Young People's Perspectives on Creating a “Participation-Friendly” Culture

Youth-serving organizations are increasingly interested in the participation of youth as partners in addressing issues relevant to young people. This paper adds new insights by sharing young people's perspectives on how to enhance youth participation in organizational settings. We conducted in-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Children, youth and environments youth and environments, 2010-10, Vol.20 (2), p.25-45
Main Authors: Subramaniam, Aarti, Moncloa, Fe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Collaboration
Communities
Community associations
Focus groups
Learning
Literature
Mentors
Organizational culture
Respect
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Summary:Youth-serving organizations are increasingly interested in the participation of youth as partners in addressing issues relevant to young people. This paper adds new insights by sharing young people's perspectives on how to enhance youth participation in organizational settings. We conducted in-depth focus group interviews with 31 young people and seven adults from six youth development programs in California where youth collaborate with adults to take on leadership and decision-making roles. Findings suggest that organizations need to incorporate peer processes into their change strategies, discuss the role of relationships in the program and organizational sphere, and embrace mutual learning and meaningful community impact.
ISSN:1546-2250
1546-2250
DOI:10.1353/cye.2010.0017