Positive Youth Development Principles in Practice

Peter L. Samuelson (Rev. Dr.) is the former Senior Director of Evaluation and Impact at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota and Former Director of Research and Evaluation at the Thrive Foundation for Youth, USA. He is co-author, with Ian M. Church, of Intellectual Humility (Bloomsbury, 2017).

• Preface: Nine Principles of Highly Effective Youth Service OrganizationsIntroduction: Effective Youth Organizations: A Place to Thrive1: Creating a Safe, Supportive, Values-Driven Community2: Providing Trusted, Committed Caring Adults with Whom Youth Can Establish Relationships3: Helping Youth Develop their Identity and Sense of Agency4: Orienting Youth to a Purposeful Future5: Expanding Youth’s World Through Exposure to New Experiences and Connecting them to Resources6: Providing Opportunity for Youth to Develop Academic and Critical Thinking Abilities7: Providing Opportunity for Youth to Teach Life-Skills and Healthy Habits8: Providing Opportunity for Youth to Advance Youths’ Social, Emotional, and Relationship Skills9: Empowering Youth to Engage in the Betterment of their Communities and the WorldConclusion: At the Intersection of Theory and PracticeReferences Index

Who does not want all kids to thrive? But what does that mean and how do you do it? Dr. Peter Samuelson deftly paves a path forward for practitioners and parents pointing to the essential elements of establishing a nurturing and transforming fit between youth and their surrounding communities. Drawing on cutting edge psychological theory, methodology, and practice, Dr. Samuelson emphasizes the often overlooked reality that thriving youth require thriving ecologies. His hopeful rendering of the topography of youth today conveys how to create a transformative fit between a young person and their environment allowing young people to grow into their strengths with and for and thrive.