Practices and Current Directions
The University of Minnesota's Keys to Quality Youth Development summarizes eight key elements of programs that successfully promote positive youth development. Such programs are physically and emotionally safe, give youth a sense of belonging and ownership and foster their self-worth, allow them to discover their 'self' (identity, interests, strengths), foster high quality and supportive relations with peers and adults, help youth recognize conflicting values and develop their own, foster the development of new skills, have fun, and have hope for the future.
Major reviews focusing on the historical antecedents of current efforts, key elements of effective practice, gaps in the literature, and successful programmatic efforts have been published by the National Academy Press, the US Dept. of Health and Human Services, the Forum for Youth Investment, and the W.T. Grant Foundations work on mentoring. Other important international organizations include The European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy and the Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies. Other important reviews include Positive Youth Development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Organizations such as the Search Institute have developed both guidelines for youth-serving agencies that promote positive development and instruments to assess their success. The W.T. Grant Foundation's From Soft Skills To Hard Data is also relevant.
Read more about this topic: Positive Youth Development
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—Marvin Cohen, U.S. author and humorist. The Self-Devoted Friend, New Directions (1967)