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Positive connections

Positive connections. Thomas Akiva, PhD University of Pittsburgh, Psychology in Education tomakiva@pitt.edu November 28, 2012. Positive connections. ?. What are. Youth. Parents. Youth. Peers. Program adults. Teachers. Parents. Youth. Peers. Program adults. Teachers. Parents.

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Positive connections

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  1. Positive connections Thomas Akiva, PhD University of Pittsburgh, Psychology in Education tomakiva@pitt.edu November 28, 2012

  2. Positive connections ? What are

  3. Youth

  4. Parents Youth Peers Program adults Teachers

  5. Parents Youth Peers Program adults Teachers

  6. Parents Youth Peers Program adults Teachers

  7. Agenda • Opening activity • Part 1: How do we know that youth-adult relationships matter and what can they do for kids? • Part 2: Research on strategies • direct practice • Program leadership • Conclusion

  8. Part 1How do we know that youth-adult relationships matter and what can they do for kids?

  9. Youth-adult relationships have been called… • “the critical ingredient” in after-school (Rhodes, 2004) • “the heart and soul” of youth programs (Hirsch et al., 2011) • “the active ingredient” of effective interventions(Li & Julian, 2012)

  10. Youth-adult relationships are a key part of every OST framework… • NRC: “Supportive Relationships”

  11. Youth-adult relationships are a key part of every OST framework… • NRC: “Supportive Relationships” • America’s Promise: “Caring adults”

  12. Youth-adult relationships are a key part of every OST framework… • NRC: “Supportive Relationships” • America’s Promise: “Caring adults” • Developmental Assets:“Support”

  13. Youth-adult relationships are a key part of every OST framework… • NRC: “Supportive Relationships” • America’s Promise: “Caring adults” • Developmental Assets:“Support” • EVERY qualityassessment tool

  14. Youth-adult relationships are a key part of every OST framework… • The BIG THREE (Lerner, 2005) Participation & leadership Skillbuilding Sustained and caring adult-youth relationships

  15. Wizards • Wizards reach, motivate, and promote young people whom many dismiss as unreachable, irredeemable, or hopeless

  16. How do we know that youth-adult relationship matter?

  17. How do we know that youth-adult relationship matter? • Evolutionary thinking • Experience • Qualitative research • Quantitative research

  18. How do we know that youth-adult relationship matter? • Evolutionary thinking • Experience • Qualitative research • Quantitative research

  19. What can positive youth-adult relationships do for kids?

  20. What can positive youth-adult relationships do for kids? • In school: A recent meta-analysis of 99 studies of teacher-student relationships (Roorda et al., 2011) found… .34 Positive teacher-student relationships Engagement .16 Positive teacher-student relationships Achievement

  21. What can positive youth-adult relationships do for kids? • Help them do better in the program (safety, belonging, engagement) • Help them do better outside the program (e.g., in school) • Help build life skills and content skills • Provide social capital • Navigate the tumult of adolescence (and all the years before)

  22. What can positive youth-adult relationships do for kids? • Help them do better in the program (safety, belonging, engagement) • Help them do better outside the program (e.g., in school) • Help build life skills and content skills • Provide social capital • Navigate the tumult of adolescence (and all the years before) Emotional support and Instrumental support

  23. Why us? Teachers Parents/Caregivers May be busy “Just don’t understand” In it for the long haul • Curricular demands • Large number of students (particular in high school) • Grades/evaluation

  24. Why us? Teachers Parents/Caregivers May be busy “Just don’t understand” In it for the long haul • Curricular demands • Large number of students (particular in high school) • Grades/evaluation YOUTH WORKERS Can be both ‘cool’ and significant. In an excellent position to provide both emotional and instrumental support.

  25. Emotional support and Instrumental support How does your program provide each of these? How could you do each better?

  26. Part 2Research on strategies

  27. Part 2Research on strategies PRACTICE: How do you build youth-adult relationships? LEADERSHIP: How do you support the development of youth-adult relationships

  28. A. How do you build youth-adult relationships? Findings from research • Relationships develop (Li & Julian) • Little things matter (Akiva) • Relational strategies (Jones & Deutsch) • Structure & brokering (Sullivan & Larson)

  29. 1. Relationships develop(Li & Julian, 2012) • Attachment • Reciprocity • Progressive complexity • Shifting balance of power

  30. 2. Little things matter (Akiva, Cortina, Eccles, & Smith, under review) Sample: Diverse mix of afterschool programs. Youth avg age 12 (8-19),54% female, 41% parents college Hypothesis: Staff practices will differentially predict: 66 sites 123 program offerings 1176 youths + Welcoming Choice Belonging + Active skill-building Planning, Leadership Cognitive engagement

  31. 2. Little things matter (Akiva, Cortina, Eccles, & Smith, under review) * p < .05, ** p < .01 Belonging model explains: 5% - level 1; 19% - level 2; 37% - level 3 Engagement model explains: 6% - level 1; 3% - level 2; 65% - level 3

  32. 2. Little things matter (Akiva, Cortina, Eccles, & Smith, under review) Welcoming practices: • Staff use a warm tone of voice and respectful language • Staff smile, use friendly gestures, and make eye contact • Staff appear to like the youth they’re working with. Each scored 1, 2, or 3, then averaged, then dichotomized.

  33. 3. Relational strategies(Jones & Deutsch, 2010) Sample: 17 youth at urban boys & girls club. Age 12-18, balanced gender, majority African American. Observations & interviews for a year. Background: 2008 study found bidirectional respect was critical for youth in this sample. Research question: What staff strategies build youth-adult relationships?

  34. 3. Relational strategies(Jones & Deutsch, 2010) • Minimizing relational distanceAge differences, teen language & idioms, mutual interests • Active inclusionGet kids involved, promote positive culture • Attention to proximal relational tiesBridge developmental contexts

  35. 4. Structure & brokering(Sullivan & Larson, 2010) Sample: 71 ethnically diverse youth (mean age 16.5) from 7 programs with reputations as high quality. Interviewed biweekly over 4 months. Activities focused on connecting youth to high-resource adults. Research question: How do effective leaders address obstacles to youth-adult interactions?

  36. 4. Structure & brokering(Sullivan & Larson, 2010) • Activities that structure youth interactions with high-resource adultsPresentations by experts, soliciting donations, collaborative activities around shared project, lobbying institutions • Staff broker interactionsBefore, during, and after activities: -- Coach youth on strategies -- Help adults adapt to youth

  37. B. How do you support the development of youth-adult relationships? • Intentionality (Walker et al.) • Continuous quality improvement (Smith, Akiva, et al.)

  38. 1. Intentionality(Walker, Marczak, Blyth, & Borden, 2005) Developmental Intentionality = “Deliberate, strategic decisions to create opportunities that maximize developmental outcomes” Areas: relationships, activities, subject matter content, the environment, the pedagogical method, contextual connections

  39. 2. Continuous quality improvement(Smith, Akiva, et al., 2012) Big randomized field trial (87 sites) found that through a low-cost process of assessment, planning, and staff training, programs systematically improved their quality. See www.cypq.orgfor more info.

  40. Putting it all together • Developmental relationships: Attachment, reciprocity, progressive complexity, shifting balance of power • Welcoming  belonging: Warm tone, respectful language, be nice • Relational practices: minimize distance, active inclusion, proximal ties • Structure & brokering • Developmental intentionality

  41. Thank you! tomakiva@pitt.edu

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