The American Tradition of Community Development: Implications for Guiding Community Engagement in Youth Development

The contribution to adolescent well‐being made by nonfamily adults: An examination of developmental assets as contexts and processes

“…Because these developmental contexts promote young people's prosocial orientations and behaviors, they also can promote the growth of a civil society in which contributing to the common good is at least as important as promoting one's individual success and well-being (Lerner, Brentano, Dowling, & Anderson, 2002). Through experiences in youth programs, religious community, and volunteering, young people themselves can be engaged more fully in their often-untapped potential role as shapers of and contributors to broader community development (Mannes, Benson, Kretzmann, & Norris, 2002). Such engagement may be a particularly important partial counterweight to the decades-long decline noted in Americans' experience of social capital (Putnam, 2000).…”

The civic village's stake in human development

“…The community has been effective in activating the strength-building capacity of its residents of all ages, and in promoting collective action that has transformed the developmental venues of the community infrastructure. 28 A developmentally attentive community has a consensus of core values 29 as a result of having reached a shared understanding of the developmental aspects of the common good. The consensus shapes incentives for adult engagement with children and youth, stimulates and influences the formation of enduring social norms, and leads to the provision of sufficient resources to bring developmental well-being to fruition.…”