Community Programs to Promote Youth Development
Eccles, Jacquelynne and Gootman, Jennifer Appleton (eds.) (2002).
National Academy Press; 441 pages. $49.95. ISBN 0309072751.
This book has importance for validating the youth development field. First, the involvement of two of the most prestigious research and scientific organizations in the United States, namely NRC and IOM, emphasizes the importance of youth development and community-based programming. Second, the multi-disciplinary nature of the committee which assisted Eccles and Gootman in synthesizing the research about effective practice and programming for youth development assured that the information is the most current and the best of what is known from a cluster of related fields. Third, the information is a concrete example of how science and practice are intertwined, informing each other through an iterative process. Thus, the information in this book is drawn from scientifically respected and historically significant research about adolescence and presented through the lens of practical application in order to improve practice within the youth work field.
Community Programs to Promote Youth Development addresses five major points. First, it captures what social scientists know about adolescent development. Second, it elaborates the defining features of contexts (e.g., neighborhood, school, community-based program) that promote positive development in adolescence. Third, this book comprehensively identifies the varied landscape of community-based youth programs. Fourth, it highlights lessons from experimental evaluations, directions for future evaluations, and potential new social indicator data. Finally, it concludes with clear recommendations for scientists, practitioners, funders, advocates, and policy-makers.
The book is comprised of four sections. The first is a comprehensive literature review about adolescent development and positive developmental settings. The second section examines what is known about community programs for youth from research and evaluation studies. The third section provides information about directions for new research, including examination of potential existing data sources and the development of positive indicators. The fourth and final chapter addresses the intersection of practice, research, and policy.
Community Programs to Promote Youth Development summarizes what personal and social assets youth need to succeed. These assets are not directly associated with Search Institute’s 40 developmental assets (see Benson 1997). These assets fall into four broad developmental domains: physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional, and social. The assets were identified through a comprehensive scan of the literature on factors that increase the healthy development and well-being of youth in adolescence and as they transition into adulthood. The book discusses the interactions between and cumulative nature of these assets.
For a practitioner, the book’s identification of specific features of positive developmental settings represents a road map to best practices in programming. These features include: physical and psychological safety; appropriate structure; supportive relationships; opportunities to belong; positive social norms; support for efficacy and mattering (opportunity to be useful and to make a difference); opportunities for skill-building (e.g., leadership skills, decision-making skills, cultural competence, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and civic responsibility); active learning; opportunities for recognition; and the integration of family, school, and community efforts. The book provides detailed explanations of these features as well as programmatic examples.
The chapter on lessons drawn from previous experimental evaluations actually includes information from quasi-experimental designs as well because of the dearth of experimental studies available. One major recommendation by the book’s authors is that community-based programs should begin conducting experimental—or at least quasi-experimental—evaluations. In addition, they emphasize the utilization of qualitative methodologies to open the “black box” of successful programs. The book’s experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations provide evidence for programmatic impacts on specific outcomes (e.g., motivation, academic performance, problem-solving skills, and decrease in alcohol and drug use), but fail to provide sufficient insight as to what specific components of the programs made the difference.
Finally, the book outlines 11 recommendations broken down by stakeholder. For example, the first major recommendation is that community programs should be based on an identified developmental framework so that staff can be intentional about the personal and social assets to be emphasized by the activities in their program. Another recommendation is a call for funders to support researcher-practitioner partnerships to examine the black box issue of programming effectiveness.
This book is a defining moment in the field of youth development. Although replete with academic jargon, it provides opportunity to increase the awareness and effectiveness of various stakeholders in the field of community-based programming for youth. This book is essential reading for youth development practitioners, scholars, and advocates. For an excellent practitioner’s summary of the book, see the Forum for Youth Investment’s commentary (Pittman and Yohalem 2002).
References
Benson, P. L. (1997). All Kids Are Our Kids: What Communities Must Do to Raise Caring and Responsible Children and Adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Pittman, K. and N. Yohalem (2002). “Off the Shelf and into the Field: Making the Most of the National Research Council’s New Report: Community Programs to Promote Youth Development.” Washington, D.C.: Forum for Youth Investment. Retrieved on April 28, 2002 at: http://www.forumfyi.org/Files/OfftheShelfCmmntry.pdf
Reviewer Information
Daniel F. Perkins is an associate professor of family and youth resiliency and policy in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Perkins’ work involves teaching, research, and outreach through the Penn State Cooperative Extension Service. His scholarship integrates practice and research into three major foci: (1) Positive Youth Development—decreasing risks and increasing skills and competencies of youth; (2) Healthy Family Development—increasing resiliency through strength-based educational programming; and (3) Community Collaboration—promoting strategies for mobilizing communities in support of children, youth, and families. He recently co-edited a book that proposes a community youth development framework that intertwines tenets from the positive youth development model and the community development perspective.