Young Women's Leadership Alliance: Youth–adult partnerships in an all‐female after‐school program

Balancing power in communities of practice: An examination of increasing student voice through school-based youth–adult partnerships

“…Because institutional norms of schools define the roles of teachers and students, becoming a partner with youth requires adults to step out of teacher mode. Instead, previous research has found that adult advisors must learn to be a coach who provides meaningful leadership opportunities and fosters the skills of youth to be able to assume these positions (Camino 2000;Denner et al 2005).…”

Girls Study Girls Inc.: Engaging Girls in Evaluation Through Participatory Action Research

“…Denner et al (2005), in their study of building youth-adult partnerships in a leadership program that empowers and engages young women, identified two strategies that are very relevant to our context-providing guidance, not instructions, and creating an environment in which girls feel safe to speak their minds.…”

Intergenerational relationships and partnerships in community programs: Purpose, practice, and directions for research

“…Adults who are successful in forming relationships are those who genuinely demonstrate respect for youth voices by making the time to solicit the views of youth, listen to their ideas and opinions, and respond in non-judgmental ways. It also is important that adults give youth a say in decisions in ways that are consistent with the model of youth-adult relationships employed in the program~Larson et al, Denner et al, 2005!. Adults also must focus on the affective component of relationships. Krueger~2005!, for example, concluded that youth workers are best able to form relationships when they are attuned to the emotional state of youth, in synch with youth capacities for trusting and relating to adults, and when they engage in deliberate processes of shared meaning making and resolution with young people.…”

“…At the individual level, for example, the inclusion of youth voices in relationships is found to provide young people with opportunities to experience respect and be acknowledged as important by adults. This is especially important for those vulnerable youth who are being left behind by societal institutions~Diversi & Mecham, 2005;Krueger, 2005!. At the program level, the active participation of youth in group decision-making is important, for it helps keep programming focused on the interests, experiences, and concerns of young people~Den-ner, Meyer, & Bean, 2005;Libby, Rosen, & Sedonaen, 2005!. Strong intergenerational relationships also may be aimed at facilitating positive youth development. In an apprenticeship program described by Halpern~2005!, and in four youth programs analyzed by Larson, Walker, and Pearce~2005!, positive relationships with adults were found to provide a rich context for youth's growth and development.…”