Self-Evaluation: HOW WELL DO YOU DEVELOP YOUTH LEADERS? What does your approach to youth say about how well you champion and nurture them towards success? Answer all the following short quiz questions (5 – 10 minutes) to see your personal results and strengths! Only score sections B through E.
A. About You I n the context of your organization, what is the age range of the “youth” you seek to champion? Background: This question is intended to help you identify which youth you have in mind for this self-evaluation. Would you like to self-evaluate how well you develop your program’s beneficiaries? young staff members on your team? or both? This question also acknowledges how there are many different definitions of youth. The UN, for example, defines youth as 15 - 24 years, while many African member states define youth as 15 to 35. See Chapter One, Demography and Alienation in by Marc Sommers for more background on this issue. 6–12
13–17
18–23
24–29
30–35
W hat role do youth have in your organization, program, or area of focus? (for example: program participants, students, junior staff, etc.): Background: This question is intended to help you identify which youth you have in mind for this self-evaluation. Would you like to self-evaluate how well you develop your program’s beneficiaries? young staff members on your team? or both?
P lease estimate what percentage of youth in your organization/program come from the following socioeconomic backgrounds: Background: We are keen to highlight shared practices of excellence across all socioeconomic backgrounds.
High-income:
Middle-income:
Low-income:
Total:100%
I am taking this quiz in order to:
Hint: Consider coming back again to try the quiz again for different purposes!
Evaluate myself
evaluate my organization
another organization i’m not officially a part of
The most important outputs of my work are whether the youth achieve:
Background: The ultimate intended outcome of programs heavily influence program design.
Technical/employable skills
Being purpose-driven
Entrepreneurial skills
Acting as problem-solvers
Informal job
Salaried job
Solving social problems
Being life-long learners
Not sure
Other
B. Youth Leadership Roles In the past 6 months, the youth we work with have: Presented work they themselves created to a wider audience of adults Received recognition and celebration for their contributions Been given roles to design and implement programs or activities Consistently given feedback Added their voices at decision making meetings Made decisions about how resources that affect them are allocated (money, supplies, etc.) Influenced a specific organizational decision Made decisions within positions of leadership Contributed towards solving a social problem that affects their local community Form teams and collaborate Participate in peer-to-peer assessments Support each other in their mutual growth Practice leadership in peer groups Are assigned peer coaches(paring-up to keep each other accountable)
C. Adult Approachability During the past six months, we have: Engaged with young people in one-on-one mentorship or counseling Maintained a consistent presence in the life of young people Gone beyond just having an “open door” policy and made an extra effort to be easily accessible to young people Spoken to young people as peers, rather than ‘talking down’ to them Changed program design or implementation of activities based on the feedback of young people Had discussions with young people about their day-to-day activities - not just what challenges they are facing B een able to name at least 3 of the most current popular influences in young people’s lives (celebrities, musicians, sports heroes, etc.) P articipated with young people in a shared social or leisure activity M odeled the type of behavior, attitudes, and skills expected of young people C onsistently offered feedback on strengths as well as areas of improvement
D. Adult Champions During the past six months, we have: B een supportive of young people making mistakes as an opportunity for learning O ffered specific guidance on how to turn mistakes into learning opportunities D esigned programs to be fun and energetic F acilitated, rather than directed, activities for young people O ffered feedback as a conversation with thoughtful questions, not as a one way lecture S elf-identified as a passionate champion of youth C reated opportunities for young people to discover their talents and imagine their full potential P rovided recognition when young people have taken on new roles G iven young people positions of responsibility O ffered guidance to young people on how to solve their own problems (day to day or academic), not just swooped in to fix things I dentified a specific strategy for helping young people overcome personal challenges faced in their everyday lives O ffered recognition and celebration to youth for their contributions Do you support young people with any of the following resources? w ages/stipends
E ntrepreneurship development
S chool supplies
F unding/grants
Courses
H ealthcare access
I nvestments
Professional conferences
I nternet access
M entors
Cultural activities
R ecreational facilities
C oaches/tutors
Connections to offerings by other organizations (counseling, jobs, etc.)
S afe after school space
W ork experiences (attachments, internships, apprenticeships, etc.) T rainings for technical skills
M eals
O ther:
Clothing
E. Experiential Learning To enable learning, we: O ffered specific activities that encourage young people to explore career directions O rganized new experiences that helped young people expand their view of the world (example: day trips, socials, camps, sports events, workshops, etc.) K eep the time spent on classroom-style learning short, with young people learning by doing as soon as possible P rovide real-world responsibilities I ncorporate real-life experiences as a central way to learn P rovide clear and progressive pathways to leadership for young people E mphasize and reinforce positive social norms and expectations through the learning experiences rather than being primarily focused on correcting negative behavior S upport the development of specific technical skills M ove beyond teaching digital literacy to teaching how to adapt to changing technology E nsure young people can maintain connections with their local communities during and after the learning experience(s) N oticed the most underperforming young people and taken steps to help them achieve success O ffer options for different levels of learning
We have a specific curriculum or activities for supporting the development of the following life-skills: C ommunication and interpersonal skills
C reativity
P roblem solving
A bility to cope with emotions and stress
D ecision making
S elf-awareness
E mpathy
N ot applicable
We have a specific curriculum or activities that nurture the following attributes: C onfidence
C haracter
C ompetence
C onnection
C ontribution
N ot applicable
C aring
Advice to Others Do you have advice or a story to share with others to help create a shift where authentic youth leadership is the norm?
Scoring Your Results: Award yourself one point for each checkbox in sections B through E. Visit changemakers.com/futureforward to learn more or share the online version. Leading Social Innovators have been able to achieve the following scores in each section.
YOUTH LEADERSHIP ROLES
ADULT CHAMPIONS
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
ADULT APPROACHABILITY
Your Score
Benchmark
12
23
19
8
changemakers.com/futureforward