This evaluation report explores the evolution of the Youth Leadership Institute (YLI), an annual convening of youth leaders, youth organizers, adult allies, and educators from across New England. The report closely examines the first several years of YLI, tracking its growth and challenges through the eyes of youth, adult allies, and Nellie Mae…

There has been little examination of how criminological theory may help to inform library practice in correctional settings. This article takes steps to address this deficit by presenting a new and timely approach to prison library research. It suggests that situating prison library research within the disciplines of librarianship, education and…

As a lifelong theater artist and educator, as well as practitioner of a variety of meditative techniques, this author has been keenly interested in the potential impact of sitting meditation and other contemplative practices on acting, vocal, and movement training in college and university performing arts departments. For many years, she wondered…

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review the current empirical research regarding the financial effects of participation in Individual Development Account (IDA) programs. Methods: Peer-reviewed outcome studies identified through electronic bibliographic databases and manual searches of article reference lists are reviewed. A total of 1…

A critical theory lens is used to explore the role of evaluation in youth development, a field aimed at recognizing youth as assets. A theory of change in the field is questioned for its emphasis on individual youth outcomes as programmatic outcome measures. A review of 209 evaluations of 131 programs in the Harvard Family Research Project's…

Romantic relationships matter for adolescents. Experiences in romantic relationships facilitate key areas of personal and interpersonal development, however, problems in romantic relationships and lack of positive role models can lead to increased risk of developing unhealthy relationship patterns that can persist into adulthood. The goals of this…

Almost 900m adolescents and adults are illiterate in the developing world, yet most policy discussions focus on the educational circumstances of primary aged children. As a result non-formal educational programs for adolescents and adults are given very little support, and this group is virtually ignored in international agreements such as the…

Computeen, a preventive technology and psychosocial skills development program for at-risk adolescents, was designed to improve computer skills, self-esteem, and school attitudes, and reduce behavior problems, by combining elements of community-based and empirically supported prevention programs. Fifty-five mostly Latino adolescents from 12 to 16…

The Millennium Development Goals launched in 2001 provide a worldwide agenda to reduce poverty by 2015. Though the eight goals provide synergies for the rapid reduction of poverty, the MDGs have come under criticism for being too narrow and sometimes leaving out critical aspects of human development and well-being. Although the MDGs address some…

Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Project Green Reach (PGR) is a children's program that has offered garden-based youth education since 1990. PGR focuses on Grade K-8 students and teachers from local Title I schools who work in teams on garden and science projects. In this exploratory study, the authors used field observations, document analysis, and past…

Pastoral care is the term used in education in the United Kingdom to describe the structures, practices and approaches to support the welfare, well-being and development of children and young people. This article takes a historical perspective and charts the shifts in priorities that pastoral care practice has taken over the past 50 years. The…

Organizational learning (OL) is about how individuals collect, absorb, and transform information into organizational memory and knowledge. This case study explored how six high-technology firms in Taiwan chose OL as an organization development intervention strategy. Issues included how best to implement OL; how individuals, teams, and…

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) involves an idea of "making learning visible"--of valuing knowledge irrespective of how, when and where it is learnt. This is a phenomenographic analysis of how a group of caretakers from a Swedish property management company experience participation in an RPL initiative focusing on their vocational competence.…

Explores the nature of experiential deficiency pattern to suggest a preliminary model for assessing it and then considers whether and how experiential learning strategies can be accommodated to the experiential deficiencies of hearing impaired students. (Author)

This study evaluated a mentorship program which involved classroom instruction and actual mentorship experiences for gifted juniors and seniors. A survey of 103 former mentorship students found that the students derived numerous benefits from the mentorship program in the areas of personal, academic, and career development. (JDD)