UK report on Positive Youth Development
(Source: Youth Field Xpress, March 2008)
Interest in Positive Youth Development (or PYD) in England and the United Kingdom has grown in recent years. The first systematic exploration of the key features of PYD for an audience in England has been published by the UK's National Youth Agency. The NYA's 'Children and Young People Now' online magazine reports that a youth development model has provided theoretical underpinning for a number of recent initiatives, such as the Department of Health's Young People's Development Project, and has influenced the UK's 10-year 'Aiming High' strategy for positive activities. However, there have been "limited reviews" of the international evidence of what actually constitutes "Positive Youth Development". Unlike deficit-oriented approaches, PYD focuses on the factors all young people need in order to lead a healthy life. These protective and resiliency factors involve "identifying and promoting developmental benchmarks, including social, emotional and moral competencies, a sense of identity and self-efficacy and opportunities for pro-social involvement". The NYA's report, 'Evidence of the impact of the 'youth development model' on outcomes for young people: A literature review' (http://tinyurl.com/228dyl) highlights six rigorously evaluated programs and their outcomes and assesses their effectiveness. The NYA research applies the PYD approach to current policy development in England and reflects on the difference that the youth development model would make if it were fully adopted. A blog debate on the strengths and weaknesses of the model can be found at: http://community.cypnow.co.uk