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1999 Volunteer Leadership Training Guide
Build Assets to Help Youth Succeed
Printer Friendly Version (PDF)
Introduction • Target Audience
• Objectives • Major
Teaching Points • Handouts
for Members • Materials
Pre-Preparation • Suggested
Activities to Reinforce Learning/Lesson Development • Reference
Introduction
There are many factors that influence why some youth have
successes in life and why others have a harder time. Economic circumstances,
genetics, trauma and many other factors play a role. These factors that seem
difficult or impossible to change are not all that matters. Research conducted
by the Search Institute (1997) identified 40 positive experiences and qualities
that were termed "development assets" that have a positive influence on young
people’s lives.
By understanding how assets can be developed and strengthened,
parents and other caring adults can play a positive role in helping youth
succeed. This leader’s guide gives concrete suggestions for what can be done to
build and strengthen assets.
Target Audience
Parents, grandparents, school teachers, youth organization
facilitators, faith-based congregations, health care providers, child care
providers, employers, employees, volunteers, and other caring adults.
Objectives
Following the lesson, participants will be able to:
Major Teaching Points
A survey conducted by the Search Institute (1997) of 100,000
6th- to 12th-grade youth in 213 towns and cities in the United States identifies
40 developmental assets that help young people make wise decisions, choose
positive paths and grow up competent, caring and responsible. The researchers
divide the assets into two major dimensions – external and internal. External
assets are factors that surround young people with the support, empowerment,
boundaries, expectations and opportunities that guide them to behave in healthy
ways and make wise choices. These assets are provided by many people and social
contexts, including families, schools, neighbors and faith organizations. The
external assets are:
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Support – Young people need to experience support, care and
love from their families and many others. They need organizations and
institutions that provide positive, supportive environments.
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Empowerment – Young people need to be valued by their
community and have opportunities to contribute to the community. For this to
occur, they must be safe and feel secure.
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Boundaries and expectations – Young people need to know what
is expected of them and what activities and behaviors are permissible.
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Constructive use of time –Young people need constructive,
enriching opportunities for growth through creative activities, youth
programs and quality time at home.
The internal assets are the commitments, values, competencies
and self-perceptions that need to be nurtured within young people in order to
provide "internal compasses" to guide their behaviors and choices. These assets
include:
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Commitment to learning –Young people need to develop a
life-long commitment to education and learning.
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Positive values –Youth need to develop strong values that
guide their choices.
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Social competencies –Young people need skills and
competencies that enable them to make positive choices, to build
relationships, and to succeed in life.
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Positive identity –Young people need a strong sense of their
own power, purpose, worth and promise.
Search Institute research (1997) demonstrates that assets have
tremendous power to protect youth from many different harmful or unhealthy
choices and to promote positive attitudes and behaviors. The power is evident
across all cultural and socioeconomic groups of youth. There is also evidence
from other research that assets may have the same kind of power for younger
children.
While the assets are powerful shapers of young people’s lives
and choices, too few young people experience many of these assets. Twenty-five
of the 40 assets are experienced by less than half of the young people surveyed.
The average young person surveyed experiences only 18 of the 40 assets. In
general, older youth have lower average levels of assets than younger youth.
Boys experience fewer assets than girls. A recommendation made based on the
research findings was that ideally all youth need to experience at least 31 of
these 40 assets. Yet only 8 percent of youth experience this level of assets.
Sixty-two percent experience fewer than 20 of the assets.
Here are some keys to asset building:
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Everyone can build assets. Building assets requires
consistent messages across a community. All adults, youth and children play
a role.
-
All young people need assets. While it is crucial to pay
special attention to those who have the least (economically or emotionally),
nearly all young people need more assets than they have.
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Relationships are key. Strong relationships between adults,
young people and their peers, and teenagers and children are central to
asset building.
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Asset building is an ongoing process. Building assets starts
when a child is born and continues through high school and beyond.
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Consistent messages are important. Young people need to
receive consistent messages about what is important and what is expected
from their families, schools, communities, the media and other sources.
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Intentional redundance is important. Assets must be
continually reinforced across the years and in all areas of a young person’s
life.
There are many creative ways of building assets on your own.
Some ways to develop assets are as follows:
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Provide consistent love and support.
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Encourage youth in times of confusion, rejection,
frustration and disappointment.
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Take the time to communicate with youth on issues important
to them.
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Provide opportunities for growth and development.
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Provide a safe after-school environment.
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Mentor youth.
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Be a cheerleader, reward even small wins.
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Listen to their hopes and dreams.
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Guide and direct their goals.
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Set high expectations for youth.
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Teach and model good time management, planning,
decision-making and organizing skills.
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Model ethical and responsible behavior.
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Establish rules and consequences for unacceptable behavior,
and consistently carry through.
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Monitor social interactions.
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Encourage leadership skills through volunteer service.
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Monitor school achievement.
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Provide help with homework, when necessary.
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Praise youth for demonstrating good character traits through
their behavior.
If involved in an organization, such as a school, youth
organization, congregation, family service agency, health-care, or business,
either as an employer, employee or volunteer, build assets by:
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Educating employers, employees and customers about their
potential as asset builders.
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Developing policies that allow parents to be involved in
their children’s lives and that encourage all employers to get involved with
kids in the community.
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Contributing time, talent and/or resources to support
community asset-building efforts, such as mentoring, service-learning
activities, peer helping, recreation and volunteering in after-school
programs.
Use your influence in the community to:
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Talk about asset building with formal and informal leaders
and other influential people you know. Enlist their support for asset
building.
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Develop opportunities for youth to contribute to the
community through sharing their perspectives and assuming positive
leadership roles.
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Celebrate and honor the commitments of people who dedicate
their lives and time to youth.
Handouts for Members
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40 Developmental Assets (Handout 1)
-
The Power of Assets (Handout 2)
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The Challenge Facing Communities (Handout 3)
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How You Can Build Assets (Handout 4)
Materials
Handouts (4), flip charts or newsprint sheets and markers.
Pre-Preparation
Distribute Handouts 1, 2 and 3 to participants before the lesson
begins. Plan to use Handout 4 at the end of the group discussion reports (as
suggested).
Suggested Activities to Reinforce Learning/Lesson Development
1. Use the handout titled "40 Developmental Assets" (Handout 1)
to explain external and internal assets that need to be developed for positive
youth development.
2. Use the handouts titled "The Power of Assets" (Handout 2) and
"The Challenge Facing Communities" (Handout 3) to explain the power of assets in
reducing high-risk behavior and promoting positive attitudes and behaviors.
3. Generate ideas about ways in which individuals, organizations
and communities can build assets, by asking the following questions:
a. How might parents spend their time and energy differently
if they know the importance of building these assets in their children?
b. How might caring adults be supported and educated to be
effective asset builders for youth?
c. How might business and service organizations help provide
support to employees (who are parents) and communities to nurture youth?
d. How might neighbors and friends interact differently with
youth if concerted energy was placed in educating the public about
everyone’s power to build assets?
e. How might communities come together to create a shared
vision of ensuring that all children and youth within the community have a
strong asset foundation?
If possible, divide participants into groups of four. Assign one
question to each group. Provide each group with a flip chart or news print
sheets to record ideas. Request each group to nominate a reporter. Recognize
group effort at the end of each report. Use the handout titled "How You Can
Build Assets" (Handout 4) at the end of the reporting session to illustrate
other specific examples of ways to build assets.
Summarize the main points. For closure, request each participant
to describe one or two specific ideas derived from the lesson that they plan to
implement to strengthen youth assets.
References
Search Institute (1997). The asset approach: Giving kids what
they need to succeed. Minneapolis, MN: Author.
Leffert, N. & Benson, P.L. (1997). Starting out right:
Developmental assets for children . Report highlights. Minneapolis, MN: Search
Institute.
Swarna Viegas, Extension Specialist - Youth Development
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