The tool is an important component that promotes positive youth development. It assists in ensuring that the youth have a quality experience, which can allow them to get fully engaged as active participants in community activities. As such, it is important to ensure that community-based organizations should use the tool to assess various programs promptly. The tool is used to assess youth involvement, engagement with the community, and youth retention.
How to Use the Tool to Assess Youth Involvement and Engagement
When using the tool, youth development professionals, including youth workers, teachers are required to work closely with the youth to complete the assessment. The process should take place after the team has worked together for some time. This is necessary to give individuals who are completing the assessment to examine the extent to which the youth are involved as active participants as well as leaders. A mean score or averages will be used to determine whether there are high or low levels of youth involvement and engagement with the community, or whether there is a likelihood of risk regarding youth retention.
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Assessment Tool
| Youth Involvement | Community Engagement | Retention | Description |
| High youth involvement | High community engagement | High retention | |
| Low or Moderate youth involvement | Low or moderate community engagement | Low or moderate youth retention |
The tool shows the level of involvement, engagement with the community, and retention within community programs. Items will be measured on a 5-point scale. (1 strongly agree) To (5 strongly disagree). The scores are averaged by subscales. The tool is available in English
Target Population
Youth workers
Community leaders
Administrators
Teachers
High Youth Involvement Scores
This demonstrates high levels of youth participation in youth projects. The level shows that the youth are willing to work and collaborate with others while at the same time taking leadership roles. The youth show some sense of belonging and are at ease to share their ideas and opinions with others. The youth have access to details that help their social, intellectual, as well as leadership development. There are several programs of youth involvement, which mainly enhance a youth-leadership approach.
Low or Average levels of Youth Involvement Scores
Youth development programs are designed with the best intentions. The youth play a significant role in determining the success of their involvement level and collaborate with community leaders. However, they are lukewarm towards the man idea of the project. Besides, the demands on their time may inhibit their participation in community projects. The programs or projects may be new to the youth, especially when they begin to gain first-time experience.
Strategies to Improve Youth Involvement
The youth who have experience as leaders should be recruited and pair them with those who are less experienced.
The youth should be given opportunities for independence as well as opportunities to make decisions and express their opinions.
High Youth Engagement Scores
The youth demonstrate confidence by applying their skills and being allowed to act as decision makers. They demonstrate the confidence to take on leadership roles as well as competence to make informed decisions. The youth may also seek out various opportunities to take part in youth-driven and community programs. Also, they are likely to apply their learned skills by taking part in the community as well as civic affairs and offering leadership roles.
Low or Average Youth Engagement Scores
Low scores may occur when the youth lack transferable skills that are necessary to function effectively as competent leaders. As such, it is necessary to nurture skills that may enhance critical thinking, goal setting, as well as communication. Also, to ensure that the youth perform efficiently in the programs, typical lessons should be taught in formal educational settings.
Steps to Improve Youth Engagement
Spare time to discuss issues that were affecting the community by ensuring that the youth and adults participate in meetings.
Allow the youth to make decisions and develop actions plans aimed at addressing specific community concerns. As a result, the youth will develop a sense of ownership and become passionate about a particular topic of concern.
High Youth Retention Scores
The success is demonstrated by continuous taking part in the activities. Besides, the youth consistently choose to take part in such programs, especially when there are several other options.
Low or Average Youth Retention Scores
The low scores are observed when there are poor relationships as well as a disconnect between the parties involved. In some cases, the approaches implemented by the adults to recruit the youth to take part in community-based programs are not sufficient. The other case of low retention rates may be attributed to a lack of interest to take part in the community-based programs.
Steps to Improve Youth Retention
Provide the youth with the time to socialize with their peers.
Offer the youth an opportunity to get to know and understand the participants, especially the adults, which will assist in strengthening the relationship with them.
Ways to Communicate the Results of the Program Assessment to Parents/Caregivers
Communicating the results is a better way, which is usually associated with positive feedback for youth involvement and engagement with the community. The results should be presented to offer information about those responsible for the part of the assessment. This will allow parents or caregivers to take into account whether the assessment plan considers the culture of the community as well as the needs of the youth.
Several ways can be used to communicate the results of the assessment plan. For instance, with the availability of PowerPoint as well as similar computer programs, there is an opportunity to develop a meaningful presentation that can be used on several occasions and in several ways. The results can be presented to parents as slides in public meetings. Also, they can be presented to small gatherings and posted alongside a narrative through social media platforms, such as Facebook.
