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!!