The Promotion of Character through Youth Development Programs: A View of the Issues

Contemporary developmental theories suggest that out-of-school-time (OST) youth development programs may be an important context for character development and education because of the positive, mutually influential relations between youth and adult leaders found in exemplary instantiations of such programs. Although still in its early stages, research about this role of OST programs, including evaluations of specific programs, is beginning to burgeon in relation to increased interest in person-context models of human development, the fact that each of tens of millions of American youth participate in several OST programs each year, and heightened emphasis among scientists, educators, and policy makers about the importance of promoting character among the diverse youth of the nation. Both to reflect the state-of-the art and in the hope of promoting further research progress, the articles in this special section describe how the attributes of young people and the features of the OST programs youth development in which they participate may link together in promotion of character development

The Promotion of Character through Youth Development Programs: A View of the Issues

Contemporary developmental theories suggest that out-of-school-time (OST) youth development programs may be an important context for character development and education because of the positive, mutually influential relations between youth and adult leaders found in exemplary instantiations of such programs. Although still in its early stages, research about this role of OST programs, including evaluations of specific programs, is beginning to burgeon in relation to increased interest in person-context models of human development, the fact that each of tens of millions of American youth participate in several OST programs each year, and heightened emphasis among scientists, educators, and policy makers about the importance of promoting character among the diverse youth of the nation. Both to reflect the state-of-the art and in the hope of promoting further research progress, the articles in this special section describe how the attributes of young people and the features of the OST programs youth development in which they participate may link together in promotion of character development

“You gotta respect”: Mexican-origin Adolescents’ Perspectives on Respect in Organized Activities

Respect is crucial for promoting participation and positive experiences in organized activities, especially among ethnically diverse youth. However, little is known regarding how Mexican-origin adolescents conceptualize respect and specifically how to promote respect in activities. Guided by theory and previous research, we used qualitative content analysis to elucidate perspectives on respect and features involved in the development of respect in activities. Our sample consisted of 18 Mexican-origin 7th graders who resided in the Southwest of the U.S., an area with a history of inter-ethnic group tensions. The adolescents in this study described three different types of respect:  humanity respect, respect for culture, and linguistic respect. Potential features involved in the development of respect were identified, including individual- (e.g., moral virtues), contextual (e.g., welcoming atmosphere), and inter-personal (e.g., shared experiences) features. This study increases out depth of understanding of respect in activities, identifies areas for researchers to pursue in future research, and unveils potential implications for designing activities that promote positive, respectful relationships

Character Development Through Youth Sport: High School Coaches’ Perspectives about a Character-based Education Program

This study examined high school sports coaches’ perspectives about a character-based coach education workshop designed to promote positive coaching practices and transform the culture of youth sports. Fifteen coaches (Mage = 42.07, SD = 14.62, 73.3% male) provided feedback about Positive Coaching Alliance’s (PCA) “Double-Goal Coach” training program and what aspects of the workshop they applied to their coaching practices. Results indicated that coaches believed that participation in PCA workshops contributed to the value coaches attributed to individuals, to coach-oriented character development, and to positive relationships within youth sports. The coaches also suggested changes in future PCA workshops. These findings provide preliminary evidence that coaches’ incorporate skills acquired through participation in character-based coach education programs. We discuss implications for coaches and athletes, and for policies aimed at enhancing positive youth attributes developed through sport

Cumulative Risk Methods (Dataset)

File Name: CR Methods Paper Public Dataset Manuscript Title: Comparing alternative methods of measuring cumulative risk based on multiple risk indicators: Are there differential effects on children’s externalizing problems? Journal: PLOS ON

Meningsfull och medveten matematikundervisning i förskolan : En intervjustudie med pedagoger

Syftet med studien är att, utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv, bidra med kunskap om vad meningsfull och medveten undervisning i matematik i förskolan kan innebära. För att uppnå syftet formulerades frågeställningarna: Vad beskriver pedagogerna som matematik i förskolan? På vilka sätt kan meningsfull matematikundervisning komma till uttryck i förskolan? samt På vilka sätt kan medveten matematikundervisning komma till uttryck i förskolan? Kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med fyra förskollärare ochfyra barnskötare. Under intervjuerna var fokus på barnskötares och förskollärares syn på matematik och deras arbete med matematikundervisning. Det bearbetade datamaterialet analyserades utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv och centrala begrepp kopplat till teorin. De centrala begrepp som användes i analysen var proximal utvecklingszon, scaffolding, artefakter och mediering. I resultatet framkommer att pedagogerna använder både spontan och planerad matematikundervisning. Spontan matematikundervisning kan handla om att pedagogerna lyfter fram matematiken i olika vardagliga situationer, som exempelvis vid lunchsituationer eller när barnen leker på gården. Planerad matematikundervisning kan handla om att pedagogerna planerar matematikinnehåll för att möjliggöra för barnen att utveckla sina tidigare erfarenheter och kunskaper. I resultatet framkommer att pedagogerna planerar för medveten och meningsfull undervisning och utgår från läroplansmål.Respondenterna lyfte fram vikten av interaktion mellan barn och pedagoger. Det finns likheter mellan delstudierna kring hur matematikundervisningen anpassas utifrån barns erfarenheter och tidigare kunskaper. En slutsats utifrån resultaten i delstudierna är att det är viktigt med planerad matematikundervisning utifrån läroplansmål så att inte endast spontan matematikundervisning sker. Ytterligare en slutsats är att det inte räcker att pedagoger planerar för en medveten matematikundervisning, den behöver också vara meningsfull för barnen

Crafting Mosaics: Person‐Centered Religious Influence and Selection in Adolescent Friendships

This research addresses the intersection of two key domains of adolescents' lives: religion and peer networks. Religion scholars argue that religion is multi-faceted and better understood by focusing on combinations of indicators (i.e. mosaics), versus a variable-centered approach. We adopt this framework and investigate the interplay between religion and peer networks, both in how religious mosaics are shaped by friends and how religious profiles affect friend selection dynamics. With data from two schools in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we estimate religious mosaics using latent class analysis (LCA) to identify profiles consisting of combinations of commonly available survey-based measures of religious attitudes, behaviors, and identities. Finding evidence of theoretically-expected profiles, we then use stochastic actor based models (SABMs) to investigate network dynamics for these LCA-based religious profiles. We demonstrate how the profile data can be integrated within the SABM framework to evaluate processes of friend selection and influence. Results show evidence of adolescents influencing one another's religious mosaics, but not selecting friends on that basis