This article discusses concepts related to character strengths and positive youth development and how these ideas can be applied to improve outcomes among gifted young people. A theory with roots in public health, The Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI), is discussed with examples applied to gifted populations. Practitioners and researchers from…

School extracurricular activities are an important site for positive youth development in low-resource international contexts due to their relative accessibility and community relevance. Such activity programs can simultaneously illuminate local best practices and learn from research in other contexts where positive youth development research is…

Whether discussing the process involved in positive youth development (PYD), articulating an approach (or philosophy) of youth programs associated with PYD, or enacting a program aimed at promoting PYD, ideas derived from relational developmental systems (RDS) metatheory are pertinent. Accordingly, we discuss the RDS metamodel and explain the…

"The Mentoring Toolkit 2.0: Resources for Developing Programs for Incarcerated Youth" provides information, program descriptions, and links to important resources that can assist juvenile correctional facilities and other organizations to design effective mentoring programs for neglected and delinquent youth, particularly those who are…

The 4-H Program within Cooperative Extension is more than 100 years old. As we celebrate 100 years of Cooperative Extension, the foundation built by the 4-H Program serves as grounds to meet the needs of today's youth. The diversity of the youth who participate continues to grow, families continue to become less traditional, potential…

Some young people naturally flourish in school; others struggle due to difficult life circumstances. There is also another group of young people who have no substantial issues or barriers but are still at risk of disengaging from learning. Through research, it is known that the majority of young people who are not in education, employment or…

This opening article defines the ways in which three mentoring interaction elements--focus, purpose, and authorship--distinguish between effective and ineffective mentoring relationship styles. The framework described can help mentors better understand the difference between prescriptive and instrumental styles and differentiate laissez-faire from…

4-H Bloco Drum and Dance is an afterschool program that teaches adolescents drumming, dancing, and theater arts in the rich traditions of Brazilian Carnaval. Teens learn to express themselves in a variety of modalities and perform at community events. The program was developed by a community coalition that included 4-H, other youth programs, and…

Defines youth development programs and reviews the program evaluation literature. Discusses (1) positive-behavior focused competency/asset enhancing programs, (2) problem-behavior focused competency/asset enhancing programs, and (3) resistance skills-based prevention programs. Includes an appendix of detailed summaries of 15 program evaluations.…

For the first time ever, Citizen Through Sports Alliance (CTSA) convened a panel of youth sports experts from across the country to evaluate youth sports in the United States and articulate its successes and failures. The panel evaluated only community-based youth sports programs, focusing on those that serve children ages 6 to 14. The panel is…

Case studies in the National Camp Evaluation Project and National Inclusive Camp Practices project used interviews with counselors and parents about camper's growth to yield qualitative data for camp program evaluation. The importance, methods, and benefits of case studies are described. Sidebars give examples of comments on perceived camper…

With local Cooperative Extension agents serving as a bridge between university-based researchers and local community members, the PRIDE Project's collaborative activities have included building university-community relationships; carrying out needs assessments, program planning, and program evaluation research; and conducting policy seminars at…

This guide advocates an alliance among diverse groups for the purpose of decreasing the incidence of adolescent pregnancy and improving the outcome of pregnancies that do occur. It provides useful information for communities interested in developing pregnancy prevention activities. Statistics about adolescent pregnancies are given and the…

As demand for after-school services has grown, the public has responded with support for growth in federal, state, and local funding for these services. As in other successful grassroots movements, this high level of support is evident across groups with diverse objectives. Some after-school advocates are mainly interested in increasing the supply…

Effective participatory education programs are planned efforts designed to effect cognitive, social, and affective change. Although research does not yet permit unequivocal generalizations about effects, existing research is promising, especially when compared with research on effects of work experience per se. Positive effects include student,…