The promise of digital Out-of-School programs for supporting youth in Under-resourced communities: Participatory principles for human rights-based virtual youth groups

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Promise of Digital Out-of-School Programs for Supporting Youth in Under-Resourced Communities: Participatory Principles for Human Rights-based Virtual Youth Group Programming This study reports insights from a six-year phase (“Law Under Curious Minds”) of a 17-year project (Empowering Counseling Program Participatory Science Initiative) with youth experiencing low income residing in disinvested communities segregated by race in a metropolitan US city. The project offered over Zoom employed a semi-structured emergent curriculum to afford youth maximal self-determination in the intervention experiences. A human rights framework informed by critical pedagogy supported youths’ efforts to separate their identities and experiences in social systems from deficit-based social narratives. This paper provides guidelines for groupwork interventions including individually focused care, developing group identity to create a positive social space, and encouraging participation while respecting youths’ capacities for online self-revelation. The challenges and opportunities of digital out-of-school programs are described, with a focus on the potential for supporting youth excluded from mainstream opportunities by geographic distance, disability, or income.