You, Your Community, Your View

1
Identifying Essential Elements of Positive Youth
Developmental Settings Through Youth Photographic
Surveys
Marianne Bird 4-H Youth Development
Advisor, Richard P. Enfield County Director 4-H
Youth Development Advisor, University of
California Cooperative Extension, Katherine
Heck AES Specialist, 4-H CYD,UC Davis Patsy
Eubanks Owens Associate Professor, UC
Davis Presented May 18, 2006,CYFAR Conference
2
University of California Workgroup

• Research and Education
• Applied Developmental Science Taking an Asset
  Approach in California
• Funding from USDA After-School UC ANR
• Multi-agencies/organizations
• UC, 4-H, YMCA, County Office of Ed., Parks
  Recreation

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Purpose of Workgroup Project

• To study and describe community initiatives
  which are making an effort to develop a positive
  approach towards youth development within their
  communities.

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You Your Community Your View

• FIELD RESEARCHER NOTEBOOK

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Methods

• Objectives
• Engage youth in the project
• Learn young peoples perceptions of their
  communities

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Why qualitative data?

• When the answer to an evaluation question calls
  for understanding the perceptions and reactions
  of the target population, a qualitative method is
  most appropriate.
• Lofland and Lofland, 1995

Please describe this place as you see it. I see
the Boys and Girls Club as a positive and safe
place for youth. They learn leadership and can
have fun at the same time. This is important for
youth and its a safe place to keep them out of
trouble. Why do you think this place is
important to the youth in your community? Why is
it important to you? It is important to me to
know that my friends have a safe and sound place
to go.
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The Field Researcher Notebook

• Content/Design
• Approvals
• Schedule
• Training
• Implementation
• Discussion/Focus Groups
• Analysis

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Design

• One page for each question, with room for photo
  and youths responses

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Getting ready

• Human subjects review / IRB
• Recruitment of youth participants
• Trainings for youth who will be completing the
  notebooks

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What we asked

• Your favorite place or person
• Activities or special events for youth
• People who help youth in your community

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What we asked

• Places for youth
• Places to be with your friends
• Places that you helped create or change
• Places you would like to see changed
• Places that are unsafe
• Places where you feel unwelcome

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What we asked

• Places where you feel you belong
• Does your school value you?
• Does your community value you?

13
Discussion/Focus Groups

• Youth shared their photos and perceptions

14
Analysis tools

• Excel
• Database Programs
• Note cards and a filing system
• NVivo or other qualitative software

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Got Codes?

• Categorizing
• Labeling
• Managing the data
• Coding
• Making Sense of the Data!

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Matrix
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Be Aware

• Conclusions that arent there
• Misrepresenting the data
• Be Careful with the Numbers what does 25 mean?

Please describe this place as you see
it. Somewhere to go with friends to talk and get
food Why is this a good place to be with your
friends? Because you get away from everything
else, on the walk over there What do you and your
friends do there? Talk about stuff
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Youth Participants

• Santa Clara County
• Notebooks distributed 35/returned 13
• Ages 10-21
• Gender 9 girls, 3 boys, 1 unknown

San Luis Obispo County Notebooks distributed
43/returned 21 Ages 12-17 Gender 14 girls, 7
boys
Pasadena Notebooks distributed 99/returned
26 Ages 12-18 Gender 14 girls, 12 boys
Sacramento County Notebooks distributed
80/returned 25 Ages 12-18 Gender 24 girls, 1
boy
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Eight Essential Elements of Positive Youth
Development Settings

• Physical Psychological Safety
• Appropriate Structure
• Supportive Relationships
• Opportunities to Belong

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Eight Essential Elements of Positive Youth
Development Settings

• Positive Social Norms
• Support for Efficacy and Mattering
• Opportunities for Skill Building
• Integration of Family, School, Community
  Efforts

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Physical Psychological Safety

• Physical characteristics (i.e. lighting,
  cleanliness)
• Business Type
• People associated with the place (welcoming,
  friends)

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Physical Psychological Safety

• Unsafe places

No warning arms
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Appropriate Structure

• know whats expected
• Clear boundaries

After-school programs
Library
24
Supportive Relationships

• They allow us to talk to them when we have no
  one to talk to.

She has always been encouraging and supportive.
Shes not only a teacher, shes a friend.
25
Supportive Relationships

• . . . to meet with friends and socialize.

26
Opportunities to Belong

• Asian Awareness Day

Our school loves Paseo. They know us and are
nice to us.
patronizing to youth and doesnt feel like
her opinion matters.
27
Positive Social Norms

• Service (involved in changing things in the
  community)

Habitat for Humanity house
Help with cleaning up and painting
28
Positive Social Norms

• Sports clubs
• School

It helps develop teamwork and promotes a
healthy lifestyle.
29
Support for Efficacy and Mattering

• Being taken seriously
• Autonomy
• Making a real difference
• Creativity
• Because it helped me realize who I am

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Opportunities for Skill Building

• Physical
• Intellectual
• Psychological
• Social

Its where I get help for homework.
Dance group
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Integration of Family, School, Community Efforts

• Parks, natural areas
• Festivals, community events
• Community centers

Its a good way to celebrate with family and
friends.
Its not just for youth.
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Contact Information

• Richard Enfield
• rpenfield_at_ucdavis.edu
• Marianne Bird
• mbird_at_ucdavis.edu