Youth Development Principles and Practices in Out-of-School Time Settings, 2nd ed. - eBook

Out-of-school time (OST) settings are powerful contexts for youth development when programs and services are intentionally designed.

Youth Development Principles and Practices in Out-of-School Time Settings increases the capacity of students and professionals to facilitate youths’ optimal transition to adulthood through maximizing the developmental benefits accrued by participating in OST programs and experiences.

Peter A. Witt and Linda L. Caldwell, two well-respected researchers in the youth development field, have brought together a group of outstanding authors who provide an exceptional blend of theory- and practice-based information critical to anyone seeking to conceptualize, design, and evaluate OST programs.

All chapters are based on tenets of positive youth development necessary to enable youth to thrive.
 
The book is divided into five sections: 
(1) Youth development principles and foundational information (e.g., youth today as well as an historical perspective on youth work)
(2) Developing youths’ potential (including specific chapters on leisure and recreation, youth sport, nature-based activities and the arts)
(3) Systematic program planning and evaluation of youth programs
(4) The role of adults and families in the lives of youth
(5) Issues of diversity in youth development (e.g., race and ethnicity, immigrant, LGBT, and ability level)

A final chapter discusses the knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary to become a skilled youth professional.

Each chapter ends with thought-provoking discussion questions and assignments that encourage application and further exploration of the chapter’s content.

The book is a must read for students and practitioners seeking to understand youth today and support their development through out-of-school time programs.

Contributors:
 
Lynn S. Anderson is a distinguished service professor at State University of New York at Cortland, where she teaches primarily in the graduate program. She is also director of the Inclusive Recreation Resource Center headquartered at SUNY Cortland.
 
Cheryl K. Baldwin is a faculty member in Administrative Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her work focuses on instructional, evaluation, and leadership strategies for enhancing practitioner learning in youth program quality initiatives and social innovation partnerships.

Jason N. Bocarro is an alumni distinguished undergraduate professor and university faculty scholar in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University. He has spent the last 20 years examining how sport, park and recreation programs, and environments can influence child and adolescent health.
 
Aishia Brown is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Louisville in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky. Her work examines the intersections of youth development, social justice, and community engagement.
 
Laurie Browne is the director of research at the American Camp Association, where her work focuses on engaging camp professionals in sustainable evaluation that is used to improve programs, train staff, and advocate for the value of camp experiences.
 
Leslie N. Camarillo is a master’s student in the Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on family dynamics and leisure behavior among second-generation Mexican-American youth.
 
Rachel Chamberlain is a research assistant at Search Institute and uses her experience as a practitioner in K-12 education and community youth development to inform her work. Her research interests include school culture and the ways in which relationships produce positive outcomes for adults and youth.
 
Mary Ann Devine is a professor at Kent State University in the Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and Disability Studies programs. Her areas of teaching and research interests are in the inclusion of people with disabilities in leisure contexts and best inclusion practices.
 
Michael B. Edwards is an associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University. His research focuses on understanding how sport and recreation facilities and programs can be managed to promote active lifestyles, reduce health disparities, and provide tools for sustainable community development.
 
Gary D. Ellis is professor and Bradberry Chair in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Research. His research agenda is directed at understanding how immediate, point-of-service experiences may be structured to enhance experience quality. 
 
Andrea Vest Ettekal is an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University. She does research on youth programs; conducts evaluations of youth programs; and teaches classes on youth development concepts, programs, and practices. 

Patti A. Freeman is a professor in the Experience Design and Management Department and associate dean of General Education at Brigham Young University. Her research focuses on understanding the impact of structured experiences on guest, experiences and she enjoys studying experience provision around the world.
 
M. Gayle Gabriel earned her PhD with a focus on youth development in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University. She is interested in equitable research and programming for Asian American youth populations.
 
Barry A. Garst is an associate professor of Youth Development Leadership at Clemson University whose applied research focuses on factors that influence youth program outcomes in summer camps and other out-of-school time youth programs. Previously Barry served as the director of Program Development and Research Application with the American Camp Association. 
 
Ann Gillard is the director of Research and Evaluation at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and an independent program evaluation consultant. Her work focuses on youth development, youth with serious illnesses, and social justice.
 
Camilla J. Hodge has worked with adolescents in substance abuse treatment, after-school sports, and religious programs and is an assistant professor of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation at the University of Utah. She teaches courses on management, positive youth development, and research methods, and studies family leisure among parents and adolescents, emerging adults, and siblings.
 
Gareth J. Jones is an assistant professor of Sport of Recreation Management at Temple University. His research focuses on sport-based youth development (SBYD) as well as the overarching policies and management structures guiding youth sport delivery systems. 
 
Andrew Lacanienta is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University.  He is an experience wizard who designs, stages, and researches extraordinary, memorable experiences.
 
Reed W. Larson is a professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Psychology, and Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His research is aimed at understanding the developmental experiences youth have in after-school programs and how staff facilitate these experiences.
 
Nicole McAninch is a senior lecturer of Child and Family Studies at Baylor University, bringing to the classroom over 10 years of practical experience working with children and families in school and ministry settings. She teaches courses on family relationship development and managing resources for quality family functioning and studies how families manage their resources effectively to achieve their goals.
 
Karen K. Melton has worked with adolescents for over a decade in a variety of out-of-school settings such as camp, after-school, religion, wilderness, welfare, and residential. She is an assistant professor of Child and Family Studies at Baylor University; teaches courses on adolescent development, program design, and evaluation; and conducts research on positive family experiences.
 
Denise Montgomery is founder and principal of CultureThrive, a consulting practice providing research, program development, and organizational development services for arts and cultural organizations and for youth organizations. Montgomery has led development of the National Blueprint to Advance Creative Youth Development and written several reports and publications, including The Rise of Creative Youth Development; Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Arts Programs From Urban Youth and Other Experts; and Partnering With Community Arts Organizations: A Pathway to a High-Quality Club Experience.
 
Ericka J. Olschewski has worked with youth in various capacities and settings for over 20 years. She is the primary therapist on an inpatient pediatric behavioral health unit for Intermountain Healthcare in Utah. 
 
Corliss Outley is associate department head and associate professor for the Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences Department at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on youth development, race and ethnicity, and urban parks.
 
Daniel F. Perkins is a professor of Family and Youth Resiliency and Policy at The Pennsylvania State University. He is principal scientist and founder of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State and has designed and evaluated strengths-based family and youth development programs in 4-H and Cooperative Extension. 
 
Rebecca (Beki) N. Saito is a senior research associate at Rainbow Research with over 30 years of experience evaluating nonprofits, with a particular focus on youth development.  Saito is best known for her work in underrepresented communities and utilizing the strengths of young people as agents of change through creative, participatory methods.
 
Sandra D. Simpkins is a professor in the School of Education at the University of California at Irvine. Her research examines how youth development unfolds over time and how families, friendships, and social position factors (such as ethnicity and culture) shape adolescents’ organized after-school activities and motivation.
 
Monika Stodolska is a professor in the Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on issues of race, ethnicity, immigration, and leisure.
 
Alex Sullins is a doctoral student studying youth development in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University. He is a certified Park and Recreation Professional with nearly a decade of professional experience programming youth and adult sports.

Theresa (Terri) K. Sullivan is director of Applied Qualitative Research and Community Mobilization at Search Institute, where she works with field partners to employ qualitative research to inform youth development goals, policy, practice, and measures.  A core area of interest and expertise is engaging marginalized youth as agents of change in policies, programs, and practices that affect them.
 
Daniel Theriault is an assistant professor of Recreation and Leisure Services at Benedict College. His research seeks social justice in and through recreation.
 
Kathrin C. Walker is an associate extension professor and specialist at the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development. She studies the role of youth workers and leads professional development programs to support youth work practice.
 
Elizabeth H. Weybright is an assistant professor of Human Development and adolescent extension specialist at Washington State University. Using a prevention science perspective, her research focuses on adolescent development and how leisure serves to promote healthy development or engagement in risk behavior.