The Psychology and Practice of Youth-Adult Partnership

Presentation / Webinar for Federal

Interagency Working Group on

Youth Programs

Shepherd Zeldin

University of Wisconsin-Madison

October 31, 2012

Three Fundamental Questions

Why is youth-adult partnership a core practice of positive youth and civic development?

What are the core elements of high quality youth-adult partnership?

What does it take to move Y-AP into the mainstream of organizations and communities?

Our Methodology (Assumptions)

There is nothing as theoretical as good practice. (Camino, 1999)

There is nothing more practical than a good theory. (Lewin, 1951)

If you want to understand something, try to change it. (Bronfenbrenner, 1978)

Our Methodology (Integration of Research and Practice)

Historical analysis, case study.

U.S. / international comparative research (Portugal, Canada, Malaysia).

Evaluation of community organizations, local government, school reform, Extension initiatives.

We all want to part of something larger than ourselves; and we all

need to be welcomed into it.

“Healthy communities

inter-generate, not age

segregate.”

Everybody has a role and everybody

is needed.

Bridging Generations Through Youth-Adult Partnership

Youth policy has long reflected a concern with protection - both for and from young people. Youth have become isolated from adults in settings of civil society and public service.

o Governance, advisory groups, coalitions

o Performing arts, sports

o Organizing, service, teaching

President's Science Advisory Committee (1974)

Professionalism and bureaucratization

have sharply narrowed the range of

youth's contacts with adults outside of

leisure.... Paradoxically, what was once

done to protect youth from exploitation,

now serves to reinforce the 'outsider'

status of youth, to the point where they

deprive youth of experience important

to their growth and development.

In youth organizations, community coalitions, nonprofit and public boards, schools and after

school programs.

Youth-Adult Partnership

Communication &

Media

Research &

Evaluation

Service &

Philanthropy

Governance &

Policymaking

Training &

Outreach

Organizing &

Activism

Y-AP Brings Youth Into Community Networks

Y-AP Promotes Youth Development and Empowerment.

o Young people gain knowledge, critical consciousness, and leadership skills, as well as the motivation and confidence to use them.

o Youth enter into community networks with exposure to diverse adults, and gain instrumental and emotional benefits.

o Most critical, developmentally , for vulnerable and

disconnected youth.

Collective Benefits of Y-AP:

Staff/ Volunteers: Greater confidence, commitment, and generativety.

Organizations: stronger boards of directors; more responsive to youth concerns; more effective outreach.

Communities: More people contributing to the common good; less age-related stereotypes; better use of age-related expertise and experience.

Quality Matters Design Features and Core Elements.

Y-AP is not a program; it is a core practice that cuts across organizations and community settings. The policy goal is two-fold:

o Embed the core elements of Y-AP into all youth programs.

o For sustainability, establish Y-AP as a public idea; an accepted way of thinking.

In Brief:

The core responsibility of those in public

policy is not simply to discover what people

want and then implement the best means of

satisfying these wants.

It is to (1) provide the public with

alternative visions of what is desirable and

possible, (2) stimulate deliberation, (3) provoke

a reexamination of premises and values and

(4) broaden the range of potential responses.

When ideas become public they create

a context for new social norms, debate, policy

and practice.

Robert Reich, 1998

Meeting the Policy Goal

Building organizational cultures of partnership

Making youth visible and important to local government and public systems

A focus on Planning and Collective Learning

Three Proven Strategies

What Makes Youth-Adult Partnership Sticky? Moving Beyond the Flavor of the Day

Part

ne

rsh

ip V

alu

es

Co

llect

ive

Act

ion

Organizations and Communities

Part

ne

rsh

ip S

tru

ctu

re

Culture of Partnership Building a

Build and Sustain A Culture of Partnership

Values

o Organizational leaders, by word and deed, establish Y-AP as a core priority.

o Participation consistent with interest, expertise, and time.

Structures

o Options for different ways to participate

o Scaffolding and support.

Collective Action

o Issue is important to both youth and adults.

Make Youth Visible/Important in Public Sphere

o Youth Councils

o Youth Summits

o Municipal boards and commissions

o Community assessments

o Bill of rights for youth

o Youth in charge of centers/parks

“Thank God! A panel of experts!”

A Final Lesson from Research

Panels of experts are critical to good

policy and programs, but…

In community life, the magic bullet

is discussion about things that matter.

Those discussions require people

who want to bridge generations, are

willing to make the time to come

together, have the ability to reach

consensus, and consistently push toward

collective action.

Emphasize Collective Learning and Action

http://fyi.uwex.edu/youthadultpartnership or http://www.actforyouth.net/

Tools from Wisconsin and New York

Narrated PowerPoint: Involving Youth in Decision Making Being Y-AP Savvy: A Primer on Creating Youth-Adult Partnerships Youth-Adult Partnerships in Evaluation

“I’ve got it too Omar… a strange feeling like we’ve just been going in circles.”

Age, Stereotypes and Isolation are Exhausting

Communities Need Youth as Much as Youth Need Communities

“The cost of not involving young

people in shared decision making

will likely come back to haunt us as

a civil society and a golden

opportunity to move toward a fuller

and more inclusive wisdom will

have been missed.”

Mary McAlesse, President of

UNESCO (2012)

References • Li,. & Jullian (2012). Developmental relationships as the active ingredient: A

unifying working hypothesis of "what works" across intervention settings.

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Vol 82:2, 157-186.

• National League of Cities. (2010). Authentic youth civic engagement: A guide for municipal leaders. Washington, DC.

• Wong& Zimmerman (2010). A typology of youth participation and empowerment for child and adolescent health promotion. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46, 100-114.

• Zeldin, Christens & Powers (2012). The psychology and practice of youth-adult partnership: Bridging generations for youth development and community change. American Journal of Community Psychology. (http://fyi.uwex.edu/youthadultpartnership/2012/10/16/bridging-generations/)

• Zeldin, Petrokubi,& Camino (2008). Youth-adult partnerships in public action:

Principles, organizational culture, and outcomes. Forum for Youth Investment. (http://fyi.uwex.edu/youthadultpartnership/2011/07/13/creating_a_supportive_organizational_culture/)

• Zeldin, Petrokubi, & MacNeil (2008). Youth-Adult partnerships in decision making: Disseminating and implementing an innovative idea into established organizations and communities. American Journal of Community Psychology,

41, 262-277. Also included in report for National 4-H Council. (http://fyi.uwex.edu/youthadultpartnership/2011/07/12/implementing-youth-adult-partnership-in-established-organizations/)