This institutional ethnographic textual analysis explores the impact screeninglintake assessment tool usage has on youth workers. Fourteen screeninglintake tools used by youth workers, transcripts from interviews with youth workers and accreditation manuals and public documents pertaining to the current political climate were collected and examined. The objective of the inquiry was to explore the role these tools play in linking the youth~worker1organizationa1 context and how these often "taken for granted" tools have the power to transport external and internal influences into the youth worker work process and shape their experience. Findings show that tools used have a great deal of power to shape the practice in various ways: they dictate how work processes happen, how clients are perceived, how practice decisions are made and who has the ultimate control over practice.

M.A. (Social Work) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The assumption of the current study is that ongoing church attendance is a foundational component of the quest for genuine discipleship in young people. Chapter 1 examines the problem of the exodus of youth from the church and defines the critical terms for this study. The research questions used to guide the study are introduced. The purpose of this study was to use Wesley Black's Lasting Faith Scale (LFS) to compare the lasting faith tendency of youth (reflected by their LFS scores) with what their youth ministers believed would be their groups' LFS scores. LFS responses were also evaluated for the effects on scores of the four domains of influence. Chapter 2 reviews existing literature pertinent to this study. The issues that have been explored are the biblical basis for church attendance, the period of adolescence, spiritual influences of adolescents and young adults, and youth ministry models proposed to better address the issue of genuine discipleship. Chapter 3 describes the process by which data for this study was gathered. All full-time youth ministers in Southern Baptist Convention churches in Kentucky and South Carolina were invited to participate in the LFS survey and to elicit the involvement of their students. Chapter 4 reports on the analysis of the data from the completed surveys. Results were analyzed concerning the significance on scores of the four domains of influence (discipleship and spiritual depth; family influence; mentoring and intergenerational influences; and peer influences). Youth ministers' scores (predictive of their students' scores) and student scores were compared. Finally, the effects of significant demographic items relating to students' family life and their identification with Jesus Christ were examined. The final chapter presents the researcher's conclusions based on the findings of this study. All four of the domains of influence had a strongly significant relationship with students' lasting faith tendency. Youth ministers scored significantly lower on the LFS than the students. The possible reasons for this variance are explored. The strong variance shown in student responses according to the significant demographic groupings are also examined. Based on the results of this research, applications are made for the practice of youth ministry in local churches. Suggestions for further research are offered. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

This study is an examination of the perceptions youth ministers have regarding the character qualities and leadership competencies needed for effective youth ministry. The study also examines the perception that youth ministers have regarding potential leadership flaws that may lead to ineffective youth ministry. The researcher surveyed a sample from 1,300 full-time youth ministers representing youth ministers serving in the United States from various denominations as well as no denomination. A survey presenting a list of character qualities and youth ministry leadership competencies was sent to the sample. The respondents were instructed to rank each item from 1-3, 1 = primary, 2 = secondary, 3 = necessary. They were then instructed to list up to five potential leadership flaws that they believed would render a youth minister ineffective. The researcher analyzed the data in light of significant prior research for common themes that demonstrated a needed emphasis in youth ministry education and training. Key words . Youth ministry, youth minister, youth ministry education, adolescents, character qualities, ministerial leadership competencies, leadership flaws, church leadership, leadership effectiveness, leadership styles, leadership failure / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

This study compares the impact of group counseling with that of outdoor group experience upon institutionalized adolescents. Limited to subjects between twelve and sixteen years old, the study evaluates behavior, self-esteem, social and personal adjustment, and sociometric choosing. The object of these evaluations is to test the effectiveness of these two approaches to treating disturbed adolescents who had failed to function in a community setting and who might otherwise have lapsed into delinquency. Significant change following group counseling and following outdoor group experience as measured by accrual of points for behavior suggests that both approaches are effective, with group counseling having the greater impact. Also, younger subjects appear to profit more from both group counseling and outdoor group experience. The absence of significant change reflected by standardized instruments creates two questions. Are available instruments normed on basically normal groups appropriate for use with such a unique group of subjects as those in this study? Also, does the intense resistance these subjects demonstrated toward all pencil-and-paper activities negatively affect the accuracy of results from these standardized instruments?

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School of Social Sciences Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-300)

Thesis (D. Ed. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract.. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-195).

Univ., Diss.--Pretoria, 2006.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity International University, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-160).