The Psychology of Youth Participation in Organized Activities.

Positive Youth Development;Out-of-School Time;After-school Programs;Youth Engagement;Observational Assessment;Hierarchical Linear Modeling;Education;Psychology;Social Sciences;Education and Psychology

Akiva, Thomas M.Larson, Reed W. ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Positive Youth Development;    Out-of-School Time;    After-school Programs;    Youth Engagement;    Observational Assessment;    Hierarchical Linear Modeling;    Education;    Psychology;    Social Sciences;    Education and Psychology;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/94012/akiva_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

Organized activities for youth, defined as purposeful, structured offerings that are not part of the school curriculum, play an increasingly important role in the learning and development of young people. This dissertation investigates factors related to youth psychological experiences in such voluntary learning settings. The dissertation begins with four propositions: Organized activities are important in young people’s educational ecologies, they are more than school replacements, understanding motivation in these settings is critical, and related scientific advancement will require multiple methodologies. Two empirical studies are presented, focused on staff practices and youth program experience. Both involve multilevel, quantitative analysis using a dataset with over 1000 youth nested in over 60 programs. Findings suggest that particular staff practices relate to specific elements of youth experience—support for active skill-building associates with youth cognitive engagement, and staff welcoming practices associate with youth sense of belonging. The strategy of actively involving youth in the leadership and operation of youth programs correlates positively with multiple youth motivational constructs, including perceived value of the program and leadership-related expectancies. Moderation analyses suggest these positive associations are stronger for older youth. The concluding chapter discusses these findings in the context of current youth development research, the two educational goals of workforce and citizen development, and implications for future directions.