Abstract
Youths are dynamic force for social transformation and rural community development. This study identified types of youth groups and their roles in rural community development; constraints to effective participation of youth in rural community development and strategies to improve effective participation of youths in rural community development. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 60 respondents for the study. Data were analysed with frequency count, percentages and mean scores. Result shows that greater percentage (60.0%) of the youths was male and had mean age of 24 years. Majority (89.50%) of the respondents belonged to Afikpo youth organisation and their major roles included town hall building (86.40%), school development (81.40%) and market building (74.60%). Constraints to effective participation of youth in rural community development included limited access to finance (M=2.14; SD=0.88), inadequate skill (M=2.00; SD=0.76) and limited material benefit for the participants (M=2.14; SD=0.86). It was suggested therefore that the youths should be provided with skill (M=1.62; SD=0.63), sponsored (M=1.34; SD=0.58) and employed (M=1.32; SD=0.72). Key words: Youth, community development, roles.  
Highlights
Rural community developments (RCD) are measures which enable rural people to recognize their ability to identify their problems and use available resources to build a better life
Age is considered an important variable in rural community development because of its influence on people’s attitude, skill and aspiration
This implies that the respondents can actively participate in rural community development
Summary
Rural community developments (RCD) are measures which enable rural people to recognize their ability to identify their problems and use available resources to build a better life. Community development emphasizes self help, mutual support, the building up of neighbourhood, integration and the development of political decision makers (Smith, 2006). Youths can participate in community building of rural areas. The operational definitions of the term “youth” often vary depending on the specific socio-cultural, institutional, political and environmental factors. The concept of youth has been defined as the period in an individual life, which comes between the end of childhood and entry into adulthood (Umeh and Odom, 2011).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
