Eric Kalenze, Search’s Director of Education Solutions, will be appearing in this space occasionally to share more about our research, our research-guided school improvement work with schools, our REACH Framework, and practical items to keep in mind about student motivation. Additionally, we’ll bring some guest-bloggers aboard so they can share, practitioner-to-practitioner, what using REACH-based practices […]
“I keep going back to the share power thing. I think that’s something I struggle with most because it was scary to me, but putting that out there, I do feel more powerful actually because I guess it just opened up the respect on both ends a lot more.” – Parent in the Keep Connected […]
When it comes to nurturing young people, we struggle individually and collectively with two competing goals, which we don’t often talk about at the same time: Protect them from harm. Empower them to have a voice, lead, and discover themselves and the world. These sometimes-conflicting themes shaped much of the conversation at an international conference […]
The team at Interact for Health in Cincinnati, OH began using the Developmental Assets® in their youth-focused health promotion work in 2000. According to Mary Francis, Senior Program Officer, “The same is true for us that is true across the nation: the Developmental Assets provided a common language, validated people’s intuition, and led to next […]
We know that youth are most motivated when they set their own goals based on what is important to them. But that doesn’t mean parents, teachers, and other adults don’t play important roles as well. Try these eight strategies to enhance young people’s abilities to set and reach goals. Connect with young people. Get to […]
One of Search Institute’s current research-to-practice initiatives focuses on studying and strengthening the developmental relationships that help young people succeed. Developmental relationships are close connections through which young people develop the character strengths they need to grow up successfully. We are finding that expressing care, challenging growth, providing support, sharing power and expanding possibilities are […]
Search Institute has received a grant from the Spencer Foundation to study the role of student-teacher developmental relationships in promoting academic achievement and reducing educational inequity. This study will investigate whether levels of motivation and perseverance—and changes in them over time—ease achievement inequities for low-income students and students of color who, demographically, are at the […]
Setting and achieving goals is a complex challenge. Success is shaped by who we are, the goals we set, the strategies we use, and people who support us. Educators, parents, and other adults can influence each of these elements to help young people take responsibility for their own growth and learning. Personal Attitudes For students […]
At Search Institute, we are working with educators, parents, and other caring adults around the country to help young people REACH to become all that they can be in school and in other areas of their lives. We are doing this by equipping adults with practical ways to address five factors that studies have shown […]
The Aspirations component of Search Institute’s new REACH Framework introduces the importance of helping all young people develop a positive view of themselves in the future and connecting their ability to become that person to the actions they do—or do not—take every day. The following discussion starters encourage youth to think about who they are […]
