Urban Youth Lead

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Urban Youth Lead

• Erica Gates
• Jennifer Skuza, Ph.D.

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Overview

• Literature review
• Whats Up Study in St. Paul
• Urban Youth Lead what is it?
• Urban Context
• What influences our approach
• Urban Youth Lead curriculum components
• Evaluation
• Dialogue about curriculum content

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Minnesota Urban 4-H Youth Development

• Works on behalf of youth living in the
  Minneapolis and St. Paul area, including
  surrounding suburban communities, to measurably
  improve their learning through educational
  programs and applied research

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What is Urban Youth Lead?

• Urban Youth Lead is a leadership development
  program designed to prepare adolescents for the
  worlds of higher education and careers by using
  an innovative youth development approach.

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Why Are Nonschool Hours Important?
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Youth Discretionary Time

• Youth spend less than 25 of their waking hours
  in school during the year.
• On average, the time between when kids get home
  from school and parents come home from work can
  amount to 20-25 hours of free time per week.
• Source Pittman,K.(2001) The Forum for
  Youth Investment and Department of Education and
  Justice Labor Statistics.

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times of increased risk or opportunity
(Carnegie Council,1992)
These Critical Hours Are
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Is there a need for adolescent programs?
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Yes!

• Heavy emphasis of school achievement overshadows
  learning opportunities for adolescents (Pittman,
  Irby, Tolman, Yolalem, Ferber, 2001)
• Programs often geared toward younger children
• Lack of programs designed for adolescents
• Fewer and fewer for children, youth, and
  families
• Nonformal learning environments play a critical
  role in the acculturation of immigrant
  adolescents
• (Skuza, 2003 2005)

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Whats Up Study in St. Paul

• Method
• Written surveys and qualitative semi-structured
  interviews
• 410 parents and youth participated
• St. Paul Findings
• Youth and parents possess a compelling interest
  in higher education and careers
• Need for non-sports related activities
• Need for programs designed for adolescents
• Unlike other communities, parents and young
  people of St. Paul appear to be more strategic
  about the kinds of activities the young people
  are involved in.
• However, similar to other communities, both
  parents and young people often lack a vision of
  the possibilities for St. Paul.  

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What is Urban Youth Lead?

• Leadership development program
• Awareness, interaction, becoming
• Higher education and careers

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Our Urban Context

• Minneapolis and St. Paul
• Largest urban Hmong population in US
• Largest Somali refugee population in US
• Latino/a youth are the fastest growing population
• 66 of school-age students are from low-income
  households
• Minneapolis has one of the highest literacy rates
• Programs take place in schools, housing
  complexes, and community centers

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Our urban approach is influenced by

• How youth view leadership
• Paulo Freire facilitating an educational
  process that enables youth to name and craft
  their worlds.
• Building awareness, interacting, and becoming
• Organic program development

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How do youth view leadership?

• Youth see leadership in a group context where
  all participants contribute and each has a share
  of the overall leadership.
• Source van Linden, J.A. Fertman, C.I
  (1998). Youth leadership A guide to
  understanding leadership development in
  adolescents. San Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass.

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Building Awareness

• Building awareness guides youth through a
  continual process of discovery and exploration
• Self
• Community
• Options and Opportunities

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Interacting

• In this phase, youth develop and build
  leadership skills through interactions
• People
• Community
• Future

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Becoming

• So the point is not to become a leader. The
  point is to become yourself, to use yourself
  completely all your skills, gifts, and energies
  in order to make your vision manifest. You
  must withhold nothing. You must, in sum, become
  the person you started out to be, and enjoy the
  process of becoming.
• --Warren Bennis

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Becoming

• A transformation process whereby youth see
  themselves as leaders
• Realize a vision for themselves and their
  futures
• Present their learning to others
• Apply their leadership skills in real situations.

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Anderson Open School

• Youth in Urban Youth Lead chose to raise
  awareness of leadership and their community.
• Partnered with Phillips Community Television to
  address topic through a documentary video
• Developed questions related to their topic and
  interviewed students, teachers, and community
  members.

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Portfolios

• An educational method that enables youth to be
  the author of their own lives

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Learning Environment Evaluation

• This survey measures the effectiveness of the
  learning environment in terms of five factors on
  a 6-point scale.
• Program planning and delivery
• Intentional learning environment
• Safe learning environment
• Membership and inclusion
• Relationship with adults/ community connections

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Youth Leadership Evaluation

• Adolescents will also describe their personal
  leadership experiences
• Phenomenological essay method.
• Data from these essays will give program leaders
  a clear picture of the adolescents leadership
  experiences.
• These data will also be used to update the Urban
  Youth Lead curriculum and will be used in various
  publications written for those working in the
  fields of youth development and education.

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Contact Information

• Jennifer Skuza, Ph.D.
• Associate Professor and Director
• Urban 4-H Youth Development
• University of Minnesota
• skuza_at_umn.edu
• Erica Gates
• Program Coordinator
• gates015_at_umn.edu