"Hey, those are teenagers and they are doing stuff": Youth Participation in Community Development
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Youth have long been a marginalized, disenfranchised and powerless population. Youth of color living in poverty have an even greater likelihood, due to persistent racism and classism in our society, of being in the margins. These youth are often viewed as destructors of community, despite evidence of structural disinvestment, and are rarely given opportunities to participate in their communities. This dissertation utilizes a community-based participatory approach to collaborate with a group of youth of color residing in an impoverished community who are actively engaged in community development efforts. Focus group discussions and individual interviews, along with observations, reveal that youth have strong interests in participating in their community. When given opportunities to participate, they want to be involved in making changes to improve the neighborhood. Youth expressed having passion for their community, being acutely aware of neighborhood needs, and having creative solutions to community problems. In order to become assets to their community, youth need adults and institutions to operate in ways that promote their strengths and embrace youth as both resources and leaders in the community. As community development often occurs through programs, this dissertation proposes a conceptual model to guide youth programs in providing young people with an atmosphere where they can develop. Young people need these programs to create physically and emotionally safe spaces, to integrate youth into the community, to take a holistic approach in working with youth, to reframe traditional frameworks for prevention, and to offer youth meaningful and productive experiences where they are making decisions and designing interventions. When youth are supported, they develop empowered self-perception, self-esteem, self-efficacy, agency, capacity, role modeling behavior, team work, expanded social networks, intergenerational connections, economic stability, skills to make long-term impacts and a sense of ownership of the community.
Author: Tammy Thomas
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2311226881