This case study investigates how a situated learning model can contribute to positive youth development as seen through a youth focused, community-based arts program, Creative Teen. Creative Teen is a seven-month collaborative mentorship program, which pairs twelve professional artists with twelve high school students. The partnerships work together one-on-one over the course of the program to become more knowledgeable on a given art medium and to ultimately collaborate on an artwork for the culminating Creative Teen exhibition. I sought to determine how this mentorship model would not only foster artistic development amongst youth, but how participation in the Creative Teen program would contribute to the overall development of the young adults involved. I accomplished this by limiting observational research and supplemental interviews to the interactions of one mentor partnership, Jessica and Carly. Over the course of the program, I attended their weekly meetings and watched them as they worked together to develop a large-scale installation, Lydia the Tattooed Ladies, for the culminating exhibition. Initially it was unclear to me the extent to which involvement in the Creative Teen program would have on the development of youth participants. However, through conducting this case study, I was able to identify various developmental characteristics that were cultivated through participation, which include artistic, social, and professional development. In addition to personal developmental characteristics, many practical skills were developed and exercised during the course of the Creative Teen program, which include time management, communication, financial management, public speaking, commitment to a long term project, and working with others. / text

M. Tech. Public Management / Young people in South Africa constitute 41% of the population of the country. Therefore, youth development needs to be recognised as a priority by the Government of South Africa. South African youth are faced with many challenges such as a lack of development which may lead to unemployment. Despite the majority of young people in South Africa having completed their tertiary studies and graduated, they still find it hard to get employment. This is a result of a lack of development, as well as skills and training needed to equip young graduates with sufficient practical work experience to enable them to get employment. In this study, an attempt is made to determine whether the Department of Water Affairs Graduate Trainee Programme has the desired impact on the young graduates who have participated in it.

Being able to afford nutritionally complete food that provides energy and health, and continuing to have access to that food day after day after day, is a luxury that's missing from the lives of the 460,000 Central Texans who are classified as food insecure by the USDA. This project is an attempt to understand what the issues surrounding healthy food access in Austin are, and what the potential solutions might be. The three nonprofits that are profiled in this report - Urban Roots, Karpophoreō and Sprouting Healthy Kids - use education, community building, and advocacy to try to get closer to that goal of not only feeding Central Texans nutritious food, but changing the entire community's relationship with that food. / text

Despite decreasing rates of teen pregnancy within the U.S., rates remain high for African American girls (Guttmacher Institute, 2006). Comprehensive youth development programs aim to address teen pregnancy. This study examined the role of natural mentors in relation to participation in Cool Girls, Inc. and girls’ sexual efficacy among middle school girls. Furthermore, the quality of natural mentor relationship was assessed. Results provide no support that participation in the program and the presence of a natural mentor significantly affects sexual efficacy. Furthermore, the quality of natural mentor relationship did not significantly increase girls’ sexual efficacy. However, while not explicitly hypothesized, older girls reported significantly higher sexual efficacy. Limitations and strengths of the study are discussed. Directions for future research and intervention are suggested.

In this study, I illustrate an arts-based service-learning curriculum that utilizes an asset-based, student-centered, critical pedagogy. It is written for use with high school students in a classroom environment, but could be adapted for use with any age group or setting. It utilizes current service-learning research and practices, and community based art education models and adapts them into a practical and concrete curriculum. I use case study and ethnographic methodologies to examine what a community-based art and literacy organization (VOICES), a community-based artist (Lily Yeh and the Barefoot Artists organization), and a service-learning magnet high school can teach about implementing a service-learning program. Through a series of project-based lessons, group activities, and research, students will determine a community organization to partner with in the creation of a collaborative artwork. Youth and community voice are given utmost importance throughout the process to create relevant, reciprocal, authentic partnerships and a cumulative project.

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 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.

This collective case study analyzed the experiences of current and past participants of two experiential education programs for low-income inner city youth in order to understand how participants developed personally and socially through their participation. Drawing on research on risk and resilience, this study focuses on programs that attempt to provide inner city youth with ‘protective factors’ against risks they face. One case represents the experiences of participants in an arts education program and the other in an outdoor education program. At each research site, open ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted with current participants (aged 13-15) and past participants (aged 16-21). Past and current participants in both programs described a series of developmental stages of coming out of one’s shell starting with experiencing success, leading to feelings of competence in abilities, feeling trust for group members, and thus, building the confidence to be one’s self. The agents of change in the arts program were: opportunities for self-expression without formal evaluation in dance, drama, music, and visual arts activities; encouragement from staff; and receiving positive feedback for performances from peers, staff, and parents. The major agent of change in the outdoor education program was overcoming challenges in a supportive atmosphere. Group and individual challenges were encountered during canoe tripping, ropes course activities, and the solo experience. A supportive environment was created by respectful relationships with staff and peers built through overcoming challenges together. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-30 14:30:02.386

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Youth development in South Africa remains one of the greatest challenges. Due to the legacy of apartheid policies and the existing gaps in current policies, most young people still face socio-economic challenges, such as a high rate of unemployment, poverty, lack of business opportunities, lack of skills and a high rate of HIV infection, among other health-related challenges. The advent of democracy transformed the government’s response to the needs of young people. New policies and legislative documents have been formulated since 1994. As part of constant efforts to promote youth welfare, in November 2008, the government launched the National Youth Policy (NYP). The policy stands as an essential guiding tool for youth development in the country. It stresses that mainstreaming youth development requires not only transformation of municipal structures, but also a deliberate willingness of leaders, and that their existing economic policies, strategies, programmes and institutions consider youth priorities. The government established the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to spearhead co-ordination of youth development. In the Msunduzi Municipality, NYDA is guided by the Youth Advisory Programme that translates the policy at a local level. The purpose of this research was to ascertain whether or not the NYP is being implemented in the municipality through the Youth Advisory Programme. Through a case study done at the NYDA office, the findings indicate that the programme focuses on economic empowerment. First, activities concentrate on career development, which is mainly directed at technical skills, writing and communication skills of the youth, both in and out of school. Second, activities concentrate on entrepreneurial development, which means increasing entrepreneurial culture, business managerial capacities and book-keeping, thereby contributing to sustainable human development. However, for the programme to be effective, it needs a holistic approach to development. It must thus focus on all four pillars of the NYP, namely health and wellbeing, education, economic empowerment and social cohesion. For this to happen, the NYDA needs both financial and human resources, which currently, are under-resourced. Shortage of human and financial resources will continue to hamper youth development in the branch. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.