Social Capital & Social Justice through Positive Youth Development - Indiana Youth Institute Advancing Equity Summit
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Social Capital & Social
Justice through
Positive Youth
Development
Indiana Youth Institute Advancing Equity
Summit
Dr. Nia Imani Fields
3/2021
Who am I?
What words come to mind when you hear… SOCIAL JUSTICE
Next Steps & other Resources
What’s the Difference?
The Realties of COVID19… • An accelerator of inequity • A widening opportunity gap is leaving millions of youth behind • Trauma and emotional distress will have negative effects on their ability to learn and mental health
Why PYD is Designed for a Crisis
• The challenges of the
Great Depression helped
shape 4-H positive youth
development
• PYD emphasizes the
whole child, not activities
alone
• It provides buffering
relationships and
supportive contexts
• It supports and enhances
existing youth assets
-National 4-H Council
“Educators have a responsibility to be aware of the disparities that exist both within our programming and in society. This is critical, because educators who aim to develop youth without acknowledgment of and response to a young person’s possible societal inequities, are in fact perpetuating injustice.”
Educators have a responsibility to…
acknowledge inequity,
identify internal
organizational & societal
practices that are causing
inequities, and
enact changes in
organizational structures &
outreach to contribute to
social justice.
Social Capital
It is plausible to consider the value of social capital in the context of ‘solving problems’ partly attributed to social injustice. Catts and Ozga (2005) also posit that social capital can be used as a “resource that combats social exclusion” (p.1). Youth that have social capital are better able to navigate and negotiate the myriad barriers and challenges that stem from social injustice (Fields & Nathaniel, 2015). This ability is due in part to having stronger community connections and reliable, stronger adult allies.
Access to capital, “is not equally available to all members of
society of a given community” (Calvert. M., Emery, M. & Kinsey, S., 2013, p.5). In fact,
some youth lack the social capital necessary to thrive in
adulthood. Putnam (2000) asserts “in areas where social capital
is lacking, the effects of poverty…are magnified, making life
much worse for children and adults alike” (p. 317).Social Capital Framework University of Minnesota Social Capital Educational Model
What’s one way your
program develops social
capital
(networks, trust, engagement,
efficacy/agency)?Social Justice Youth Development (Ginwright & Cammarota, 2002)
Social Justice Youth Development
Critical
Experiential
Learning
Model
How could
you put this
into
practice?
Fields, 2016PYD as a conduit to
Social Justice
Social
Capital
Experiential
Culturally Opportunities
Relevant steeped in
PYD Service
Tools to
combat
Social
InjusticeLet’s focus on 4 questions… 1. How are you identifying and including diverse voices of history, theories, and experiences in your programs and teaching materials? 2. Through what processes are you recognizing, identifying, and reacting to learning environments that are predominately and historically filled with dominant cultures? 3. Have you created opportunities where youth and the community are intentionally involved in program planning and evaluation? 4. How do you invite, welcome, engage, and recognize the achievements of diverse youth? Are there barriers to engagement and recognition?
Step 1
Step 2
Group
Break into groups
of +/- 5 and share
Discussion:
& offer feedback. Let’s hear some
Success? Voids? reflective
thoughts.Dr. Nia Imani Fields
Nfields@umd.edu
Calvert, M., Emery, M. & Kinsey, S. (2013). Issue Editors’ Notes. In M. Calvert, M. Emery, & S. Kinsey (Eds.), New directions for youth
development (pp. 1-8). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Damon, W. (2004). What is positive youth development? American Academy if Political and Social Science, 591, 13-24.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.
Ginwright, S. & Cammarota, J. (2002). New terrain in youth development: The promise of a social justice approach. Social justice, 29(4), 82-
95.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory into Practice (34)3, 160-165.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). From the achievement gap to the education debt: Understanding achievement in U.S. schools. The Educational
Researcher, 35(7), 3-12.
Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J, et al. (2012). The positive development of youth: Report of the findings of the first eight years of the 4-H study of
positive youth development. Massachusetts: Tufts University.
National 4-H Headquarters. (2015a). 4-H National Headquarters Update. Retrieved from
http://nys4h.cce.cornell.edu/resources/Documents/4-H%20National%20Headquarters%20Update%20-%20Spring%202015.pdf
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Universities. (1999). Returning to our roots: The engaged institution. Kellogg
Commission.
Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of the American community. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.You can also read
