Lessons in Leadership: How Young People Change Their Communities and Themselves

Conducted by the USA-based Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) for the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development and funded by the Ford Foundation, this research concerns an effort to explore how young people benefit from involvement in civic activism and to identify new strategies and practices upon which youth development organisations can draw. For background details on the Youth Leadership Development Initiative (YLDI), which involved 12 USA-based community organisations and which this document evaluates, click here.

This research involved both qualitative analysis (2 rounds of 2- to 3-day site visits at each YLDI site and document review) and quantitative analysis (2 waves of surveys that attempted to assess young people's experiences within the organisation). The following questions guided the research:

• Is civic activism an effective approach for reaching youth not engaged in conventional youth development programmes?
• What is the contribution of YLDI projects to positive youth development outcomes, including the programmes' effect on identity development and the ability of youth participants to engage in positive social change and civic life?
• How does technical assistance from the Innovation Center contribute to YLDIorganisations' ability to develop and nurture leadership skills for young adult workers and to sustain and expand their work in civic activism and youth development?

Here is a brief summary of the findings:

1. Civic activism is a powerful approach for reaching youth who are often not reached by conventional youth development programmes.
   
   
   

   The findings identify 3 core reasons that older, more "challenged" youth join civic activism organisations:

   • Civic activism organisations provide youth with the space to focus on their own cultures and backgrounds.
   • Civic activism provides a forum for youth to reflect on and address the day-to-day challenges faced by their families and communities.
   • Civic activism provides applied vocational and leadership opportunities.
2. YLDI organisations made a positive contribution to young people's development. Evidence suggests that they provided support for young people at a rate comparable to or higher than traditional youth-serving organisations. For instance, 69% of YLDI youth reported that they developed consistently high-quality relationships with adults and youth within the organisation. This is nearly twice that reported by youth within the other youth-serving organisations (35-40%). In the areas of safety and skill building, the YLDI sites' results were comparable to that of the other youth-serving organisations. Finally, 14% of YLDI youth enjoyed consistent opportunities for participation and leadership.
3. Several civic activism practices offer new models for working with young people. Civic activism practices include: Popular education and the identification of personal and civic challenges; hands-on immersion and exposure to history; exploring oppression through "political" and "critical" education; popular youth culture as a medium for political analysis, expression, and identity; and direct community engagement.
4. Technical assistance from the Innovation Center supported YLDI organisations' ability to develop and nurture leadership skills for young adult workers and tostrengthen their work in civic activism and youth development. This assistance contributed to the initiative's influence because:
   
   • the role of the intermediary was constant in a context characterised by high staff turnover;
   • YLDI organisations could renegotiate grant objectives as they honed in on their actual programmatic and organisational development needs; and
   • common values of youth leadership were promoted across diverse organisations.

Click here for the Executive Summary in PDF format. Click here for details about how to order the full report in printed format (US$14.99).

Click here for a brochure, in PDF format, describing the YLDI.

Source:

"Youth Civic Engagement: Emerging Theory and Practice", by Margaret Post. Evaluation Exchange Vol. X, No. 1, Spring 2004.