IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v129y2021ics0190740921002899.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Trying to be everything else”: Examining the challenges experienced by youth development workers

Author

Listed:
  • Bloomer, Rebecka
  • Brown, Aishia A.
  • Winters, Andrew M.
  • Domiray, Anna

Abstract

Youth development research and practice have evolved significantly in the last forty years, as theoretical orientations shifted to reflect the focus on youth strengths and assets. While research on youth development has evolved, research with an emphasis on those who work with youth in this context is strikingly limited. This study aimed to bridge this research gap by using a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore the challenges experienced by youth development workers. Semi-structured, in-depth qualitative interviews were used to garner perceptions of challenges. Nineteen participants completed a total of 26 interviews. Participants explained the complex and intertwining relationship of internal and external challenges they experienced. Participants grounded these challenges within the context of their work environment. Their shared meaning across these topics informed the development of a context specific framework including three themes of (a) “trying to be everything else” (b) emotional response and (c) youth behavior, with a subtheme of (d) youth behavioral health. The field of youth development often focuses on building more professional development opportunities however, results from this study show a need to address challenges youth workers experience within the bounds of the youth program and larger organization. Specifically, there is a need for organizations to support youth workers by clearly defining their role, and identifying areas where additional capacity and support are needed.

Suggested Citation

  • Bloomer, Rebecka & Brown, Aishia A. & Winters, Andrew M. & Domiray, Anna, 2021. "“Trying to be everything else”: Examining the challenges experienced by youth development workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:129:y:2021:i:c:s0190740921002899
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106213
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740921002899
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106213?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Susanne James-Burdumy & Mark Dynarski & John Deke, 2005. "When Elementary Schools Stay Open Late: Results from The National Evaluation of the 21st-Century Community Learning Centers Program," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 747640229207407f9f0f09abf, Mathematica Policy Research.
    2. repec:mpr:mprres:4871 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. repec:mpr:mprres:4551 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Susanne James-Burdumy & Mark Dynarski & Mary Moore & John Deke & Wendy Mansfield & Carol Pistorino, "undated". "When Schools Stay Open Late: The National Evaluation of the 21st-Century Community Learning Centers Program," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 86c8d763ea6c4acebca8464c5, Mathematica Policy Research.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dávila, Dayana & Alvarado, Rafael, 2022. "Análisis del impacto de la Ley Orgánica para la Promoción del Trabajo Juvenil, Regulación Excepcional de la Jornada de Trabajo, Cesantía y Seguro de Desempleo, sobre el desempleo juvenil en Ecuador," MPRA Paper 113709, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthew A. Kraft, 2014. "How to Make Additional Time Matter: Integrating Individualized Tutorials into an Extended Day," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 10(1), pages 81-116, November.
    2. Cabrera Hernández, Francisco-Javier, 2016. "Essays on the impact evaluation of education policies in Mexico," Economics PhD Theses 0316, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    3. Jenson, Jeffrey M. & Veeh, Christopher & Anyon, Yolanda & St. Mary, Jason & Calhoun, Molly & Tejada, Jacqueline & Lechuga-Peña, Stephanie, 2018. "Effects of an afterschool program on the academic outcomes of children and youth residing in public housing neighborhoods: A quasi-experimental study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 211-217.
    4. Francisco Cabrera-Hernandez, 2015. "Does lengthening the school day increase students’ academic achievement? Evidence from a natural experiment," Working Paper Series 7415, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    5. Bean, Corliss N. & Kendellen, Kelsey & Halsall, Tanya & Forneris, Tanya, 2015. "Putting program evaluation into practice: Enhancing the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun program," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 31-40.
    6. Peter Z. Schochet & Hanley Chiang, "undated". "Technical Methods Report: Estimation and Identification of the Complier Average Causal Effect Parameter in Education RCTs," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 947d1823e3ff42208532a763d, Mathematica Policy Research.
    7. Neil Seftor, "undated". "What Does It Mean When a Study Finds No Effects?," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 9816e95ac76d4ece98f74e014, Mathematica Policy Research.
    8. Lisa Dragoset & Jaime Thomas & Mariesa Herrmann & John Deke & Susanne James-Burdumy & Cheryl Graczewski & Andrea Boyle & Rachel Upton & Courtney Tanenbaum & Jessica Giffin, "undated". "School Improvement Grants: Implementation and Effectiveness (Final Report)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 76bce3f4bb0944f29a481fae0, Mathematica Policy Research.
    9. John Deke & Hanley Chiang, 2017. "The WWC Attrition Standard," Evaluation Review, , vol. 41(2), pages 130-154, April.
    10. Colvin, Sharon & White, Annie M. & Akiva, Thomas & Wardrip, Peter S., 2020. "What do you think youth workers do? A comparative case study of library and afterschool workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. repec:mpr:mprres:6286 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Susanne James-Burdumy & Mark Dynarski & John Deke, 2005. "When Elementary Schools Stay Open Late: Results from The National Evaluation of the 21st-Century Community Learning Centers Program," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 747640229207407f9f0f09abf, Mathematica Policy Research.
    13. Anna Aizer, 2017. "A Review Essay on Isabel Sawhill's Generation Unbound: Drifting into Sex and Parenting without Marriage and Laurence Steinberg's Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(2), pages 592-608, June.
    14. Lisa Dragoset & Susanne James-Burdumy & Kristin Hallgren & Irma Perez-Johnson & Mariesa Herrmann & Christina Tuttle & Megan Hague Angus & Rebecca Herman & Matthew Murray & Courtney Tanenbaum & Cheryl , 2015. "Usage of Practices Promoted by School Improvement Grants," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 8e99f01663504ef5b9f8357f6, Mathematica Policy Research.
    15. Meyer, E. & Van Klaveren, C., 2011. "Evaluation of an Extended Day Program in the Netherlands: A Randomized Field Experiment," Working Papers 40, Top Institute for Evidence Based Education Research.
    16. Susanne James‐Burdumy & Mark Dynarski & John Deke, 2008. "After‐School Program Effects On Behavior: Results From The 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program National Evaluation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 46(1), pages 13-18, January.
    17. Mark Dynarski & Susanne James-Burdumy & Mary Moore & Linda Rosenberg & John Deke & Wendy Mansfield, "undated". "When Schools Stay Open Late: The National Evaluation of the 21st-Century Community Learning Centers Program, New Findings," Mathematica Policy Research Reports c78bef58be334cd287908403c, Mathematica Policy Research.
    18. repec:mpr:mprres:4230 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. repec:mpr:mprres:4551 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. repec:mpr:mprres:4871 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Meyer, Erik & Van Klaveren, Chris, 2013. "The effectiveness of extended day programs: Evidence from a randomized field experiment in the Netherlands," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-11.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:129:y:2021:i:c:s0190740921002899. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.