New Year, New Look at Positive Youth Development

Inside Part I: PYD: NCFY Asks the Experts PYD Today Let Young People Take Charge and They Grow Up To Be Leaders NCFY Podcast: The Power of Service Experts' Favorite PYD Resources Part II: Creating a Youth Master Plan When Cities Make a Plan for Young People, Youth Workers are Part of the Process Master Planning for Youth in Rural Communities Support Systems for Rural Homeless Youth: A Collaborative State and Local Demonstration Keeping Kids Incorporated

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Experts' Favorite PYD Resources

NCFY asked the experts, "What are some of your favorite PYD resources?" Here's what they told us:

Marguerite W. Kondracke, President and CEO, America's Promise Alliance

My all-time favorite is Dr. Seuss's Oh the Places You'll Go. But to be serious, there are several Web sites and research organizations that we've worked with at America's Promise Alliance that I find to be particularly strong.

Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University
The Forum for Youth Investment
Alliance for Excellent Education
Editorial Projects in Education Research Center
Child Trends and the Child Trends Databank
Search Institute
Afterschool Alliance
Casey Family Programs

On our own 15 in 5 Campaign Network Web site, we have a resources area that lists reports and toolkits from many of our partners that can be helpful to anyone working in the positive youth development space. (It takes just a minute to register for access to all the features of the site.)

I also like Peter Benson's new book, Sparks: How Parents Can Help Ignite the Hidden Strengths of Teenagers, and also from the Search Institute I like, What Do Children Need to Flourish? (edited by Kristin A. Moore and Laura Lippman). And there's always the classic, From Neurons to Neighborhoods (edited by Jack P. Shonkoff and Deborah A. Phillips).

Steven A. Culbertson, President and CEO, Youth Service America

I would be remiss if I did not suggest the newly released Semester of Service Strategy Guide (PDF) by Youth Service America. Based upon research that demonstrates that semester-long service-learning projects have the greatest educational impact, YSA will launch Semester of Service in January 2009. The strategy guide provides instructions on how to plan and implement service-learning projects that last the duration of a semester. It is a great program that connects key service dates: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January and Global Youth Service Day, YSA's own flagship program, in April. The strategy guide is available for free on YSA's Web site. 

Joyce A. Walker, Professor and Assistant Center Director, Youth Work Institute, University of Minnesota

While I have had many roles in youth work, as an educator, the resources I prefer now tend to emphasize education policy and research. 

One of my favorites is www.infed.org, a Web site started by Mark Smith, a British educator at George Williams College in the United Kingdom. What I call nonformal education or youth development education, Mark refers to as informal education, hence the "infed" in the URL.  Here you can find histories of youth organizations, learn about the lives and work of influential people in the field, and explore ideas like praxis, community building, and associational life. I refer all my students to this site.

In daily work, I use the Forum for Youth Investment Web site to keep up with State and national youth development practice, research, and policy. It's a great one-stop site for practitioners. 

The Youth Work Institute, the professional development unit at the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development, where I work, supports the education, training, and professional development of adults who work with and on behalf of young people.

Experts' picks continued >>