Giving youth a voice…

What matters to youth from grades 7 - 12

Developmental Assets: A Profile of Our Youth

Leeds & Grenville SchoolsGrades 7 -12

Search Institute Profile of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviours

Participating schools

• Athens DHS• Brockville CIVS• Gananoque SS• North Grenville DHS• Rideau DHS• South Grenville DHS• Thousand Islands SS

• Commonwealth PS• Lyn/Tincap PS• Maynard PS• Oxford on Rideau PS• Prince of Wales PS• South Branch ES• Toniata PS• Westminster PS

Who was surveyed

• Randomly selected - 21% of grades 7-12 student population:

1632

• Gender: Females 840Males 778

Breakdown by grades

• Grade 7 169• Grade 8 202• Grade 9 401• Grade 10 325• Grade 11 283• Grade 12 245

• Total **1632**

Our community profile

21–30 Assets

35%

31–40 Assets

4%

0–10 Assets

22%

11–20 Assets

49%

Copyright 2005 Search Institute

We believe that…..

…young people are valuable resources

Investigating our community profile

What did the survey show???

Percentage of Youth reporting each specific asset…

How do our youth see themselves and their world???

External assets….

• SUPPORT young people with care and attention.

• EMPOWER them to use their abilities to help others.

• Set reasonable BOUNDARIES AND have high EXPECTATIONS.

• Help them find activities that make CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF their TIME.

SUPPORT young people with care and attention.

#1 – Family support 65%

#2 – Positive family communication 31%

#3 – Other adult relationships 41%

#4 – Caring neighbourhood 36%

#5 – Caring School climate 26%

#6 – Parent involvement in schooling 20%

EMPOWER them to use their abilities to help others.

# 7 - Community Values Youth 18%

# 8 – Youth as resources 23%

# 9 – Service to others 49%

# 10 – Safety 51%

Set reasonable BOUNDARIES AND have high EXPECTATIONS.

#11 – Family boundaries 34%

# 12 – School boundaries 39%

# 13 – Neighbourhood boundaries 39%

# 14 – Adult role models 23%

# 15 Positive peer influence 48%

# 16 – High expectations 43%

Help them find activities that make CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF their

time.

# 17 – Creative activities 16%

# 18 – Youth programs 57%

# 19 – Religious community 24%

# 20 – Time at home 50%

Internal assets

• Spark their COMMITMENT TO LEARNING.

• Guide them toward a life based on POSITIVE VALUES.

• Help the develop SOCIAL COMPETENCIES and life skills.

• Celebrate their uniqueness and affirm their POSITIVE IDENTITY.

Spark their COMMITMENT TO LEARNING.

# 21 - Achievement motivation 58%

# 22 - School engagement 54%

# 23 - Homework 36%

# 24 – Bonding to school 55%

# 25 – Reading for pleasure 28%

Guide them toward a life based on POSITIVE VALUES.

# 26 – Caring 42%

# 27 – Equality and social justice 45%

# 28 – Integrity 65%

# 29 – Honesty 65%

# 30 – Responsibility 58%

# 31 – Restraint 23%

Help the develop SOCIAL COMPETENCIES and life skills.

# 32 – Planning and decision-making 25%

# 33 – Interpersonal competence 39%

# 34 – Cultural competence 33%

# 35 – Resistance skills 35%

# 36 - Peaceful conflict resolution 38%

Celebrate their uniqueness and affirm their POSITIVE IDENTITY.

# 37 – Personal power 40%

# 38 – Self-esteem 44%

# 39 – Sense of purpose 59%

# 40 – Positive view of personal future 74%

Average # assets/ community

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

L & G

17.9 Assets

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Total Grade 7 Gr 8 Gr 9 Gr 10 Gr 11 Gr 12

Asset Profile by grade ….

17.

918.

917.

117.

116.

215.0 16.3

Why assets are important…

They domake a difference

in the lives of young people

They are the keys to success

Thriving behaviours

• School success• Informal helping• Valuing diversity• Maintaining good health• Exhibiting leadership• Resisting danger• Impulse control• Overcoming adversity

The Survey shows the connection between thriving (+) behaviours and the number of assets a youth has…

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0-10 Assets 11-20 Assets 21-30 Assets 31-40 Assets

#Of

+

Behaviours

Deficits Influences that interfere with healthy development

by limiting access to external assets, orby easing the way into risky behavioural choices

•Alone at home 56%•TV Overexposure 36%•Physical Abuse 33%•Victim of violence37%•Drinking Parties 62%

High Risk behaviours(24 -- Identified by the survey )

• Alcohol use• Binge drinking• Smoking• Smokeless tobacco• Inhalants• Marijuana• Other illicit drugs• Drinking and driving• Riding with a driver who has

been drinking• Sexual intercourse• Shoplifting• Vandalism

• Trouble with police• Hitting someone• Hurting someone• Use of a weapon• Group fighting• Carrying a weapon for

protection• Threatening physical harm• Skipping school• Gambling • Eating disorders• Depression• Attempted suicide

The Survey shows the connection between high risk behaviours and the

number of assets a youth has…

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0-10 Assets 11-20 Assets 21-30 Assets 31-40 Assets

#OfHighRiskBehaviours

From awareness to action…

Regardless of town size or geography, youth typically:

• Receive too little support through sustained and positive intergenerational relationships

• Lack opportunities for leadership and involvement• Disengage from youth-serving programs in the

community• Experience inconsistent and unarticulated

boundaries• Feel disconnected from their community• Miss the formation of social competencies and

positive values

So what???

• We will continue to see too many young people who are susceptible to risk taking and negative pressure, drawn to less desirable sources of belonging, and ill-equipped to become the next generation of parents, workers, leaders, and citizens.

• What needs to change??

What needs to change??

• Refocus emphasis of well-intentioned youth development programs from attacking the consequences of asset depletion

• To placing energy into rebuilding the asset foundation for youth

Ultimately, rebuilding and strengthening the developmental infrastructure in a community is not a program run by professionals. It is a ……

…movement

That creates a community-wide sense of common purpose, places residents and their leaders on the same team moving in the same direction, and creates a culture in which all residents are expected, by virtue of their membership in the community, to promote the positive development of youth.

Developmental Assets: A profile of youth in Leeds& GrenvilleSurvey Report, Search Institute

Promoting Developmental Assets

Assets are cumulative or additive

The more the better

Research shows the more assets, the less likely to participate in risk taking behaviours and more likely to be involved in thriving behaviours

PRINCIPLES

• All children and youth need assets.• Relationships are key.• Everyone can build assets.• Building assets is an ongoing process.• Asset building requires consistent

messages.• Duplication and repetition are good

and important.

Taking Action• Establish long-term goals and perspective• Mobilize the public• Think intergenerationally• Expand the reach of family education• Support and expand current asset-building efforts• Strengthen socializing systems• Empower youth to contribute• Elevate the importance of service• Provide places to grow• Advocate for quality opportunities for young

people• Begin public dialogueDevelopmental Assets: A profile of youth in Leeds& Grenville

Survey Report, Search Institute