Beyond Environmental Literacy (continued)
instruments that measure effectiveness. Perhaps starting by including several PYD questions in your existing participant evaluation will provide valuable baseline data to inform growth potential.
Participants explore their new field guides during a botany field trip. Photo by Emily Anderson
existing programs, consider self-evaluating with a proven PYD framework to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. The Oregon 4-H Program Model is a framework specifically designed for 4-H programs. However, there are other prominent models with broader application for use in a variety of youth programs. These include The Five Cs, Community Action Framework for Youth Development, and Character Counts!. According to experts in the field, however, the Developmental Assets Framework is likely to remain among the most useful approaches to positive youth development for the near future. The scientific depth and practical utility of this model provide extensive resources for assessment,
Positive Youth Development, or PYD, emphasizes building on youth’s strengths, rather than on the prevention of problems.
planning, implementation, and evaluation for programs serving youth and communities in a variety of settings (Arnold & Silliman, 2017).
The Developmental Assets Framework, developed in 1990
by the Search Institute, identifies a set of skills, experiences, relationships, and behaviors that enable young people to develop into successful and contributing adults. According to research, the more Developmental Assets young people acquire, the better their chances of succeeding in school and becoming happy, healthy, and contributing members of their communities and society. The list of 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents, broken down by age groups, can be found on the Search Institute’s website (Search Institute, 2017)
Becoming familiar with the Developmental Assets and thinking about how you can support this development in your program’s participants is the first step to infusing a healthy layer of positive youth development in your program. Digging in to the research and consulting experts in the field will help to identify the best way to integrate PYD principles and design evaluation
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In summary, environmental educators are doing noble work with endless benefits for youth, ecological systems, and our society as a whole. It is important that we recognize the value in our work that often goes unseen and celebrate our, often, hidden successes. Youth in our programs are building confidence and independence, developing healthy lifestyles and pro-social behaviors, and becoming contributing members of their communities. While these victories are already something to be proud of, why not take it up a notch by putting some intentionality behind our efforts to reach even greater outcomes? While designing high quality environmental education, we should challenge ourselves to support development of the “whole person” by incorporating positive youth development principles. Not only will these efforts have lifelong impacts on our program participants, but they will support our organizations as well. Sharing evidence of positive developmental outcomes will help promote our programs, recruit more participants, and appeal to potential funders for increased financial support.
❏ References
Arnold, M.E. & Silliman, B. (2017). From theory to practice: a critical review of positive youth development program frameworks. Journal of Youth Development, 12(2), 1-20. Roth, J. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2003). What exactly is a youth development program? Answers from research and practice. Applied Developmental Science, 7, 94-111.
Search Institute, (2017). Developmental assets. Retrieved from
http://www.search-institute.org/research/developmental-assets
Sibthrop, J. (2010). A letter from the editor: Positioning outdoor and adventure programs within positive youth development. Journal of Experiential Education, 33(2), vi-ix.
Emily Anderson is a 4-H Youth Development Educator in Lane County, Oregon. She has written previously for CLEARING.
An Oregon State University Extension Forester teaches local tree identification. Photo by Emily McDonald-Williams
www.clearingmagazine.org CLEARING Fall 2017
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