Background: Summer camp is an experiential learning setting that supports youth development. Due to high fees, youth from low-income backgrounds often have fewer opportunities to attend. Subsequently, there is little literature about these youth's camp experiences. Purpose: This research examined growth and the characteristics supporting growth in…

The aim of this grounded theory study was to explore late-adolescents' process of sexual development along with their information- and support-seeking behaviors in a Swedish context. Data were collected in semi-structured interviews with late-adolescents aged between 18 and 21 years in high schools in central Sweden. The results showed that…

The purpose of the project reported here was to apply Experiential Learning Theory to a context involving middle and high school aged youth while assessing the four concepts (belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity) in relation to the 4-H youth development essential elements. The conclusions of the project's evaluation suggest…

This qualitative multiple-case study examined the implementation of an experiential learning component of an academic curriculum in six high schools in Turkey. Structures and supports that influenced programme implementation were examined using an implementation framework adapted from Durlak and Dupre. The study describes how the experiential…

This study describes the learning and development experiences of teacher education students after taking an introductory course on adolescent psychology. The instructor adopted the developmental instruction model (DIM) (Knefelkamp, 1998) in this study and facilitated students learn through experiential learning. Fifteen students (aged between 20…

Young adolescents have unique basic and developmental needs. Middle level educators are best able to reach and teach young adolescents when they understand students' needs and when the school environment, including its organizational structures and teacher practices, are responsive to these needs. Findings from a recently conducted qualitative…

Describes a study of self-concept changes among 87 ninth-grade students during a 10-week mandatory adventure course. Concludes that course participation improved overall self-esteem and perceptions of own physical self and popularity, particularly among male students. Contains 16 references. (SV)

The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service implemented summer youth nutrition to provide youth with information on the fundamentals of proper nutrition and contribute to their personal development and overall well-being. Collaboration among extension professionals and with external partners enabled the program to serve a total of 1469 youth.…

For decades, camps have served as outdoor learning laboratories for leadership development. Camps provide adolescents the opportunity to practice leadership skills through activities perceived as worthwhile and in environments that differ profoundly from everyday experience. A survey examined the self-perceived development of leadership skills at…

Adolescent work experience is often proposed as developmentally significant. This study attempts to demonstrate that different work settings expose youth to substantially different experiences. Opportunities for learning, initiative and autonomy, and interaction are examined in six job types commonly held by adolescents. (SK)

Discusses the origins and context of adolescence as a cultural phenomenon and illustrates how rites of passage can nurture healthy developmental changes in adolescents. Describes and evaluates the application of a rite of passage during a backpacking experience that was designed to usher teens from adolescence to adulthood in a Christian context.…

Presents the results of studies on adolescence which analyze the biographical importance of school in adolescent life and the psycho-social stress of scholastic requirements. States that appropriate scholastic, pedagogical, and didactic concepts that meet the fundamentally changed significance of scholastic "work" in adolescence should…

Research was conducted to determine the relative effects of an internship program on the psychosocial development of high school students. Volunteers for an internship program were recruited from a group of high school juniors and seniors. The selected students were matched with mentors who were perceived as supportive of the internship program;…

A theoretical perspective is presented for examining conceptual change in adolescence and the social context of learning. A case study of the Computer as Lab Partner project illustrates the following: (1) conceptual and cognitive changes in eighth graders' understanding of physical science concepts; (2) ways concepts are constructed; and (3)…

A study charted family, school, workplace, and community experiences that are relevant to the vocational development of high school students, focusing on five areas of influence: allowance practices within the family, economic status, paid work experience, volunteerism, and gender differences. The data were from the "Youth Development…