Nurturing Assets through Collaborative Arts-Based Inquiry with Youth
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Authors
Rhoades, Rachel
Date
2016-02-22
Type
Language
en
Keyword
youth leadership , arts-based research , positive youth development , applied theatre , practitioner inquiry , assets
Alternative Title
Abstract
The aim of this article is to disrupt assumptions of youth capacity by
offering a case study of collaborative arts-based practitioner research in program
evaluation and development that puts youth ingenuity and aspiration at the forefront.
The author served in multiple roles for the study as practitioner researcher, teaching
artist working directly with youth participants, and education programs manager
within the organization. The four major objectives of the Arts & Youth Leadership
Development in Action project speak to a variety of constituents: social science
researchers, administrators of not-for-profits that serve youth populations, program
developers within such organizations and youth workers. The aim of the research was
to facilitate youth in recognizing and applying their assets while imagining and
enacting new arts education programming. The research served the education
department by providing a conceptual framework – positive youth development – to
inform pedagogy. Specifically, the project enabled youth to design a program wherein
they could actualize their own definition of leadership. This connects to the objective
of reframing the nebulous phrase “youth leadership” for scholars and practitioners
from the viewpoint of youth themselves. This case study illustrates the unique
manner in which the arts can facilitate youth in envisioning and embodying their
aspirations.