Keys to Quality Youth Development

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2. Youth Experience Belonging and Ownership
Premise
Youth feel included and motivated. They have significant roles as participants and leaders.
Building a Foundation Time Use Time use is an important measure of youth involvement in family, school, and community. The Search Institute identifies important examples: Creative activities - Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater, or other arts. Youth programs - Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs, or organizations at school and/or in community organizations. Religious community - Young person spends one or more hours per week in activities in a religious institution. Time at Home - Young person is out with friends "with nothing special to do," two or fewer nights per week.	Selecting Outcomes What will be done in you program to make sure youth- are actively involved in planning the experience/program? are actively involved in implementing the experience/program? feel valued and needed? feel a sense of belonging? take an active role in the experience/program? feel included rather than excluded?
Identifying Practices
Involve youth in the initial planning of the program. Plan for how youth will be involved. Don’t just add a representative youth or two to the adult planning group. Allow plenty of time for discussion, questions, and making decisions. Encourage creativity and consideration of everyone’s ideas. Confront cliques and behaviors that exclude some of the group. Use T-shirts, buttons, hats, etc. to symbolize group belonging. Encourage skills and create products youth can take home. Use ceremonies and traditions to stimulate group cohesion. Encourage diversity of membership without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, or sexual orientation.
How It Works    A committee of adults and teens had been working together for more than a year. Now new people were joining the group. Group members were concerned that the new people would not appreciate what had been accomplished. The new members were wondering if they would be welcomed and their ideas respected. To bring the new and past members together, an overnight retreat was scheduled.    During the retreat a wall-sized history chart was built by the group. Several team-building activities were led. During the closing activity the group stood in a circle and exchanged a T-shirt and a special message with another person. New and past members learned to appreciate each other and looked forward to working together.	Things To Think About Intimidating behavior like bullying, name calling, and physical harassment make youth feel unwelcome and excluded. Group identity grows when young people create their group rules and establish their standards of behavior. Team building takes extra time initially, but pays dividends in the long run. Words Of Wisdom "The fastest, most efficient method may not promote sharing, learning, belonging, and responsibility." Joyce Walker, Center for 4-H Youth Development, 1996.
Questions For Youth
Do you feel like you really belong in this group? What is one thing you did to make another person feel part of the program? Did you feel the group supported you? Why or why not? Were you able to participate in the way you wanted?       Was participation easy or hard? Explain.
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