Youth Engagement - Knowledge Synthesis Report
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Working with Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts to Promote Youth Engagement Knowledge Synthesis Report 2013 Prepared By: Emily Zinck Advisory Committee: Michael Ungar, Shelly Whitman, Silvia Exenberger, Linda Liebenberg, Jimmy Ung, & Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson
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Children and youth in challenging contexts, both in Canada and overseas, face common threats to their mental health that can be better addressed when researchers, service providers, practitioners, and communities pool their knowledge, resources, and lessons learned of what works best for improving young peoples’ mental health. If these groups continue to work within their occupational and disciplinary boundaries, they will fail to mobilize the full potential of the evidence documented by researchers, the practice-related knowledge of service providers and practitioners, and the local knowledge of communities. The CYCC Network was developed in response to this need and in the summer of 2013, released three thematic knowledge synthesis reports: violence, technology, and youth engagement. There has been an increasing recognition that youth engagement is central to any best practice or intervention that involves young people. Valuing youth engagement puts the focus on the positive contributions that youth make to programs and their effectiveness. Programs and services that acknowledge the independence and agency of at-risk youth provide opportunity for young people to give feedback on the relevance and appropriateness of the programs that serve them. Additionally, youth engagement can promote a sense of empowerment on an individual level, and facilitate healthy connections between young people and their community. Despite these benefits, however, there remains a gap in our understanding of the implications of engaging vulnerable youth. In order to better understand and optimize youth engagement, different strategies need to be explored that identify their appropriateness for youth living in different challenging contexts, representing all genders and age categories. With these gaps in mind, the knowledge synthesis report on youth engagement explores strategies that have been shown to work in engaging children and youth in challenging contexts as full members of their communities and in ending feelings of disempowerment and abandonment. Read and download the full report at http://cyccnetwork.org/engagement
Transcript of Youth Engagement - Knowledge Synthesis Report
Working with Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts to Promote Youth Engagement
Knowledge Synthesis Report 2013
Prepared By: Emily Zinck
Advisory Committee: Michael Ungar, Shelly Whitman, Silvia Exenberger, Linda Liebenberg, Jimmy Ung, & Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson
“NOTHING FOR US WITHOUT US.”
Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement
GUIDING QUESTIONWhat strategies have been shown to work engaging children and youth in challenging contexts as full members of their communities and ending feelings of disempowerment and abandonment?
What is Youth Engagement?
Youth Engagement: The meaningful and sustained involvement of a young person in an activity focusing outside the self. Full engagement consists of a cognitive component, an affective component, and a behavioural component, also known as “Head, heart, and Feet”
Centres of Excellence for Children’s Well-Being: Youth Engagement
Population Groups• Children and youth affected by
war – Child soldiers– Children and youth in military
families• Refugee children and youth • Children and youth affected by
natural disasters• Immigrant children and youth• Children and youth subject to
maltreatment• Children and youth in alternative
care– Children and youth in institutions– Youth in juvenile detention
• Aboriginal children and youth• Homeless children and youth• Youth gangs• Child labourers
– Children and youth in the workplace
– Children and youth who have been trafficked
• Children and youth living with health-related challenges– Children and youth living with
chronic illness– Children and youth living with
mental illness
Pyramid of Evidence
RECOMMENDATIONS
#1- Promote Youth Engagement to Make Services More Effective
Initiating youth participation is a step towards engaging young people in program design and implementation.
– YouthNet, CHEO
#2- Include Youth in Decision Making Processes
• Principle: Youth Voice
Where possible, include youth at every level of program development, planning, implementation and evaluation.
– Leaders of Today Network
#3- Make Civic Engagement Holistic
• Principle: Civic Engagement
Provide youth with opportunities to make a real contribution to their community.
– SPARK Youth Engagement Program
#4- Pay Attention to Culture and Context
• Principle: Culture and Context Specific
Not all methods will be appropriate for all youth. It is important that programs and services be adapted to suite the specific context and culture.
– Strengths-based approach: River of Unity
#5- Create Mentorship and Partnership Opportunities
• Principle: Positive Relationships
It is important to develop an environment of partnership and equality between youth and adults in working towards a common goal.
– Adult Youth Partnerships– Canadian Roots Exchange Program
#6- Use Participatory Research to Document the Benefits of Youth Engagement
• Principle: Participatory Research
The more that young people are included in research the more valid and contextually relevant the results will be
– Digital Story-telling: My Word
#7- Develop Better Methods to Evaluate Youth Engagement Strategies
Researchers and practitioners need to develop easy to use methods that can evaluate the effectiveness of youth engagement.
#8- Develop a Community of Practice to Share Effective Youth Engagement Strategies
Create sustainable structures to document, format, share, and access best practices related to youth engagement.
– Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement– Heartwood Centre for Community Youth
Development– Pat Dolan: UNESCO Child and Family
Research Centre
Thank you!!
