Is There Common Ground?
An Exploratory Study of the Interests and Needs of
Community-Based and Faith-Based Youth Workers (2007)
Two groups of youth workers—community-based and faith-based—appear to
operate in parallel universes. Both groups play significant roles in
young people’s lives, but they generally have distinct professional
development systems and opportunities, and, perhaps, distinct
priorities for their work.
In 2006, with support from Lilly Endowment Inc., the National
Collaboration for Youth and Search Institute began exploring the
possibilities and challenges of building bridges between
community-based and faith-based youth workers. Questions include:
- Can faith-based and community-based youth organizations find
common ground in how they might prepare staff and volunteers to most
effectively work with youth?
- What are the priorities, core competencies, and professional
development interests and needs of both groups of youth workers? Where
are they similar and different?
- What role does spiritual development play in the overall holistic
development of youth?
- Are these groups of youth workers interested in finding common
ground? What are any critical barriers that may interfere with building
bridges? What do they see as the advantages?
- If there is interest, what might be done to facilitate mutual
support and enhanced opportunities and systems for improving youth
workers’ competencies and effectiveness?
The study involved a series of focus groups, two Web-based surveys of
youth workers, and a two-day consultations of national thought leaders.
What emerges from these explorations is a remarkable degree of
alignment around many youth work priorities as well as exceptions that
leave room for unique accents and learning.
Is There Common Ground? is
provided here to encourage and stimulate new conversations about the
characteristics of effective youth workers and the potential for
building bridges across sectors in community.
Click on the below links to download each section of
Is There Common Ground? An Exploratory
Study of the Interests and Needs of Community-Based and Faith-Based
Youth Workers:
Report and Executive Summary (PDF 49 pages, 612 KB)
Appendices
(Not included in the basic report)
Complete Report with All Appendices (PDF 123 pages, 7.9 MB)
A.
Youth Worker Survey (PDF 8
pages, 1.2 MB)
B.
NCY's Youth Development Worker Competencies (PDF 2 pages, 36 KB)
C.
Youth Worker Survey: Methods, Sample, and DetailedFindings (PDF 34 pages, 3.9 MB)
D.
Camp Leader Survey: Summary Report (PDF 15 pages, 2.1 MB)
E.
National Consultation: Overview and Participants (PDF 8 pages, 92 KB)
F.
Focus Groups: Methods, Sample, and Detailed Findings (PDF 7 pages, 80 KB)
Suggested citation: Garza, P.,
Artman, S., & Roehlkepartain, E. C. (with Garst, B. A., Bialeschki,
M D.) (2007).
Is there common
ground? An exploratory study of the interests and needs of
community-based and faith-based youth workers. Washington, DC:
National Collaboration for Youth, and Minneapolis: Search Institute.
