New Peer Review Article Analyzes Cross-Sectoral Youth Assessments Through Positive Youth Development Lens
YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation (YP2LE), a USAID-funded activity focused on building and disseminating the evidence on Positive Youth Development (PYD), today announced that a peer-review article analyzing a series of global cross-sectoral youth assessments was recently published in the Journal of Youth Development’s Special Issue on International Positive Youth Development.
The special issue brings together diverse perspectives on current research, practice, and policy regarding challenges and opportunities facing international PYD. The PYD approach rests on the idea that youth with more developmental assets are more likely to enjoy academic success, have greater economic prospects, be more civically engaged, and healthier in the long term.
YP2LE team members contributed their research and insight to the article titled, “Listening to Youth through 17 Cross-Sectoral Youth Assessments: Implications for Programming and Policy.” Between 2015 and 2020, USAID invested in 17 country-focused and regional youth assessments to investigate young people’s priorities and needs.
“This article shares insights from just 17 of the assessments conducted around the world under the USAID contracts YouthPower Learning and YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation. We hope that these findings provide insights for youth champions, implementers and USAID staff to strengthen current and future youth programs and activities. USAID remains committed to helping youth gain access to the skills and resources needed to build thriving livelihoods, communities, and local economies that benefit all,” said Nancy Taggart, co-author and USAID Senior Youth and Workforce Development Advisor.
YP2LE’s article analyzes the results of those assessments and their implications through a PYD lens for youth programming and policy in low- and middle-income countries. Their analysis across all assessments focuses on identifying the most marginalized and vulnerable youth within each country of focus and understanding youth’s priorities and the barriers and facilitators for achieving them across the sectors.
The article is co-authored by Cassandra Jessee; Audrey Marie Moore, Mathematica Policy Research; Dr. Christy Olenik, Making Cents International; Dr. Chelsea Pallatino Trevelline, Making Cents International; and Nancy Taggart, U.S. Agency for International Development.
To read the complete article, visit https://jyd.pitt.edu/ojs/jyd. To hear how this special edition of the Journal came about and to learn more about YP2LE’s involvement, listen to our latest podcast episode titled, A Deeper Dive into Positive Youth Development with the Journal of Youth Development, featuring Cassandra Jessee.