Implementing Positive Youth Development Through Service Learning Projects (2016)

Undergraduate: Deborah Roughton

Faculty Advisor: Patrick Akos
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Adolescence can be challenging time for many youth. Positive Youth Development (PYD) promotes prosocial activities to develop their strengths in hopes of facilitating healthy development. Programs implementing the PYD approach have been shown to help prevent negative outcomes, such as truancy, and promote positive outcomes, such as completing high school (Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2003). However, most of these programs are after school activities and do not directly operate in schools. I propose integrating Positive Youth Development into schools' health curriculum through a localized service-learning project. I shadowed a local health class to see their reactions to my PYD curriculum. Results showed that students were more accepting and engaged when this approach was utilized.