Youth clubs in the 21st century : The quest for impact and change
Youth clubs are and still the best model to ensure youth-centered leadership and community participation, this also means they are an effective approach for young people to work towards solutions to their own challenges they are faced within their communities and themselves as individuals.
But also it important for youth clubs to be about youth thriving, not just surviving
In order to achieve this youth clubs should evolve and understand that they are operating in a different environment with young people who experience vast and multiple challenges.
With these issues in mind, youth clubs should provide or assist young people in building skills that will enable them to overcome educational and social economic barriers so that they can author their own lives. By developing and adopting program models that recognize the importance of self-directed learning, innovative leadership, and global citizenship as 21st-century skills that help youth shape positive pathways.
Examples include the ability to think critically, communicate across cultural boundaries, and lead by utilizing the skills and talents of others (Partnership, 2008). These learning experiences give youth a sense of hope and expectation for their futures and a realization of personal power to positively influence themselves and their world.
The 21st-century challenges require youth clubs to work towards the following:
· Youth-centered: Youth club experience mostly or always should include youth-centered elements such as a sense of belonging among young people, feeling that leaders know them, the opportunity to make friends outside their typical peer group, and having a role in program planning.
· Knowledge-centered: The importance of participants feeling that a knowledge-centered approach is in place. This means young people feel good about what they had done in their club, they completed a project or presentation, and they understood the goal of their club to teach new knowledge and help them gain new skills.
· Assessment-centered: Youth clubs should ensure that elements of assessment-centered programming are present. To ensure that young people receive feedback and recognition for their contributions, feeling their voices were valued, and that progress was important to them and others.
· Community-centered: youth clubs should ensure that they are community-centered. This includes community awareness, positive relationships, and cultural relevancy.
Youth-Driven Clubs
With planned leader support system in place, young people to work closely with their leaders to gain mastery of 21st-century skills and drive their participation in clubs. The emphasis should be on the relationship between the young people and their club leaders or mentors. As part of leader support system, leaders should receive training on mentorship in addition to positive youth development principles, with the goal of creating as caring and productive a learning environment as possible. In this environment, youth engage in meaningful learning experiences, reflect on their learning, produce tangible educational products, and present their learning to others. This full cycle of experiential learning will allow each participant to achieve mastery at an individual level.
The goal of youth as “drivers” is also an important concept within youth clubs. For all youth, but particularly those who experience a level of daily trauma (homelessness, physical or verbal abuse, hunger, domestic violence, family substance abuse), a feeling of constant lack or loss of control can steer them in a negative direction. Provided a safe environment in which to learn and apply skills, they can learn to control their lives from a sense of purpose that benefits the common good rather than out of a sense of fear or survival that may only satisfy a short-term need.
References
1. Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53, 106-116.
2. Hayes, C. (2002). Thinking broadly: Finance strategies for comprehensive child and family initiatives. Washington, DC: The Finance Project.
3. Konopka, G. (1973). Requirements for healthy development of adolescent youth. Adolescence, 8, 2-25.
4. McLaughlin, M. (2000). Community counts: How youth organizations matter for youth development. Washington, DC: Public Education Network.
5. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2008). 21st Century Skills, Education, and Competitiveness: A Resource and Policy Guide. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/21st_century_skills_education_and_competitiveness_guide.pdf
6. Patton, E. (2013). The black-white and urban-rural divides in perceptions of racial fairness. The PEW Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/08/28/the-black-white-and-urban-rural-divides-in-perceptions-of-racial-fairness/
7. Russo, J. (2014, February). What is urban youth development? [Web blog post]. Retrieved from http://blog.lib.umn.edu/extyouth/insight/2014/02/
8. Watson, D. (2011). What do you mean when you say urban? Speaking honestly about race and students. Rethinking Schools, 26(1), 48-50.
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