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…

With increasing rates of globalization, understanding the cultural factors that promote positive adaptation in migrant children and adolescents is vital. In prior research, acculturation and enculturation frameworks often rely on unidimensional or bidimensional conceptions of culture to study the effects of migration on child and adolescent…

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…

Out-of-school time (OST) settings are powerful contexts for youth development when programs and services are intentionally designed. "Youth Development Principles and Practices in Out-of-School Time Settings" increases the capacity of students and professionals to facilitate youths' optimal transition to adulthood through maximizing the…

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…

At a recent national forum at the Ford Foundation in New York, 140 education and youth development professionals discussed how to better support adolescent learning. Drawing on the discussion and the latest research in neuroscience, psychology and cognitive learning science, TASC presents an action agenda that can be tailored to circumstances in…

Rolling with Resilience (RwR) provides a springboard for developing strategies that build strengths and supports to foster developmental assets in children and youth (Benson, Scales, & Roehlkepartain, 2011). In Circle of Courage terms, resilience is strengthened by opportunities for Belonging, Mastery, Independence, and Generosity (Brendtro,…

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…

Even though these papers represent radically different types of research in different environments and with diverse populations, I think they are appropriately grouped under the theme of "experiential education and youth development in diverse settings." In their own way, each of them deals with the role of experiential education in mitigating the…

4-H has long emphasized the importance of civic engagement and community service for positive youth development. One pathway to this ideal is youth action research and evaluation. This article demonstrates how participatory youth research and evaluation can lead to the successful implementation of community action projects. It describes the…

All of today's young people need a rigorous academic program that prepares them for college and career success. But a growing body of research also suggests that low-income, high-risk teens who have opportunities to gain work experience and to connect education and work during high school are likely to do better in school and earn more throughout…

Across cultures, a common motif is the rite of passage that facilitates transition to adulthood. The structure of an Outward Bound course parallels a classic adolescent initiation rite, involving separation from home and family, influence of a guide or instructor, group adventure in which participants increasingly take responsibility, a solo…

Adolescent development can be influenced by two critical factors in camp programming: content of the values that shape and inform the camper and degree of challenge. Camp adventure activities successfully merge recreation and education in an outdoor setting that provides space for the explorations of youth. Camp can play a unique role in guiding…