scholarly journals Creating Community Capacity through Youth Empowerment: A Case Study of Rural Nicaragua

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-83
Author(s):  
Carla Andrea Millares Forno ◽  
Amy E. Boren
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Rural Youth ◽  
Community Capacity ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Youth Empowerment ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activities ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Local Leaders

Rural youth development in Nicaragua has experienced a rebirth with the re-introduction of 4-H (4-S in Spanish) after nearly two decades in dormancy. This case study explored 4-S through the eyes of 94 young club members, ages 9 to 13. Using sentence completion methods, youth provided insight into the activities they found most interesting and important. Their responses were then compared with the socioeconomic and demographic realities of the youth. Findings reveal deep connections between youth and their communities and culture. Entrepreneurial activities, agriculture, and work were important to the young people, indicating a strong sense of responsibility for contributing to their families and communities. Understanding 4-S members’ interests and ideas can serve local leaders in developing activities that reflect members’ interests and tap into their strengths. 

Volunteering in Glasgow, Scotland

2019 ◽  
pp. 111-138
Author(s):  
Pauline Leonard ◽  
Rachel J. Wilde
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Employment Opportunities ◽  
Paid Employment ◽  
Recent Policy ◽  
Robust Evidence ◽  
Insight Into

This chapter investigates volunteering, much vaunted in recent policy as a valuable means by which young people may gain valuable experience for work and careers. The chapter argues however that policies to encourage more youth volunteering are based on a conundrum: the fact that there is no robust evidence to support the view that volunteering is a beneficial means by which to access paid employment. Case study research of a volunteering organisation in Scotland, which delivers bespoke employability training to young people which includes daily spells of volunteering in a range of voluntary sector workplaces, provides some insight into why this might be the case. Work experience placements can consist of young people ‘time-filling’ with meaningless, poor-quality work and lack of engagement by employers makes it difficult for young people to gain experience in organisations offering paid employment opportunities. However, the chapter underscores the significant contribution of trainers to other beneficial outcomes of volunteering programmes, such as the confidence and wellbeing of young trainees.

Empowerment to reduce health disparities

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (59_suppl) ◽  
pp. 72-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Wallerstein
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Community Capacity ◽  
Youth Empowerment ◽  
Theoretical Construct ◽  
Workplace Hazards ◽  
Future Practice

This article articulates the theoretical construct of empowerment and its importance for health-enhancing strategies to reduce health disparities. Powerlessness is explored as a risk factor in the context of social determinants, such as poverty, discrimination, workplace hazards, and income inequities. Empowerment is presented and compared with social capital and community capacity as strategies to strengthen social protective factors. A case study of a youth empowerment and policy project in New Mexico illustrates the usefulness of empowerment strategies in both targeting social determinants, such as public policies which are detrimental to youth, and improving community capacities of youth to be advocates for social change. Challenges for future practice and research are articulated.

scholarly journals The significance and impacts of a youth-led empowerment program and youth-led community development interventions in Myanmar

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Thu Maung Soe
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Young People ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Youth Empowerment ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Development Tool ◽  
Development Interventions

<p>In Myanmar, youth are traditionally perceived as a less significant segment of the society. Hence, youth development issues and problems around youth have attracted little attention from community members. Youth empowerment is a human resource development tool and a process designed to help the development of young individuals, by enabling them to solve their own problems and contribute to the development of their community.  This qualitative study examines youth empowerment initiatives of one youth-led organization and its alumni by employing Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and conducting semi-structured interviews. This study focuses on how a youth-led organization has empowered youth to become socially engaged for social transformation and get involved in the country’s development sector.  Results show that empowerment is an ongoing process and reveal a new dimension of youth empowerment in the Myanmar context. This study found that the nature of youth-led development organizations for youth and social change movements differed. Youth-led empowerment actions offer learning opportunities and create spaces for young people to participate in community movements. Moreover, Socially Engaged Buddhism (SEB) is an alternative to the conventional empowerment approaches, which offers Buddhist principles for individual development of young people and stimulates youth to get involved in collective social change movements to tackle structural injustices.      </p>

scholarly journals Conditions for Successfully Increasing Disadvantaged Adolescents’ Engagement in and Development through Volunteering in Community Sport

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-197
Author(s):  
Evi Buelens ◽  
Marc Theeboom ◽  
Jikkemien Vertonghen ◽  
Kristine De Martelaer
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Social Partner ◽  
Youth Empowerment ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Community Sport ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Capital Development ◽  
Insight Into

A considerable number of adolescents in Western societies live in socially vulnerable situations. Approaches to improve this situation ultimately aim to make institutional changes through a focus on individual development. With regard to the latter, there have been high expectations regarding sport volunteering’s contribution to human capital development. Nevertheless, little understanding of the underlying conditions for, and possible outcomes of sport volunteering exists. This study’s aim was twofold: (1) to assess the conditions necessary to develop the human capital of disadvantaged adolescents through volunteering in community sport, and (2) to assess to what extent human capital can be developed. A qualitative research design was used to attain deeper insight into these conditions within eight community sport programs in Flanders (Northern Dutch-speaking region of Belgium), a setting that is not often used for youth developmental practices. Data were collected on repeated occasions over the course of each program through qualitative methods with local sport services and social partner organizations (N = 26) and participating adolescents (N = 26). Inductive analysis identified two categories of necessary conditions, (1) valuing and recognizing adolescents, and (2) informal and experiential learning. Results further showed the achievement of two types of perceived human capital developmental outcome (i.e., personal and interpersonal competences) through the fulfilment of these conditions. Findings also showed that although two of these programs made use of a more critical pedagogical approach to youth development by encouraging participants, not only to reflect on, but also to critically take part in the transformation of their own position within society; critical youth empowerment was not reached in the majority of the programs.

Unleashing the Latent Potential of Young People in Africa: The Example of Dalumuzi Happy Mhlanga and Salathiel Ntakirutimana

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Olufunmilayo Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
National Development ◽  
Youth Empowerment ◽  
Servant Leaders ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Personal Interaction ◽  
Contextual Definition ◽  
Latent Potential ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Insight Into

This paper tells the story of two young people, Dalumuzi Happy Mhlanga from Zimbabwe and Salathiel Ntakirutimana from Burundi, to show how they have defied the lack of structured opportunities to impact on the development of their home countries and to make a mark globally. The intention is to highlight the potential of young people and to show how this might be unleashed when they are allowed to innovate and flourish. The paper begins by providing a contextual definition of youth from global and African perspectives, followed by an insight into youth participation. Their stories are then told, based on my personal interaction with them during their two years at Waterford Kamhlaba, United World College of Southern Africa in Swaziland, their activities in school, university and in their home communities, their postings on social media and interviews. The discussion identifies Dalumuzi and Salathiel as social entrepreneurs and servant leaders with an enlightened vision of community development and the empowerment of young people. They demonstrate the interrelationship between youth empowerment and sustainable national development. The paper concludes with a message for African leaders and institutions around the world that it is essential to invest creatively in young people as they can be powerful catalysts for African development.

scholarly journals A case study into pupil perceptions of Latin, conducted with a mixed-ability Year 9 Latin class at a comprehensive faith school

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (43) ◽  
pp. 38-46
Author(s):  
David Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Class Teacher ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Normal Class ◽  
The Way

This case study was prompted by the identification, in observations and in discussion with the normal class teacher, of pupil demotivation and disaffection during Latin lessons, and the fact that this represented a considerable barrier to attainment and progress. My observation of this phenomenon coincided with Year 9 submitting their GCSE options. The combination of apparently ambiguous attitudes towards the subject and the fact that these attitudes were being brought to the fore explicitly because of the options choices drew my attention to pupil perceptions of the subject. It seemed to me that understanding the way in which pupils perceive the subject might be instructive for my own teaching practice, allowing me to better understand what pupils enjoy about the subject, what they find difficult, what enthuses them and what turns them off. Furthermore, the place of Latin within schools in general, and the particular school in which I conducted this study, is not something that should be taken for granted. It seemed to me, therefore, that this case study might provide some insight into whether Latin is a subject that young people feel is relevant and perhaps might offer some insight into what can allow Latin to have as inclusive an appeal as possible.

Teens and Territory in 'Post-Conflict' Belfast

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Social ◽  
People’S Attitudes ◽  
Insight Into

This book provides a timely and necessary response to the neglect of the perceptions and experiences of young people growing up in ‘post conflict’ societies using Belfast as a case study. Despite a great deal of research on the social, economic and political consequences of sectarianism in Northern Ireland, few studies have examined young people’s attitudes to and experiences of territory. We still know relatively little about how young people relate to concepts such as space, place and territory in divided societies. This book addresses this vacuum. By presenting a detailed rich ethnographic account of how teenagers living in segregated localities in Belfast access and use local and city centre space, the book contributes to knowledge about the role of young people in both sustaining conflict and overcoming divisions. Teenagers’ spatial practices provide insight into how the regenerated, rebranded, repacked, ‘post conflict’ city is experienced, perceived, negotiated and imagined by a group whose voices are often absent or regarded as peripheral. While the book presents a case study of Belfast, its appeal is not limited to those interested in Ireland. Rather, through this detailed case study, the book aims to address wider questions concerning the role of young people in politically contested societies. The book underlines the need to take on board young people’s ways of seeing and contributes to knowledge about appropriate ways to engage young people in research.

scholarly journals Text Messaging Vs Academic Writing - A Case Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 545-550
Author(s):  
Simona Boştină-Bratu
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Future Career ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract The paper aims to bring into discussion the relationship between informal e-communication and formal writing, focusing on the use of SMS language, which is in a constant evolution, particularly among the young generations. SMS language is also a controversial topic today: some linguists and teachers are concerned that this abbreviated language, with its carefree spelling, its poor punctuation and grammar and its paucity of vocabulary is a real menace to students’ quality of writing; others, on the contrary, consider it inspiring and useful as students with a good command of texting also possess a broader facility for language. But what do students have to say about the topic? In order to gain insight into how they view the role and impact of texting on their writing, a questionnaire was distributed to a group of army cadets. The answers show that although text messaging is widely used and is an important tool of communication among young people, students consider that it has a negligible impact on their overall writing abilities and they strongly appreciate the value of writing for their future career.

scholarly journals ‘Becoming more confident in being themselves’: The value of cultural and creative engagement for young people in foster care – Dawn Mannay, Phil Smith, Catt Turney, Stephen Jennings and Peter Davies

2021 ◽  
pp. 147332502110099
Author(s):  
Dawn Mannay ◽  
Phil Smith ◽  
Catherine Turney ◽  
Stephen Jennings ◽  
Peter Henry Davies
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Cultural Engagement ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Insight Into

There is evidence that engagement with the arts can engender transformative effects on young people’s views of themselves and their futures, this can be particularly useful for children and young people in care. This paper draws on a case study of an arts-based programme delivered in Wales, UK. Field observations of the arts-based sessions were conducted, and the participant sample included young people in foster care (n = 8), foster carers (n = 7) and project facilitators (n = 3). The study employed interviews, observations, reflexive diaries, and metaphor work to explore the subjective accounts of these different stakeholders. This provided an insight into their experience of being involved with the arts-based programme, the impacts of this involvement, and what steps they felt could be taken to improve the model. The paper argues that arts and cultural engagement can be transformative in improving the confidence and social connectedness of young people in foster care, but that attention needs to be given to how programmes are delivered. The paper documents the often overlooked mundane, yet important, aspects of planning arts-based programmes, exploring the involvement of foster carers, interpersonal relationships, and the provision of refreshments. It calls for investment in developing carefully designed extracurricular opportunities for young people in care, where they can experience ‘becoming more confident in being themselves’.

scholarly journals Rural Youth, Agriculture, And Entrepreneurship: A Case-Study of Hungarian and Romanian Young Villagers

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-66
Author(s):  
Şerban Olah ◽  
Gavril Flora
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Rural Youth ◽  
Rural Sociology ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Social Intervention ◽  
Historical Evolution ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Local Agriculture ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activities

Abstract This paper analyses the involvement of Romanian and Hungarian young villagers in the local agriculture and entrepreneurial activities. The first part provides an outlook on the historical evolution and the current situation of agriculture and rural development in Romania and Hungary from the perspective of theoretical positions formulated within economics and the sociology of entrepreneurship as well as rural sociology. The second part discusses the results of a cross-border research and social intervention project conducted in the period of 2012-2013 in ten rural localities from the shared Hungarian–Romanian border region. The questionnaire included questions regarding rural youth integration in the labour market, agriculture, and involvement in entrepreneurial activities as well as social and religious participation. The research has found significant differences between Romanian and Hungarian young villagers with respect to the examined questions.

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