Service activities take place in the vast majority of schools across the United States. The structural support and social validity of these types of activities make community service programs an ideal means to promote positive youth development. To capitalize on this opportunity, we must create programs that are based on developmental and ecological theory and designed to be culturally relevant and responsive. The proposed research project will address this need through the conceptualization, design, and pilot implementation of a youth service program in partnership with students, teachers, and community members at a predominantly African American, urban elementary school. The use of a Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework will ensure that the program is culturally relevant and acceptable for a population that could benefit most from these types of interventions.
The specific aims of this project are to use a community partnership-based research methodology to: (1) complete a comprehensive review of two constructs identified as critical to positive adolescent development (empowerment and sense of community) in order to determine what specific aspects of these constructs predict positive youth outcomes for urban, African American populations; (2) identify measurement tools to assess key aspects of empowerment and sense of community in urban, African American populations; (3) develop a youth community service program that is (a) experienced as empowering and promoting a sense of community as defined by youth, teachers, and community partners, and (b) considered culturally relevant by youth, teachers, and community partners; and (4) conduct an initial feasibility and acceptability study of this new community service intervention designed through research in partnership with key community stakeholders.
| Gullan, Rebecca L; Power, Thomas J; Leff, Stephen S (2013) The Role of Empowerment in a School-Based Community Service Program with Inner-City, Minority Youth. J Adolesc Res 28:664-689 |
| Gullan, Rebecca Lakin; Hoffman, Beth Necowitz; Leff, Stephen S (2011) ""I Do But I Don't"": The Search for Identity in Urban African American Adolescents. Penn GSE Perspect Urban Educ 8:29-40 |
