Youth Empowerment Solutions for Peaceful Communities: Combining Theory and Practice in a Community-Level Violence Prevention Curriculum

Abstract

This article describes the development and evaluation of an after-school curriculum designed to prepare adolescents to prevent violence through community change. This curriculum, part of the Youth Empowerment Solutions for Peaceful Communities (YES) program, is guided by empowerment and ecological theories within a positive youth development context. YES is designed to enhance the capacity of adolescents and adults to work together to plan and implement community change projects. The youth curriculum is organized around six themed units: (a) Youth as Leaders, (b) Learning about Our Community, (c) Improving Our Community, (d) Building Intergenerational Partnerships, (e) Planning for Change, and (f) Action and Reflection. The curriculum was developed through an iterative process. Initially, program staff members documented their activities with youth. These outlines were formalized as curriculum sessions. Each session was reviewed by the program and research staff and revised based on underlying theory and practical application. The curriculum process evaluation includes staff and youth feedback. This theoretically based, field-tested curriculum is designed to be easily adapted and implemented in a diverse range of communities.

Trajectories of Organized Activity Participation Among Urban Adolescents: An Analysis of Predisposing Factors

“…Although this result does not support our hypothesis that adolescents with the highest levels of parental support would also be those who participate the most, one explanation for this finding is that teens who perceive less parental support may become more engaged in organized activities over time to develop other meaningful, supportive relationships (Lerner, 2005; Zimmerman, Stewart, Morrel-Samuels, Franzen, & Reischl, 2011). Furthermore, as youth progress from middle- to late-adolescence, they spend more time outside the home developing other meaningful relationships and may be more likely to perceive support from non-familial adults in settings such as organized activities (Crosby, Santelli, & DiClemente, 2009; Zeldin, 2004).…”

Understanding Youth Violence in Kumasi: Does Community Socialization Matter? A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Seal et al [24] (cf. Warner and Fowler [20]) explain that some researchers like Le and colleagues [26], Leff et al [27], and Zimmerman and others have studied combined theory and practice to understand youth violence [28]. Yonas et al [29] have explored the utility of employing the strain theory in explaining youth violence at the community level.…”

A Comprehensive Prevention Approach to Reducing Assault Offenses and Assault Injuries among Youth

“…Adults helped youth by providing expertise, role modeling and assisting with tasks that the youth may not be able to perform themselves. Previous studies of YES included both process (e.g., feedback on activities, assessment of program improvement and neighborhood impact; Franzen, Morrel-Samuels, Reischl, & Zimmerman, 2009; Zimmerman, et al, 2011) and both individual (e.g., conflict avoidance, victimization) and community level (e.g., property improvements, violence crime incidents) outcome evaluations (Reischl et al, 2011). …”

“…Since 2011, the CDC-funded Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center (MI-YVPC), working with community partners, has implemented a comprehensive prevention approach to reducing youth violence in Flint based on public health principles. Social-ecological (Bronfenbrenner, 1989), social disorganization (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997), busy streets (Aiyer, Zimmerman, Morrel-Samuels, & Reischl, 2014), and empowerment theories (Zimmerman, 1995; Zimmerman, Stewart, Morrel-Samuels, Franzen, & Reischl, 2011) guide the intervention efforts.…”