Adult Stakeholders Research Articles

Youth Development in North American High School Sport: Review and Recommendations

Millions of high school student-athletes in North America practice sport, and national federations communicate through their mission statements that this fosters student-athletes’ positive development. The purpose of the current study was to review the recent literature to examine whether the educational claims made for youth development in the context of high school sport are substantiated by empirical evidence. The review indicates that recent research efforts have focused primarily on the positive outcomes and that much less is known of the possible negative outcomes of participation in high school sport. Researchers have examined stakeholders’ perspectives on development, but studies are scarce that objectively measure the actual developmental outcomes of participation in high school sport. The little available evidence indicates that adult stakeholders seldom interact and do not collaborate to foster student-athlete development. This narrative review provides insights on the current status of research on high school sport, and recommendations are provided to further facilitate youth development in this setting.

HOW THEATER WITHIN A TRANSFORMATIVE ORGANIZING FRAMEWORK CULTIVATES INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE EMPOWERMENT AMONG LGBTQQ YOUTH

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) youth experience oppression in their schools and communities, which creates barriers to their healthy development. Emerging research documents strategies to support LGBTQQ youth, but little is known about developing LGBTQQ youth empowerment. This study extracts qualitative data (key informant interviews, n = 8, and a focus group, n = 8) from a larger case study of an LGBTQQ youth organization that uses theater within a transformative organizing model to make their schools safer and more inclusive. Findings suggest that theater–both theater games used within the group and scripted performances for adult stakeholders–uniquely contributed to developing individual and collective empowerment through an iterative process of building community, cultivating critical consciousness, and providing opportunities to effect change. Encouraging creative expression alongside developing LGBTQQ youth's capacity to create change can contribute to the positive development of LGBTQQ youth.

Families in waiting: Adult stakeholder perceptions of family court

This study examines perspectives of adults (primarily parents) who participated in juvenile delinquency or dependency hearings at the family division of the Baltimore City Circuit Court. Most respondents understood the court process, felt that their voices were heard, and were satisfied with their treatment. While the majority reported fair treatment, parents were more likely than non-parents to report that judges were sometimes or usually unfair. Respondents with the same judge were more likely than respondents with multiple judges to feel that the judge cared about how they and their children were doing and less likely to feel that the judge does not know enough about the case to make a fair decision. These findings provide support for the one family, one judge docketing system, which was implemented in Baltimore's dependency cases. Observations and open-ended responses revealed concern about the chaos and discomfort of the court waiting areas. Concerns included lack of seating, space or activities for young children, and food as well as stress, confusion, and long wait times. Study findings call for more attention to the environment, which impacts stakeholder experiences of and ability to function optimally in the court process.

Adolescent search roles

In this article, we present an in‐home observation and in‐context research study investigating how 38 adolescents aged 14–17 search on the Internet. We present the search trends adolescents display and develop a framework of search roles that these trends help define. We compare these trends and roles to similar trends and roles found in prior work with children ages 7, 9, and 11. We use these comparisons to make recommendations to adult stakeholders such as researchers, designers, and information literacy educators about the best ways to design search tools for children and adolescents, as well as how to use the framework of searching roles to find better methods of educating youth searchers. Major findings include the seven roles of adolescent searchers, and evidence that adolescents are social in their computer use, have a greater knowledge of sources than younger children, and that adolescents are less frustrated by searching tasks than younger children.

When self‐directed support meets adult support and protection: findings from the evaluation of the SDS test sites in Scotland

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the possible connections between self‐directed support and adult support and protection, both of which are important policy developments in Scotland.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on findings from the national evaluation of the test sites or pilots of self‐directed support in Scotland and interviews at two time points with adult protection leads in the test sites. These interview data are set in the context of Scottish developments in adult support and protection.FindingsSelf‐directed support and adult protection had not been joined up initially. In the three Scottish test sites those responsible for adult safeguarding had not been engaged with the changes. They were unclear about the new systems and were concerned about the implications of reduced monitoring of risks. Shared training between those implementing self‐directed support and those carrying out adult protection work was viewed as a way of bridging these different areas of practice through enhancing mutual understanding and communication.Originality/valuePolicy and legislation have used the word support to provide reassurance of social protection for adults in need of care services. This paper provides new opportunities to consider the ways in which early enthusiasm for self‐directed support in Scotland may have neglected the support inherent to support and protection and the ways in which some adult support and protection stakeholders seemed to be acting as “bystanders” rather than influencing new systems of self‐directed support.

‘Drawing’ on disabled students’ experiences of physical education and stakeholder responses

Within education generally and more specifically physical education inclusion has become a central concern of legislation, policy and programming. Set within an environment where there is much talk of inclusion this paper seeks to interrogate adult stakeholders’ understandings of inclusion by exploring their responses to the drawings and commentary of young disabled students’ experiences of mainstream physical education. By engaging in this research in this way I attempt to ‘connect’ these conversations about inclusion. Four main themes emerged from these data including: (1) ‘activity setting’; (2) ‘enjoying physical education’; (3) ‘challenging practice’; and (4) ‘stakeholder empathy’. In concluding, this paper highlights the contradictory and inconsistent views stakeholders express about inclusion. Furthermore, the utility of adopting a data generation strategy incorporating student drawings and stakeholder responses is reflected upon.

The Young Athlete

Youth sports provide numerous health-enhancing and other important benefits to participating children and adolescents. However, the motivations and goals of young athletes often conflict with those of adult stakeholders, and they are redirected. The youth sports industry has become exclusionary, as the professional model of development increasingly is prevalent and accepted. Youth who follow this model often cannot keep up with the unrealistic expectations and excessive demands. Too much play, training, travel, and pressure frequently lead to a variety of physical and psychological problems, particularly concurrent with the vulnerability of a young athlete going through pre- or early adolescence and the rapid growth phase. The need for alternative models, emphasizing fun and fundamentals, is becoming increasingly clear and urgent. With appropriate changes, youth sports once again can be an effective entry point for a lifetime of healthy sports participation and enjoyment.

The development of a youth mentoring program in the south of India

This article illustrates the challenges and opportunities involved as a US-based research team assists in the development of a culturally-informed youth mentoring program in rural India. Based on data from youth and adult stakeholders, a mentoring curriculum was developed and piloted. Lessons learned illuminate how context influences youth development programs and conceptualization of mentoring relationships. Implications for similar international initiatives are discussed.

Imagining Participatory Action Research in Collaboration with Children: an Introduction

For decades, social science researchers have been studying programs, services, and settings that are explicitly designed to have an influence on children (e.g., mental health services for children, school classrooms, after school programs, families, neighborhoods). Researchers who are concerned with the contexts in which children develop, social issues that influence children, and/or social justice generally define and evaluate a problem related to these programs or settings, and sometimes create and assess an intervention. Consequently, these researchers are often the ones to determine the problem definition. Common definitions include poor developmental or educational outcomes, child abuse, child labor violations, and so forth. These problem definitions and subsequent conceptualizations then become part of a larger narrative about what or who needs fixing (Seidman and Rappaport 1986). Frequently, these problems are studied by collecting survey data from adults or by observing children. Generally, these measures and observational procedures are designed by adult researchers. In the field of community psychology, however, there has been a broad consensus that community members should also be involved in defining problems and solutions, as their participation improves the research and benefits the community. When thinking about issues that affect children, community psychologists have most frequently conceptualized important stakeholders as parents and extended family members, family advocates, teachers, mental health professionals, and other adults in children’s lives. These adults may be consulted in interviews or focus groups, usually responding to the problem as conceptualized by the researcher. Increasingly, adult stakeholders and older youth may take on more participatory roles. Rarely, however, are children consulted or asked to help formulate the problem definition or proximate solution. Indeed, research is typically done for children, but not with children. This special issue is a collection of papers about participatory action research with children who are middle school age or younger, and is intended to stimulate dialogue and to offer alternatives when conducting research that affects children.

A Strengths-Based Approach to Promoting Prosocial Behavior among African American and Latino Students

This article presents an overview of a strengths-based school discipline initiative that was developed in response to the high suspension and expulsion rates of African American and Latino male students at a racially diverse, urban high school in California. A school task force made up of adult and youth stakeholders devised a series of interventions that included student-led efforts to improve discipline policies and procedures. The initiative builds on the Strengths-Based School Counseling framework explicated by Galassi and Akos (2007), which stimulates and promotes personal accountability, leadership, resiliency, self-management, and social competence in students as opposed to merely reducing student deficits.

A Strengths-Based Approach to Promoting Prosocial Behavior Among African American and Latino Students

This article presents an overview of a strengths-based school discipline initiative that was developed in response to the high suspension and expulsion rates of African American and Latino male students at a racially diverse, urban high school in California. A school task force made up of adult and youth stakeholders devised a series of interventions that included student-led efforts to improve discipline policies and procedures. The initiative builds on the Strengths- Based School Counseling framework explicated by Galassi and Akos (2007), which stimulates and promotes personal accountability, leadership, resiliency, self-management, and social competence in students as opposed to merely reducing student deficits.

Learning for a Bright Future: Schooling, Armed Conflict, and Children’s Well‐Being

Learning for a Bright Future: Schooling, Armed Conflict, and Children’s Well‐Being

A Children's Standpoint: Needs in Out‐of‐Home Care

This article discusses research reported in ‘The Needs of Children in Care’ (Mason and Gibson, 2004) in which children participated in defining their needs in out‐of‐home care. In this study a central research presumption was that children are knowledgeable about their own needs. The methods used to facilitate the involvement in the project of children and adult stakeholders in out‐of‐home care are described. Also described are findings from the research which identified that of prime importance to the children were their connections with others and their agency in their own lives. These findings are compared with findings from the narratives of the adult stakeholder groups. Finally, the implications of the findings, for improving children's participation in decision‐making around their needs in care are considered in the context of broad adult–child social relations in the care system.

Youth Participatory Evaluation: Strategies for Engaging Young People

251 Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 17 No. 3 (2007) ISSN: 1546-2250 Youth Participatory Evaluation: Strategies for Engaging Young People Sabo-Flores, Kim (2007). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 164 pages. $45. ISBN 0787983926. Meaningful youth evaluation is necessary to maintain the legitimacy of the programs through which youth are served. This principle is especially relevant in light of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), adopted in part to promote the self-reliance of the world's children by furthering their development, education and community participation. Writing in a language accessible to everyone interested in young people's participation, evaluation expert Kim Sabo-Flores offers a timely yet reliable handbook on the “whys and hows” of youth participatory evaluation (YPE). Divided into two parts, the book first provides a survey of the surprisingly limited history of YPE and its underlying principles before detailing its practical applications. Each chapter provides a handily outlined introduction to its concepts, contents and intentions, and includes practical personal anecdotes. The theoretical framework for Youth Participatory Evaluationis rooted in Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, in that the value of an activity is more than just the individual action, but the interaction with other people throughout the process of engagement as well. By interacting with others who are more competent, a person raises his or her own level of development: a process of learning, leading and development that is essential throughout the life cycle, not just in the phases of youth.Sabo-Flores examines the concept of the ZPD further in Chapter Two when she connects YPE and the role of performance. She explores this relationship throughout the rest of the guide, with an emphasis on both the responsibility of the performance director and the collective practices of character role-playing. Traditional evaluation often seems irrelevant or of little use to program stakeholders. YPE, however, encourages explorative play among all participants, 252 recognizing that neither problems nor solutions are known in advance, all the while fostering a genuinely participatory environment. A strategic component to program success, youth participatory evaluation strengthens relationships while supporting youth empowerment and civic engagement. Youth participants experience increased social, civic and personal competencies, while adult participants witness an enhanced sense of community and greater awareness of youth needs and concerns. One caution with regard to the adult personal growth and transformation that Sabo-Flores credits to YPE is that the willing adult participants of youth evaluations may be more open to new experiences than other adults who are not involved in these projects—a risk similar to the validity threat posed by self-selection in study designs. While SaboFlores offers remedies for the dilemma of self-selection among youth participants, she does not address this issue where adult stakeholders are concerned. The second part of the book offers a practical application of YPE, from starting a YPE project to selecting a team and assembling a plan. Sabo-Flores does note, however, that rather than presenting the process as a whole, she has chosen to offer arange of activities from which to choose in conducting a YPE initiative. Each of the constructive activities includes intentions, steps and guidelines to facilitate the YPE process. Universal in scope and application, many of the role-playing endeavors could just as easily be applied during community engagement projects or organizational capacity building, with or without youth. The activities are initially presented as unconnected suggestions that help facilitate an evaluative process, though they seem to be cumulative and interdependent. Youth Participatory Evaluation creates agents of social change, empowering youth to manifest qualities that they and others around them may not have previously recognized. The strongest and most successful YPE projects are those with stakeholders—youth included—engaged in every stage of the evaluation process. Based on many of her own experiences, Sabo-Flores is able to provide the optimal conditions for YPE, which include a supportive, stable 253 organization committed to meaningful youth input and evaluation. At the end of the book, the author offers the disclaimer that it is easy to speak only of program achievements and that her experiences detailed throughout the book might imply that she has witnessed nothing but success...

The Adult Critical Care Stakeholder Forum

The Adult Critical Care Stakeholder Forum

Interdisciplinary Gerontology Education Online: A Developmental Process Model

Distance education online in gerontology in academic settings is designed to reflect content relevant to gerontology practices, academic standards, teaching strategies, and technology that embrace content delivery while enhancing learning. A balance with community services and needs for older adult populations, academic integrity, stakeholders, and resources, with an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary student-centered approach are important. Considering these factors and based on a needs assessment, this article describes a process model used to create an interdisciplinary gerontology education program for online delivery at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). The realities, pearls of wisdom, and lessons learned from creating and implementing the FGCU online interdisciplinary undergraduate gerontology education in the academic setting are also presented.

The Development of an Inclusive Charter Elementary School: Lessons Learned

The purpose of this study was to examine the startup of a charter elementary school specifically designed to be fully inclusive. Twenty-one adult stakeholders, including parents, teachers, staff, and an administrator, were interviewed and asked a series of questions designed to solicit information about what they identified as strengths and challenges in the first year of the school. Four major themes emerged from these interviews: Components critical to the operation of the school, initial challenges overcome, positive outcomes, and ongoing challenges. Areas of interest emerging from the study include the distribution of services for students with disabilities, the need for a challenging curriculum for all students, and the university–school district partnership.

Children in football: seen but not heard

Although the academic analysis of association football continues to proliferate, the experiences of children in this context appear to be of marginal concern to researchers and policy makers. Drawing on developments in the sociology of childhood and a review of football literature, this article analyses data from the first year of the English Football Association's (FA) Child Protection Research Project, a five-year programme commissioned by the FA in order to assess the impact of their child protection policies and measures in both the professional and amateur game. The article argues for a new agenda for football-related research which challenges the problematic assumptions of many adult stakeholders, and which prioritizes research strategies that empower young football players at all levels of the sport.

Best Practices in Interviewing

In 2003, I conducted a qualitative study that examined the experiences of stakeholders connected to two community-based adult literacy programs. My 70 research participants belonged to seven stakeholder categories as follows: 37 learners (adult literacy students), 2 coordinators/instructors (head practitioners), 11 other staff (instructors and office support workers), 7 parents/significant others (learners' close relatives), 2 administrators (volunteer board members), 8 referral agents (government and community agency workers who refer learners to adult literacy programs), and 3 provincial funding agents (government employees responsible for adult literacy grants). In addition to program documents and long-answer questionnaires, the research data included 75 interviews with 58 individuals representing every stakeholder category Interviews were my richest source of information. They were also the most difficult and the most time consuming, totaling 68 hours of taped conversations, which took 584 hours to transcribe. This personal reflection uses my interviewing experiences as a means to prepare other qualitative researchers for the challenges, and the joys, of interviewing adult education stakeholders. My first challenge was to recruit program stakeholders who were willing to be interviewed. I was fortunate to have an enthusiastic provincial funding agent in my region of the province, and to have cooperative coordinators/instructors as key program informants. Not only did they actively recruit more individuals than I requested from their own programs, according to lists of respondent criteria that I provided, but they also recommended that I interview more than one provincial funding agent; they kindly provided names of agents who were most familiar with their programs. Therefore, instead of interviewing 35 stakeholders as indicated in my research proposal, I interviewed 58 altogether, each who added a new dimension to my understanding of their adult literacy programs. The support that I received from one provincial funding agent and from both coordinators/instructors was essential to my study's success. The first task of every qualitative researcher therefore should be to recruit key informants who endorse the project's means of data collection and who are committed to its research goals. I was afraid to ask respondents for permission to audiotape the interviews. I feared that they would refuse to speak in front of the microphone, or perhaps even seize the opportunity to back out of the study altogether. Thanks, I'm sure, to their preparatory conversations with their programs' coordinators/instructors, only one participant asked that I take handwritten notes instead of taping our conversation. He was a government employee referral agent whom I had expected to feel more comfortable with the interviewing process. Some respondents, of course, were reluctant to speak up at first, and a few others actually whispered throughout their interviews. Several lowered their voices or leaned way back in their chairs away from the microphone whenever they thought they might be making unpopular or unfavorable comments, and one learner periodically slipped papers over the microphone to muffle the conversation. Most respondents, however, were very cooperative and eager to have their stories heard. It is essential to reassure participants that the interviewer is the only person who will later listen to the tapes and that they will have an opportunity to review their transcripts and make any changes they wish. Given my position as a white, middle-aged female university employee, I expected that I would feel more comfortable conversing with some respondents than others and they with me. The interview guides gave me sets of questions to follow in a logical order, but I decided early in the interviewing process to engage in less formal conversations wherein I could gently probe for more detailed data and encourage respondents to share whatever information they wished to convey I therefore tried to find a common ground of experience or interest to ease into each interview, and then I let the conversation take its own course as we discussed the respondent's adult literacy program experiences. …