Effective Youth Engagement: Understanding How and Why
Nathaniel Jones, MHA
Effective Youth Engagement
Youth engagement can be defined as when youth are actively engaged in a hands-on learning process, coupled with supervised autonomy and inclusion in the decision-making processes that directly affect them and their growth and development.
Key Components
When it comes to understanding the key components that must be present for effective youth engagement, there are four elements that must be present. First, the youth involved must deem the engagement as exciting and enjoyable. This does not necessarily mean that youth desire trips to amusement parks to be engaged, although they might very well enjoy that, rather it entails the fact that youth want to be participants in what they believe is relevant. With this, another set of components that must be present descends directly from the first component. With youth desiring to participate in exciting activity, they also desire to be engaged in activity that allows them to be effective and is meaningful to them. And lastly, youth desire to be members of movements that will help them develop their identity.
Why Youth Engagement?
When youth feel supported rather than controlled, their degree of engagement rises. The goal of youth engagement is to allow the individual to traverse through a range of learning phases that are described in the work of some of the most renowned learning theorists. Jean Piaget was a psychologist who developed a theory of cognitive development which “explains how a child constructs a mental model of the world. He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait, and regarded cognitive development as a process which occurs due to biological maturation and interaction with the environment. . . Before Piaget’s work, the common assumption in psychology was that children are merely less competent thinkers than adults. Piaget showed that young children think in strikingly different ways compared to adults” (McLeod, 2015). With Jean Piaget’s work, we can understand the need for Youth Engagement. Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development (McLeod, 2015).
In addition to new and emerging research, there is a shift in understanding of adolescent brain development that is increasingly solidifying the notion that the adolescent brain does not stop developing until the age of 25. With this, Piaget’s work provides research necessary for creating a sound foundation for how youth’s think, supporting the need for youth engagement. As with many, if not all humans, we learn by trial and error. We experiment with our surroundings according to Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget and B. F. Skinner, and begin to formulate our opinion on what life is and what it is not. One key aspect of Jean Piaget’s work is summed up in two words. The first word is schema — which deals with what a child already knows. Piaget suggested that students connect new knowledge to knowledge they already possess as real to them. The second word is constructivism — The idea that students learn by doing rather than being told. These two definitions are the foundation of his work and have been accepted by many psychologists and learning theorists. When we explore the concept of youth engagement and what it really is, Piaget’s theories can be observed as integral to youth engagement framework.
The Importance of Youth Engagement.
There is a powerful quote by an Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in which it was stated, “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”. Within this quote rests the principle and importance of youth engagement and its significance. “How you start something is very important. Prevention is far better than rehabilitation. Starting right is much easier than correcting course” (Hardy, 2018). In reference to a 75-year study in which Harvard followed two groups, 456 poor people in Boston, Massachusetts from 1939 until 2014, the Grant Study, and 268 Harvard graduates from 1939 until 1944, the Glueck Study, it was stated by Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development that, “The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.” (Hardy, 2018). These studies tracked the emotional and physical health of these two groups, examining the key factors involved with creating lifelong happiness.
Additionally, “This meta-analysis2 showed a 50% increased likelihood of survival for participants with stronger social relationships. Put simply, if you have healthy relationships, your chances of survival increase by 50%.” (Hardy, 2018).
“. . . if you go through a terribly horrible experience and you have someone there to help you process it, you’ll likely recover quickly. If you don’t have someone to help you through it, you’ll internalize it, isolate yourself, and that trauma will turn into a lifetime of pain. Healthy relationships, then, could help you avoid addiction. Could help you overcome life’s challenges. Could help you reach higher than you could on your own.” (Hardy, 2018).
As we analyze the data present, we gain better understanding of the depth of importance of Youth Engagement in any system, in this case specifically, the social system.
Interestingly, history displays to us that humans thrive in groups. When individuals feel connected they invest more effort to contributing and are better able to receive. A look into social anthropology displays the nature of human societies and how we tend to commune and evolve in groups as opposed to isolation. Individuals and societies that are isolated tend to gradually decline and at times, cease to exist. In a contradictory manner, individuals and societies that are over-involved can see destruction as well. With this, we must find a balance of participation and engagement, the same is true with youth engagement.
Discussion
When it comes to understanding cross system approaches to involvement, we must be mindful of the tendency to overcomplicate the simplicity of the task at hand. Often, when we think of cross system processes, interdepartmental functioning, or the idea of a variety of environments operating concurrently, we at times may view the information as overwhelming and misunderstand the tasks at hand. Regarding youth engagement, this concept is no different and the same principles apply. Youth want to be engaged, and the truth is youth are already engaged. The challenge simply rests on the fact of determining, “If youth are engaged where are they engaged and why?”, as well as, “Where are they lacking engagement and why?”.
The realization of the problem then emerges to be that, at times, is not the youth’s lack of ability to be effectively engaged, rather the lack of understanding of the processes and environments that desire to effectively engage the youth. Analyzing the average adolescent and young adult we can quickly identify that youth are engaged in many systems, existing in many environments simultaneously. In realizing this, as it pertains to youth engagement, the shift must transition the focus from how to get youth engaged to understanding why they are not engaged with one specific system yet engaged with another. When the why is understood, the how is that much clearer.
Youth Engagement in Cross Systems Processes and Environments.
Youth are engaged in continuum of systems and environments concurrently. For example, youth exist in the system and environment of their home, school and any other activity, be it extracurricular or any other form of involvement. With youth’s ability to exist in multiple environments and function in various systems, there must be the understanding that a cross systems approach of integrated care for youth should be a priority. The youth’s ability to exist and be progressively engaged can possibly be enhanced through minute efforts to reduce system specific jargon when engaged with youth” (Sampson and Laub, 1990). Youth do not simply want to be engaged, research suggest they need to be involved as a healthy ingredient to successful cognitive development.
Youth Engagement, Best Practices and Evidence Based Practices.
Upon inspection of the Center for Diseases Control’s (CDC) “Best Practices User Guide: Youth Engagement–State and Community Interventions” we can learn from their experience with youth engagement in combatting the tobacco industry. One key fact that the CDC realized is as follows:
“In the early 1990s, programs recognized that youth were primarily influenced not by statistics, but by their social environment (e.g., peers, family, and media). Classroom-based life skill activities and peer resistance training replaced pure education as the primary intervention. However, while public health recognized the need to involve youth in tobacco control, the need to integrate youth as partners was not yet recognized.” (Center for Disease Control, 2010).
The realization that programs had is that youth are not influenced by statistics, rather their social environment. In addition to this recognition came the realization that if the social environment of the youth is their biggest influence, then youth must be engaged as partners. In any system, this fact must be emphasized. Youth must be acknowledged as partners and integrated into the society of whatever organization is desiring to effectively engage them. When this is understood and acted upon, youth can be effectively engaged in any system, process and environment as appropriate (Hirschi, 1969).
Best Practices and Evidence Based Practices
Understanding these core components of social and psychological science, it can be inferred that effective engagement must encompass multiple areas that stimulate and facilitate the growth and development of these processes. Youth want to be engaged, it’s just most often the ones engaging youth don’t know how. Youth are humans, the caveat is their developmental differences are at a different level than an adult who has already peaked in their development. To address these gaps in knowledge, the Jones’ SOCIAL Transitions Model was developed to provide a framework of evidence-based practice. It is imperative to support the development of our youth, however this can only be done through effective engagement.
References:
References
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