Positive Youth Development Programs: A Research Review

1. Positive Youth Development Programs: A Research Review Heather Weiss, Ed.D. Harvard Family Research Project www.hfrp.org

2. HFRP’sOut-of-School Time (OST) Evaluation Database • Contains profiles of program evaluations from across the country • Criteria for inclusion: • Program operates during out-of-school time • Evaluation aims to answer specific question(s) • Serves children ages 5-19 • Available at www.hfrp.org

3. Participation is Important for Academic Success • Better attitudes toward school and higher educational aspirations • Better performance in school, as measured by achievement test scores and grades • Higher school attendance (as measured by attendance and tardiness) • Less disciplinary action (e.g., suspension)

4. Participation is Important for Social/Emotional Development • Decreased behavioral problems • Improved social and communication skills and/or relationships with others (peers, parents, and/or teachers) • Increased community involvement and broadened world view • Increased self-confidence and self-esteem

5. Participation is Important for Healthy Physical Development • Avoidance of drug and alcohol use • Decreases in delinquency and violent behaviors • Increased knowledge of safe sex and avoidance of sexual activity and pregnancy • Increased skills for coping with peer pressure

6. Participation is Important for 21st Century Skill Development • Expert Thinking: Identifying and solving new problems • Complex communication: Eliciting critical information and conveying a convincing interpretation of it to others • Proficiency in the “basics”

7. Spotlight on Positive Youth Development Programs • Many programs include positive youth development activities and goals with academic enrichment. Evaluations reveal positive associations with academic outcomes. • Even some PYD programs that do not include an academic component demonstrate positive academic effects (grades, attendance, homework completion, motivation, etc.)

8. Spotlight on Positive Youth Development Programs • Examples: • Participating in drug prevention program plus self esteem component predicted improved test scores • A higher number of hours in community service activities was associated with higher test scores • Students in a multi-component program benefited from homework help and tutoring more when they also participated in social skills training

9. Factors That Influence Participant Outcomes • Age • Socio-economic status • Program quality • Participation

10. Key features of quality in OST programs 1. Positive staff-child interactions 2. Interesting, engaging activities 3. Opportunities for meaningful youth involvement 4. Positive peer interactions 5. Learning-oriented/ skill-building activities 6. Autonomy / balance of autonomy and structure 7. Connections with other contexts (school, home, community) 8. Variety in activities

11. What is “Participation” ? Participation = Enrollment +Attendance +Engagement

12. Attendance Intensity • Definition: • The amount of time youth participate in an activity in a given time period • Measurement: • Hours per day • Days per week • Sessions per month • Percentage of time

13. Attendance Duration • Definition: • Youth’s history of participation • Measurement: • Number of terms • Number of years

14. Attendance Breadth • Definition: • The variety of youth’s participation within or across programs • Measurement: • Number of different activities within a single program • Number of different activities across multiple programs

15. O U T V O M E S Not Participating Participating How Much Is Enough? Model 1: The Threshold Model

16. O U T C O M E S Participation How Much is Enough? Model 2: The Linear Model

17. O U T C O M E S Participation How Much is Enough? Model 3: The Curvilinear Model