Adolescents in Community Settings: What is to be Learned?

Abstract

Throughout the 70's, educational reformers recommended youth learning in the community. While substantial amounts of federal money have been expended on youth employment programs and their evaluation, the development of programs offering unpaid community experience has proceeded with less financial support and much less research. Evaluations of unpaid work experience programs have uniformly found strong support from participants, their parents, and the adults involved but have had difficulty identifying clear and consistent educational effects. An exploratory study of two community learning programs, reported here, found that participants gained access to adults whom they considered important. It also documented important differences in staff roles in the two programs. Research to date suggests that youth in programs like these learn about themselves, the world around them, and how they fit into it.