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Youth Engagement Through Schools: Research On Youth Engagement
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The state of the art in research on youth engagement can be summarized with an appropriate metaphor; it's a fledgling that needs to grow. Naturally, the research currently published on the web reflects this relatively undeveloped nature of youth engagement research. Consequently, this page is organized around a series of research-oriented questions. Links to web documents that address these questions have been created.
| 1. |
Is there a recognized body
of knowledge and research on youth engagement, participation and
empowerment? (Research-based theories, meta-analysis , random-controlled
studies would all indicated a developed research topic whereas case
studies, descriptive work and gualitative studies would indicate early
stages of research.)
Youth Engagement in Decisions for Healthy Living
(Centre of Excellence on Engagement)
School Health Research
Network (University of Victoria) (Developing a research program on
the school environment and role in promoting health) |
| 2. |
Is there clarity on the
meaning of the terms, concepts and types of interventions (policies,
programs, services, activities) related to youth engagement,
participation and empowerment? Youth Led Health Promotion, Youth Engagement and Youth Participation. A Research Review (Health Canada & Canadian Association for School Health review in 1996) (Notes confusion in terms, lack of evaluation, seek a typology of programs) Youth Program Scan (Centre for Excellence on Youth Engagement) (Report on an environment scan of Canadian programs) Definitions of Youth Development (Compendium of terms from the National Youth Development Information Center) Youth Action. Youth Contributing to Communities. Communities Supporting Youth (Forum for the Youth Investment defines youth action and community support needed) Youth Leadership for Development Initiative: Broadening the Parameters of Youth Development (The Innovation Center on Community and Youth Development) Broadening the Bounds of Youth Development (The Innovation Center on Community and Youth Development) An Emerging Model for Working With Youth (Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing) |
| 3. |
Is the connection between
adolescent development and youth engagement clearly described in the
research? Is the rationale for engaging youth based on empirical
evidence? The Opportunity of Adolescence: The Health Sector Contribution (Health Canada) (Outlines development tasks of adolescent and how engagement helps youth to accomplish these tasks) Developmental Assets: An Overview (Search Institute) (This summary of asset-based programming underlines need for youth participation.) Having Friends, Making Friends, and Keeping Friends: Relationships as Educational Contexts. ERIC Digest. (ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education) (Summary outlines need for youth to establish relationships with peers through engaging activities and programs in schools.) Mid Kids (Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory) (Summarizes why schools need to base programs in middle schools on adolescent developmental needs of belonging, mastery, independence - all of which are promoted by student engagement) Joining Youth Needs and Program Services (ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education) (Outlines how school and agency programs need to report to adolescent development needs) Encouraging Civic Engagement: How Teens Are (or Are Not) Becoming Responsible Citizens (Trends Child Research Brief) (Research brief shows how youth become engaged or disengaged in their communities) Leave No Youth Behind (Center for Law and Social Policy) (Describes how government policies and programs need to reach out to engage disconnected youth.) |
| 4. |
Do we know why, how, when
and where youth become engaged or disengaged? What are the
characteristics, circumstances that influence this post profoundly? Is
there a evidence-based continuum of engagement? Is there a fluctuating
state of engagement? Youth Engagement in Decisions for Healthy Living (Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement) Value-Based Predictors of Youth Engagement (Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement) Zero to Six: The Basis for School Readiness (Human Resources Development Canada) (Summarizes components of school readiness and role of parents, agencies and community) Is History Destiny? Resources, Transitions and Child Education Attainments in Canada (Human Resources Development Canada) (Shows that factors and life events can snowball to increase risk of disengagement.) Economic Resources and Children's Health and Success at School (Human Resources Development Canada) (Shows that owing a house and having parent-child time, when combined with relatively higher income can produce success at school.) Custody Arrangements and the Development of Emotional or Behavioural Problems in Children (Human Resources Development Canada) (Reports children living in single parent families, where that parent has few resources are most vulnerable, and that children of divorced parents are generally only slightly more likely to exhibit problems.) Mediating Factors in Child Development Outcomes: Children in Lone Parent Families (Human Resources Development Canada) (Suggests specific supports, based on the ages of their children, can mediate child development outcomes.) Sports, Arts and Community Programs: Rates and Correlates of Participation (Human Resources Development Canada) (Reports that a large proportion - over 2/3 - have almost never participated in an arts of community program in the past year, with a sizeable minority not ever participating in sports activities. Gender, in care and community facilities were mediating factors.) Neighbourhood Influences on Children's School Readiness (Human Resources Development Canada) (Reports neighbourhood affluence, cohesiveness and maternal education are correlated with school readiness and engagement.) Do Places Matter? A Multilevel Analysis of Geographic Variations in Child Behaviour in Canada (Human Resources Development Canada) (Suggests actions that support disadvantaged families rather than disadvantaged neighbourhoods, would be more effective in reducing problem behaviour.) School Achievement of Canadian Boys and Girls in Early Adolescence: Links with Personal Attitudes and Parental and Teacher Support for School (Human Resources Development Canada) (Teacher support and student parent expectations are correlated with school success in late elementary grades.) Family Relationships and Children's School Achievement (Human Resources Development Canada) (Reports that socio-economic status has pervasive effect on school achievement, and was correlated to parental depression, hostile parenting and student academic achievement.) Engagement and Dropping Out of School: A Life-Course Perspective (Human Resources Development Canada) (Reviews research and school drop-outs to develop an explanatory model that incorporates early childhood, individual characteristics, family characteristics, engagement in school, peers, school practices and community characteristics.) |
| 5. |
Have the evidence-based or
potential impacts of youth engagement been described in empirical
studies? Is that impact the same for youth leaders as well as youth
participants? Does youth engagement result in changes to the
determinants of health? Youth Engagement and Health Outcomes: Is There a Link? (Centre of Excellence on Youth Engagement) (Reviews the research literature. Secondary Schools in Canada: The National Report of the Exemplary Schools Project (Canadian Education Association) (Reports exemplary schools emphasize importance of warm, accepting school culture) Student Engagement in Learning and School Life (Ed-Lex) (Report on 10 Canadian case studies. Only one of the ten truly engaged students.) Schools as Communities. ERIC Digest (ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management) Youth Development Programs Show Success in Reducing Risky Behaviors (NASBE) (Youth development programs reported as strengthening engagement in schools.) Youth Acts, Community Impacts (Forum For Youth Investment) Youth in Decision Making: A Study on the Impacts of Youth on Adults and Organizations (Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development and National 4-HCouncil, University of Wisconsin-Madison) |
| 6. |
What do we know about social
and physical environments (settings as schools, homes, recreation, etc.)
and their roles in promoting or limiting youth engagement? Safe, Healthy Environments (Health Canada) (Overview of issues and environments relevant to youth.) Our Prairie Future: Toward Child and Youth-Centred Communities (Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth-Centred Prairie Communities) The Works: Assessing Youth Involvement in Youth Health Organizations (Health Canada) The School Experience (Health Canada) (Report on Canadian survey) Student Engagement (Ed-Lex, McGill University) School Plus: A Vision for Children and Youth (Task Force and Public Dialogue on the Role of the School) (Presents vision and policy of Saskatchewan) Constructing Supporting Environments for Youth Learning and Engagement (Policy paper from Forum for Youth Investment) The Civic Mission of Schools (Policy paper on the social role of the school) |
| 7. |
What do we know about
different interventions (policies, programs, services, activities) and
their impact on youth engagement? Are there studies describing efficacy,
cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, duration, intensity, etc.? Comprehensive Community of Community-School Programs (No studies, reports found) Whole School Programs Fostering Resilience in Children. ERIC Digest (ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education) Leadership for School Culture. ERIC Digest (ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management) The Roles of Students in Schools Research Guide (www.soundout.org) Instructional Programs Impacts, K-12 Service-Learning (National Service Clearinghouse) Community Service and Civic Education. ERIC Digest (ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education) Extracurricular/Co-curricular Programs Extracurricular Activities: The Pathway to Success? (Educational Leadership) After-School Programs (AskERIC) The Promise of After-School Programs (Educational Leadership) Critical Hours: Afterschool Programs and Educational Success (Nellie Mae Education Foundation) Definitions and Examples of Peer Work (Peer Resources) Peer Helper Program for Out of the Mainstream Youth (Health Canada) Youth Empowering Youth Services School-Based Mentoring: What and Why (Public/Private Ventures) Mentoring Programs and Youth Development: A Synthesis (Child Trends) |
| 8. |
What is know about formal
youth involvement in public decision-making and its impact on youth in
general, the youth who served as representatives and the quality of the
policies and programs of the adult organizations or institutions? Hearing the Voices of Youth: A Review of Research and Consultation Documents (Health Canada) (Reports primarily on various consultations with youth) Selected Case Studies of Youth Involvement in Public Decision-Making (Health Canada) (Examples of school, municipal and government examples) Hearing the Voices of Youth: Youth Participation in Selected Canadian Municipalities (Health Canada) (Examines municipal strategies to engage youth) Refocusing the Lens: Assessing The Challenge of Youth Involvement in Public Policy (Institute on Governance) (Examples of successful strategies, identifies key barriers) Nine Lessons for Influencing Policy Makers (Institute on Governance) (Offers suggestions to youth leaders) Youth Involvement in Policy-Making: Lessons from Ontario School Boards (Institute on Governance) (Describes Ontario's experience with youth trustees on school boards) Putting Students at the Centre in Education Reform (University of Manitoba) (Suggests school reform efforts should focus on engaging students) What Works in Education Reform: Putting Young People at the Center (International Youth Foundation) Youth Philanthropy: A Framework of Best Practice (Kellogg Foundation) (Advice on funding and supporting youth) Making the Case for Youth in Decision-Making (Innovation Center) (Research summary) |
| 9. |
Do we know how to best
organize, deliver and sustain youth engagement? Youth Engagement in Decisions for Healthy Living (Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement) (Suggests reasons why young people become engaged in various programs and activities is not well understood.) |
| 10. |
How do theory and studies of
youth engagement relate to other discipline and research topics related
to youth? (psychology, sociology, effective schools, re-oriented health
services, school dropouts, civic/social development, etc.) |
| 11. |
How can youth participate
directly in research on youth engagement? Youth Involvement in Evaluation and Research (Harvard Family Research Project) Establishing the Importance of Youth Participation in Community Evaluation and Research (CYD Journal) A Handbook for Supporting Community Youth Researchers (John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities) |
This
summary has been prepared with funding provided by the
Population
Health Fund, Health Canada
Key Resources
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Laidlaw Foundation |
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Youth Engagement in Decisions for Healthy
Living (Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement) |
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Youth Engagement and Health Outcomes: Is There
a Link? (Centre of Excellence on Youth Engagement) |
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Student Engagement (Ed-Lex) |
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Hearing the Voices of Youth: A Review of
Research and Consultation Documents (Health Canada) |
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Selected Case Studies of Youth Involvement in
Public Decision-making (Health Canada) |
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Youth Involvement in Policy-Making: Lessons
from Ontario School Boards (Institute on Governance) |
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Youth Led Health Promotion, Youth Engagement
and Youth Participation (Health Canada) |
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Research Agenda: Youth Involvement (At
The Table) |