-H Youth Development. The purpose of this research is to view the relationships between character education and 4-H, and more so whether Kentucky 4-H programs influence the knowledge, attitudes and practices of positive character among youth leaders. This study also looked at length of 4-H involvement and gender in order to determine influence. It was found that Kentucky 4-H programs do influence positive character among youth leaders, as youth indicated that they had gained character knowledge from 4-H involvement, as well as the program had made them a better person. It was also found that the gender of youth or their length of involvement in 4-H programs does not affect the character knowledge, attitudes and practices gained from involvement. The author recommends using these positive findings to continue to expand Kentucky programs and recruit adults and youth.

Research has shown that adolescent students' sense of connection to adults and peers and sense of belonging to school are important for academic achievement, social-emotional growth and well-being, and overall success at school. One key mechanism schools have implemented to foster such relationship building is advisory. Much of the advisory research has focused on advisory programming and best practices. While some scholarship has found advisory programs to improve students' sense of connectedness to their advisor and peers and to increase students sense of belongingness to their school, the advisory literature also indicates that a number of schools and educators have experienced challenges to making advisory work for them and their students. The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to explore how and to what extent enhanced advisory fosters ninth grade students' development, as characterized by the Five Cs of positive youth development. The sample was comprised of 55 ninth grade students participating in enhanced advisory (EA), seven EA advisors, and a previous cohort of 96 ninth grade students who participated in traditional advisory (TA). Pre-post surveys were used to measure the development of students in EA over the course of one academic year and end-of-year surveys were used to compare the positive development of students in EA to that of a previous cohort of ninth grade students in TA. Interviews with EA students and advisors were used to investigate and illuminate the quantitative data on students' sense of connectedness to each other, their advisory groups, and their advisors. Major findings revealed that enhanced advisory (EA) students' end-of-year mean scores on 12 of 16 positive development measures surpassed those of students in traditional advisory (TA), indicating that enhanced advisory played a role in fostering students' positive development. Qualitative data revealed that almost all interviewed students built a positive relationship with their advisors and benefitted academically, socially, and psychologically from that relationship. Many--but not all-- students also described the role of advisory in strengthening their connections to peers and sense of belonging to their advisory group.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Bradley Burenheide / This study addressed an existing gap in research on after-school programs, a lack of qualitative research. It consisted of a case study, conducted through a phenomenological theoretical framework, aimed to explore the experiences of four youth enrolled in a privately-funded, faith-based after-school program in an urban Midwest community. Unlike most after-school programs, the program studied provides services to youth that run continuously from sixth grade through high school graduation. Research was conducted primarily through observation at both the youth’s public school affiliated with the program and at program events outside of school, as well as both group and individual interviews. The Hirsch, Deutsch, & DuBois (2011) conceptual framework of the role of comprehensive after-school programs on youth, the Rhodes (2005) Model of Youth Mentoring, and the philosophy of positive youth development were key to this study.

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of family worldview and cultural socialization on indicators of positive youth development in American Indian youth. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to determine whether cultural socialization moderated the relationship between family worldview and indicators of positive development in American Indian youth as measured by ethnic identity, pro-social activity, positive family relationships, hope, self-regulation, and future orientation. Individual and family differences were also examined. Participants included a community sample of 311 American Indian children and youth from 174 American Indian families from three tribes in the Pacific Northwest. Results demonstrated that the amount of variance between families for each of the positive youth outcomes was significant enough to warrant hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). Family worldview was not significantly related to any of the positive youth outcomes and when entered into the HLM models did not significantly explain any variation in mean scores between families. The relationship between cultural socialization and ethnic identity was significant and positive and when entered into the HLM models significantly explained 10% of the variation in mean scores between families. There was a significant difference between the ethnic identity scores of males and females, with females having a higher mean than males. Positive family relationship scores were negatively correlated with age. Older youth tended to report less positive family relationships than their younger counterparts. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

abstract: Positive Youth Development (PYD) programs include intentional efforts by peers, adults, communities, schools, and organizations to provide opportunities for youth to increase their skills, abilities, and interests in positive activities. The goal of PYD is to provide positive outcomes where youth are viewed as resources to be developed rather than problems to be managed. Future generations rely on youth as active contributing members of society and PYD programs promote sustainable futures for young individuals and the community. PYD programs started in the United States and grew out of interest in prevention programs targeting risky behavior of youth. Interest is growing in expanding PYD programs internationally as they may promote resilient characteristics and sustainable life skills. In particular, and one focus area of this dissertation, interest is growing in rural Asia. However, given the interdisciplinary nature of PYD programs, there are no standard assessment metrics or tools in place. Without standards, comparing PYD programs effectively is impossible. Within this dissertation, in four papers, I 1) develop a universal PYD assessment tool, the Positive Youth Development Sustainability Scale (PYDSS), 2) apply the PYDSS to two PYD programs in rural Thailand as a quantitative analysis, 3) use the categories of the PYDSS as a coding guide for qualitative analysis of two PYD programs in rural Thailand, and 4) assess a PYD program in the Phoenix-metro area that integrates physical activity, academics, and ethics. Results indicate that the PYDSS can be applied to PYD programs in both Thailand and Phoenix and that a mixed methods approach is a suggested form or data collection. My research could lead to the further improvement of current PYD programs and their intervention role, while also promoting universal PYD assessment techniques that support sustainable impacts on youth as a result of program intervention and design. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2017

This qualitative study aimed to enhance our understanding of youth engagement experiences from the perspective of Aboriginal youth living in the Canadian North, as positive youth development programs can foster community engagement among youth and may have implications for Aboriginal youth involvement in community healing. With an asset-based orientation that recognizes that youths’ strengths co-exist with, and are understood in relation to, environmental challenges, narrative inquiry was used to explore the experiences of six Aboriginal youth who participated in a program that promotes community engagement. Rich participant accounts resulted in better understanding youth engagement as a profound culture-bound process rather than simple participation in a program, and illuminates the importance of positive relationships, adult support, and pre-program community involvement to building subsequent engagement. This study has implications specific to Aboriginal youth as having a role in promoting health and healing in their communities through their engagement.