Research project Supporting positive youth development
On this project page you will find practical and freely available educational modules developed to support professionals working with children and adolescents.
The modules, found below in the More about this project-section, were developed through discussions with Swedish and American youth-serving organizations about their general work, interests, and needs for science-based information, and by reviewing online material that already exists.
The educational modules are accessible to anyone interested in positive child and youth development, but they are particularly designed for practitioners such as teachers, special educators, social workers, psychologists, and practitioners working in child welfare and youth-oriented charities.
Despite diverse educational backgrounds and daily work, we have found that these professionals can face similar challenges, such as how to engage youth who live in economically vulnerable conditions and how to improve implementation of services and interventions.
The modules are in the form of short videos followed by interactive activities, and they cover topics such as implementation science, understanding individual and contextual appreciating approaches, recognizing biases, adopting a strength-based approach, brain development, adolescent personal goals, dealing with post-traumatic growth in adolescence, and providing trauma-informed services.
The full title of the project is: Evidence-based practices and engagement ideas for adults working to support positive youth development.
Project description
The seven educational modules found on this project page are the result of a collaborative project between faculty and students from the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University and the Department of Human Development and Family at Texas Tech University (US).
With the aim to develop practical and freely available tools that can aid child and adolescent serving practitioners, the project group members reviewed existing online educational resources within the topic area and made visits to youth serving organizations in both Stockholm and Lubbock, Texas (US).
During the visits the youth serving professionals were asked about the organizations’ most pressing work priorities and about what types of science-based information could be helpful for their staff (if relevant to that organization). The discussions held during the visits to the youth-serving organizations then informed the topics and content of the educational modules presented here.
This effort is named Evidence-Based Practices and Engagement with Organizations: Building Research/Training Capacity and Knowledge to Enhance Positive Outcomes for Vulnerable Youth and Families. The project is funded by STINT, the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education, with an initiation grant (IB2021-9191).
The materials on this website do not necessarily represent the views of the funder (STINT) or the members’ respective universities (Stockholm University and Texas Tech University). The materials are the individual work of the contributing members of this collaboration. All materials on this website are posted via a Stockholm University project website with appropriate citation to supporting information and images.
Use and Availability – Creative Commons license for non-commercial use
The materials on this website have a creative commons license and users may copy and redistribute (but not to modify or adapt) the materials on this website for non-commercial purposes with citation to the source of the materials.
Project members
Project managers
Laura Ferrer Wreder
Professor
Lilianne Eninger
Associate Professor, Deputy Head of Department
Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo
C.R. Hutcheson Professor
Members
Hanna Ginner Hau
Ställföreträdande prefekt, docent
Sabina Kapetanovic
Guest Researcher
Åsa Norman
Senior research specialist
Mina Sedem
Universitetslektor, studierektor
News
More about this project
Section 1. Modules designed for organizations who are working to improve their services
Module 1: What is implementation science?
Module 2: Why are individual and context appreciating approaches valuable?
Module 3: What types of bias might stakeholders hold or impose?
Section 2. Modules designed for practitioners who want to learn more about children and youth (in general)
Module 5a: Brain development overview
Module 5b: Personal goals in adolescence
Section 3. Modules for practitioners who want to learn more about children and adolescents living in difficult circumstances
Module 6a: Cognitive development and decision making – In the context of trauma
Module 6b: What are adverse childhood experiences (ACES)?
Module 6c: Youth in multiple systems of care – Developmental trajectories
Module 7a: Resilience – Children and youth in the context of trauma