Family structure diversity: Views from rural community leaders and implications for youth engagement

“That’s Just a Part of Growing Up”: A Study of Non-formal Educators’ Lay Theories of Adolescence

“…The BSA amended Scouts BSA’s membership requirements to permit young women to participate as scouts in February 2019, reportedly recruiting 150,000 girls to join the program (McCambridge, 2019, December 20; McCombs & Crary, 2019, December 17). These dramatic membership changes have occurred in the midst of demographic shifts in America, where less than half of all children under 15 are white and more than half are born into non-nuclear families (Anakwe et al, 2020; Frey, 2019). The BSA’s survival likely depends on its volunteers’ success in recruiting increasingly diverse cohorts of youth members.…”

“…Although some scholars have highlighted NFE programs’ use and dissemination of evidence-based practices and programming (e.g., Archibald, 2015), others have noted the inadequate or limited preparation or training non-formal educators often receive for their roles (Davis et al, 2021; Taylor et al, 2008). In the absence of more robust training, non-formal educators may draw more heavily from their lay theories, possibly including lay theories developed from or contributing to views and stereotypes related to gender, family structures, and other individual attributes and experiences (c.f., Anakwe et al, 2020; Garner & Grazian, 2016; Koenig, 2018). This study seeks to investigate lay theories within a particular NFE context, the Scouts BSA division of the Boy Scouts of America.…”

Self-Management in Youth

“…In their study on family structure and youth engagement in the USA, Anakwe and colleagues noted that family has a strong influence on youth development and that the belief that structurally diverse families are broken creates an engagement difficulty for youth in structurally diverse homes [60]. In a related study on how youths and adults perceive and utilize shared community resources (e.g., the library and recreational amenities), Majee and Anakwe (2020) noted that there needed to be an alignment between community leaders' and youth's perceptions of community resources.…”

Mass Media as Means of Initiating Community Developmental Programmes in Akoko North West Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria

“…In a related note, Giddens (2004) defined media as a wide variety of forms, including; television, newspapers, films, magazines, advertisements, video games, CDs, satellite cables and web or internet facilities that reach mass audience. In a common parlance, media can be define as the various means of mass communication, including television, radio, film, magazines and newspapers, together with the people involved in their production (Anakwe, A. , Majee, W. , & Keller, K.J.M. , 2018).…”