Positive youth development is a holistic approach that focuses on creating a developmentally appropriate learning setting for young people.
Positive youth development strategies focus on forging positive relationships, strengthening academic, soft and technical skills; cultivating trustworthy, safe spaces; and offering youth opportunities to succeed in meaningful ways. Another defining characteristic of Positive Youth Development is that youth are treated as equal partners and engage with their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups and families in ways that are both constructive and productive.
Positive Youth Development 101 is a six-course series based on a training curriculum by Jutta Dotterweich. The series was created by Jutta Dotterweich and Karen Schantz of ACT for Youth together with members of the Cornell University Social Media Lab.
The courses may be taken in any order. Each course can be completed in about 30 minutes.
You can download a certificate of completion for each course if you: