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EXPLORING CAPACITIES AND SKILLS To GENERATE YOUTH ADULT
PARTNERSHIPS FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE: THREE COMMUNITY CASE
STUDIES
By

John A. Oliver

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Educational Administration

2010

ABSTRACT
EXPLORING CAPACITIES AND SKILLS TO GENERATE YOUTH AND ADULT
PARTNERSHIPS FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE: THREE COMMUNITY CASE
STUDIES
By

John A. Oliver

The primary objective of this qualitative study was to understand and describe the
skills and capacities used by the leadership teams of three community-based
organizations (CEO) to develop youth adult partnerships that focused on community
change issues. Three (CBO) engaged in youth adult partnerships served as the unit of
analysis. The leadership teams of each (CBO) played intricate roles in executing the
mission and vision of each organization. Therefore, the leadership teams were also
closely linked to the organizations ability to develop the skills and capacities to generate
youth adult partnerships for community change. To explicate the relationship between the
organization and the leadership team I describe the organizational context, the leadership
team context, and the leadership team context within the structure of the organization. I
used focus group, one-on-one structured interviews, document analysis, and cross case
study analysis to understand the research question. The implications of this study are
based on ﬁve ﬁndings that emerged during this research: (a) context and place matter, (b)
building mutual trust is paramount, (c) co-constructing purpose is important to move the
work forward, ((1) acting and working together move the work forward, and (e)
sustainability is linked to making the work a way of life. Although generating youth adult
partnerships were often a complex process that was also time consuming, it has speciﬁc

utility for: (a) educators, (b) educational leadership administrators and faculty, (c)

community based organizations, and ((1) current and perspective youth development

professionals and volunteers.

 

 

Copyright by
John A. Oliver

2010

DEDICATION

This Ph.D. dissertation is dedicated to my lovely wife Michele, who encouraged me when
I was unable to encourage myself. Your support held me up when I was down. You
selﬂessly celebrated every milestone along the way with me.

And

To my parents John and Theresa Oliver, who taught me to value education and made
many untold sacriﬁces to ensure I could pursue my dreams.

And

To my siblings Jennifer, Timothy, and Terry, all of whom I love and value. I continue to
stand on your shoulders.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In all thy ways acknowledge him [God] and he will direct thy paths. I know that without

God nothing is possible, but with him I can do all things.

To my wife Michele:
Thank you for your love, support, understanding, and patience as I pursued my dream of

completing my Ph.D.

To my Ph.D Committee chairs: Dr. Christopher Dunbar and Dr. James Minor, committee
members Dr. Melnda Mangin and Dr. Francisco Villarruel:
I am grateful and forever indebted to each of you for serving as my advisor, critic,

evaluator, mentor and friend. Individually and collectively you pushed me along.

To Dr. Maenette Benham I am forever grateful for your friendship, guidance,

encouragement, and for helping ﬁnd my voice.

Thank you

PREFACE

Change is Gonna Come

During the winter of 1963, Sam Cooke recorded the song “A Change is
Gonna Come.” Over the years, the song has been recognized as an anthem of the
Civil Rights Movement and a powerful reminder to maintain hope in Sight of
turbulent times and adverse circumstances. Some believe the song to be a
response to Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind,” in which questions about the
human, political, and social conditions of the times were posed. During the early
sixties, the United States was experiencing racial inequality, gender inequities,
educational challenges, and young people were active protestors against an
unpopular war. While both songs were written well over four decades ago, both
songs speak to the present conditions of today.

Although signiﬁcant steps have been made to address the problems that
plagued the country during the sixties, many challenges still exist. Today, our
country faces similar challenges to those of the sixties, all of which threaten our
nation, challenges such as racial inequalities, immigration issues, high levels of
poverty, increasing incarceration rates for minorities, limited access to health
care, and steadily increasing unemployment rates. Additionally, women still face
challenges of equal pay for equal work, US. students lag behind their
international peers, and lastly, the US. is engaged in yet another unpopular war.

Fortunately, in the face of challenges and adversity, there have been

individuals working to effect change, and improve conditions for themselves and

others. The Sixties beneﬁted from individuals in the civil rights movement, the
women’s movement, and the anti-war movement. Today, philanthropic
organizations and non-proﬁt community-based organizations work with and
within communities to bring about change. The individuals that work for change
have a story to tell. Their story includes the critical moments that propelled them
into the work that they do. Their story includes the skills and capacities they ﬁnd
essential to their work. Their story has the capacity to encourage, mobilize and
encourage others to engage in community change issues and develop their own
story.

What is your story?

I have been fortunate to have excellent mentors and advisors throughout my
academic and professional careers. My fortune was extended when a few of those
mentor and advisor relationships evolved into ﬁ‘iendships. I am especially
thankful for the question that one mentor asked during a community development
workshop held in Ed Couch Elsa, TX. He asked, “What is your story?” Initially, I
did not understand. Was he asking for some deep intellectual narrative, some
clarifying statement about my journey as an educator or the origins of my
involvement as a youth and community development leader? The answer to the
above questions, yes.

Aﬂer looking puzzled for a few moments, I asked, “What do you mean?”
He then explained that everyone has a story to tell. Although aspects of the story
may change over time, there is always some story that illuminates our journey, a

purpose for our work, or a speciﬁc motivation that supplies our drive. Over the

viii

remainder of the conference, I thought about his question and contemplated my
response. Although my story has evolved since that inquiry, what follows is a
short excerpt of what brought me to this work. This is my story.

During the 1996 Summer Olympics, I served as host to a nonproﬁt youth
serving community-based organization from Paris, France. The name of the
organization was Droit de Cite, translated, “the right to the city.” Droit de Cite’s
mission was to facilitate collaborations between youths and adults for the purpose
of addressing policies that negatively affected youth throughout France,
particularly youth in urban areas. Speciﬁcally, Droit de Cite aimed to increase
community access to technology, facilitated job training programs, conducted
workshops on fashion design, sponsored youth sports teams, and held hip-hop
concerts followed up with forums to educate the public about the culture of hip-
hop. They composed development teams, which consisted of both youths and
adults that worked on the planning and facilitation of each activity. One
underlining goal of Droit de Cite was to build partnerships with community
stakeholders. Additionally, they worked to provide opportunities for youth to
develop leadership capacities and skills for civic engagement. Members shared
their experiences and expressed their gratitude to the organization. They
attributed credit to the organization for the effective development and providing
consistent opportunities for disenﬁ'anchised citizens to voice their thoughts, views
and vision for their communities.

Members of the Droit de Cite shared stories of adults and youth working

together as colleagues. Youth shared that their work with Droit de Cite sparked

ix

their interest to be actively engaged in their communities. It sparked their desire
to remain in their home communities or to return after they obtained advanced
degrees or vocational training. As a result, they were moving into leadership
roles in their communities and assisting others in doing the same. They spoke of
community projects that increased access to community resources and bridged the
gap between youth and adults. Droit de Cite involved youth and adults in the
work and process of changing their communities by providing members with the
capacity and skills to change the cities in which they lived.

Prior to my partnership with Droit de Cite, I worked with the Morehouse
College Brisbane Institute for Community Based Outreach (BICBO). BICBO
worked to bring forward timely and inﬂuential grass-roots perspectives, essential
components, and comprehensive actions that informed the analysis of key issues
affecting African Americans and underserved communities. My work with
BICBO complemented my work with Droit de Cite. The idea of community
change was important to me. I felt that BICBO and Droit de Cite could work as
partners and develop a learning exchange. The learning exchange involved and
encompassed several community improvement, youth development and
mentoring programs for youth in Atlanta, GA. Our work spread to communities
in Washington, DC; New York, NY; and eventually, we partnered on projects in
Paris, France. As a result of our partnership, I later carried the Spirit of positive
youth development and community based outreach into my work as a school

administrator and educator.

As an educator I sought ways to engage youth as co-facilitators in their
learning process. One result of implementing positive youth development and
community based outreach practices was a shift in the interactions between
students and teachers. Rather than teachers being “in charge” of students and their
learning, students and teachers would work as co-facilitators or partners in the
learning process. A colleague once shared a story of his interactions with his
students on the ﬁrst day of class. He shared that he entered the room and sat
down. He did not address the class, nor did he assign any work. Eventually,
students began to question each other, and ﬁnally, they asked, “Are you the
teacher?” Abruptly, he answered, “N 0, I’m not the teacher. I’m not here to teach
you anything. I’m here to show you how to teach yourself.” Many educators
would disagree with his style of developing student accountability or student
involvement in the learning process. However, his purpose and the expected
outcomes were to encourage or prompt students to embrace their role in the
learning process and establish a culture of achievement based on student self-
motivation and self-regulated learning (Ames, 1992; Dolan & McCaslin, 2008;
Major, 2009; Pintrich & DeGoot, 1990). He explained that students began
embracing the process of self-instruction, self-motivation, and self-empowerment
rather quickly as a result of their early exchange. Although this is an extreme
case of implementing or facilitating ownership in the learning process, he
expressed that student’s understood that they were responsible for what they

learned. They began to embrace the idea that they could take ownership of the

xi

learning process. They began to embrace responsibility and accountability.
Ultimately, the students viewed the classroom as their own.

Early in my education career, I embraced the idea that individuals should be
at the center of their own learning, self-motivated, and self-empowered. As an
assistant principal of a middle school in an urban area, I shared this idea with
students, teachers, and parents. I also emphasized the importance of youth and
adults working collectively and collaboratively on school issues. As a result, over
a period of two years, our school had fewer documented student discipline issues,
increased participation from parents in school activities, and greater cooperation
or “buy-in” from teachers on implementation of various teaching best practices.
In a short time, youth and adult collaborations began to improve the school
culture and ultimately improved student academic performance, as reﬂected by
school progress in the standards of adequate yearly progress (AYP). Youth and
adult collaborations created an environment that acknowledged the skills and
capacities of each individual and placed value on the knowledge and experiences
of both youth and adults. Youth and adult collaborations changed the
environment of the school and improved conditions within the school. The youth
and adults that participated in the collaborative partnerships at the school began to
implement the practice in other organizations in which they participated.
Additionally, the school and the surrounding community began to interact in new
ways. This was evident in increased community participation in programs
sponsored by the school. Community members also began to utilize school

facilities more frequently. The increased community activity was result of the

xii

school working to establish an environment and school culture that was
welcoming.

It appeared that the collaborative relationships reconnected students with
teachers, youths with adults, and the school with the community. I understood
our school success and reconnection with the surrounding community was an
exception and not the rule. While things improved within my own school, I was
well aware that the success we enjoyed was not the case in all schools in the area.
Fortunately, our school became somewhat of a model for other schools.
Adjoining districts began to duplicate many of the programs that were initiated by
our school. Community organizations began to invite our teachers and students to
participate in programs and other functions. We were beginning to see our
community change as a result of things that we initiated within our school. We
were able to extend a path and “a right to the city” for our students.

Understanding my story and hearing others stories has helped to shape me
as person, educator, student and researcher. My story intricately interweaves my
role as an adult working with youth, as an educator working with students, and a
member of a community that works together. As such, it has sparked a quest to
understand speciﬁc skills and capacities necessary for youth and adults to work as
partners.

This inquiry will explore and describe speciﬁc skills and capacities present
and identiﬁed as particularly necessary for leadership teams at three nonproﬁt
community-based organizations to make and effective positive change in the

communities that they served. The organizations discussed in this inquiry did not

xiii

settle for questions of when change would come, nor did they settle for change
blowing in the wind. These organizations developed the capacities and skills
necessary to effect positive change. That change was a long time coming, but that

change did come. This inquiry is an attempt to share their story.

xiv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xviii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
Statement of Problem ............................................................................................... 3
Why Youth Adult Partnerships ................................................................................ 5
Purpose of Study ...................................................................................................... 7
Research Questions .................................................................................................. 8
Signiﬁcance of Study ............................................................................................... 9
Deﬁnitions and Terms ............................................................................................ 11
Delimitations and Limitations ................................................................................ 14
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................................ 16
Youth Development Moments in Time ................................................................. 17
Positive Youth Development ................................................................................. 19
Social Justice Youth Development ........................................................................ 22
Forming Youth Voice and Civic Engagement ....................................................... 23
Challenges of Youth Development Approach ....................................................... 25
Challenges to Youth Voice and Civic Engagement ............................................... 28
Youth Leadership Development ............................................................................ 30
Intersection of Schools and Communities ............................................................. 35
Historical Perspective of Education and Communities ......................................... 37
Understanding of Theoretical F rarnework ............................................................. 47
Literature Summary ............................................................................................... 52
CHAPTER 3
METHODS AND PROCEDURES .................................................................................... 54
Research Approach ................................................................................................ 54
Collective Case Based Inquiry ............................................................................... 56
Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 57
Focus group interview ................................................................................ 58
One-on-One interviews .............................................................................. 60
Data Analysis ......................................................................................................... 61
Content Analysis .................................................................................................... 62
Developing a Theory .............................................................................................. 64
Participant Selection .............................................................................................. 65
Purposeful Sample ..................................................................................... 66
Selection of community-based organization .............................................. 67
Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................... 68
Trustworthiness and Validity ................................................................................. 69

XV

CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS ......................................................................................................................... 73
Three Community-Based Organization Case Studies ............................................ 73
Research Question 1 .............................................................................................. 75
Findings 1 ............................................................................................................... 75

Boys and Girls Club of America Teen Center, Benton Harbor, MI .......... 76
Understanding Complexities of Community Context ................................ 76
Understanding Complexities of Organization Context .............................. 78

Core programs ................................................................................ 79
Understanding complexities of KLCC youth adult partnerships ............... 80
MiCasa Resource Center for Women and Families, Denver, CO ............. 82
Understanding Complexities of Community context ................................ 82
Understanding Complexities of Organization Context .............................. 84

Core programs ................................................................................ 86
Understanding Complexities of KLCC Youth adult Partnerships ............. 87

Roca, Chelsea, MA .................................................................................... 88
Understanding Complexities of Community Context ................................ 88
Understanding Complexities of Organization Context .............................. 90
Relentless Street Work and Outreach ........................................................ 91

Core programs ................................................................................. 94
Understanding complexities of KLCC Youth Adult Partnerships ............. 97

Cross case analysis ................................................................................................. 99
Research Question 2 ............................................................................................ 100
Findings 2 ................................................................................................. 100
Findings 3 ................................................................................................. 106
Findings 4 ................................................................................................. 122
Research Question 3 ............................................................................................ 126
Findings 5 ................................................................................................. 127

CHAPTER 5

ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND SYNTHESIS OF FINDINGS ........................ 132
Analytic Category 1: Importance of Context of place ....................................... 135
Analytic Category 2: Importance of Building trust ............................................. 141
Analytic Category 3: Importance of Co-constructing purpose ............................ 148
Analytic Category 4: Importance of Working Together ..................................... 151
Analytic Category 5: Importance of Deepening, Sustaining, and Making Work a
Way of Life .......................................................................................................... 155
Summary of Interpretation of Findings ................................................................ 156

CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS ....................................................................... 158
Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 1 58
The Process of Generating Youth Adult Partnerships ......................................... 159
Youth Adult Partnerships are Complex and Messy ............................................ 162
Implication #1 :The Epistemology of Place: Context, Place and Culture Matter.l63
Implication #2: Building Mutual Trust is Paramount .......................................... 167

xvi

Implication #3: Co-constructing Purpose is Important ........................................ 169

Implication #4: Acting and Working Together Make the Work a Reality .......... 170
Implication #5: Importance of Deepening and Sustaining the Work .................. 171
Recommendations ................................................................................................ 1 72
Returning Home ................................................................................................... 174
Study Utility ......................................................................................................... 176
Reﬂections of this Study ...................................................................................... 181
Recommendations for Future Study .................................................................... 182
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 184
Appendix A .......................................................................................................... 185
Appendix B .......................................................................................................... 193
Appendix C .......................................................................................................... 195
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 201

xvii

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE
1. Kellogg Leadership for Community Change Framework ..................................... 48
2. Demographics ........................................................................................................ 74

xviii

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

There are clusters of individuals working in local communities across the
country to bridge multiple gaps of race, culture, class, faith, sexual orientation,
and disability. These individuals work to improve the conditions and the quality
of life for members of their community. One factor identiﬁed as an essential
element in their effort is the presence of good local leadership and the
participation of community members. However, enlisting community
participation is often a challenge; developing good local leadership is a greater
challenge. As such, these individuals and communities must grapple with the
following questions, “what does good leadership look like, how does it work, and
can it be taught to, and learned by a diverse group of individuals oﬁen viewed as
non-traditional leaders? Lastly, these community workers must ask, how do these
non-traditional leaders, such as, youth, business owners, teachers and school
administrators and others who do not hold formal community leadership roles,
move ﬁom working as individuals to working as a collective community?

Historically, schools and institutions of higher education have been
structures of authority and places of inﬂuence within the community. The
historical position of power and inﬂuence once held by schools and institutions of
higher education were strongly linked to community advocacy (Checkoway,
2001). Around 1945, institutions of higher education began to shift or drift from
the once intricately interwoven community and public education interactions and

were forced to retreat from the role of community advocacy to being advocates

for student academic performance and university research (Checkoway, 2001 ).
This shift was a result of increased pressures on the economy, federal policy,
global competition, and special interest. As such, educational institutions of
higher education steadily and incrementally shifted the interpretation of its
mission of civic service and development of knowledge to help communities to
solve their own problems and issues, to a focus on basic research and replicable
outcomes as the dominant force on institutions of higher education (Checkoway,
2001). As a result, “academic faculty turned inward toward their disciplines and
focused of developing knowledge, and away from the immediate and practical
needs of communities” (Checkoway, 2001, p.129). As a result, community
members, community based organizations, youth service providers now ask,
“How have communities adjusted as a result of the shift in priorities of
institutions of higher education?”

Benson (1997) suggests that you can determine the well being of a nation
by how it treats its children. If we were to use Benson’s statement as the
barometer of our nation’s progress, we could conclude that our nation is not doing
so well. Youth across the US. currently struggle with marginal academic
achievement, high levels of poverty, alarming incarceration rates, high
unemployment rates, and increasing levels of violence (Delpit, 2006; Dunbar &
Villarruel, 2002, 2004; Fine & Smith, 2001; Garbarino, 1995; Ginwright,
Carnrnarota, & Noguera, 2006; Pittman, Diversi, & Ferber, 2002). The above
issues did not go unnoticed by legislators. Instead, policies were developed to

address many of the above stated issues (see war on drugs, war on poverty, school

policies for zero tolerance on drugs and violence, and mandatory minimum
sentencing). Unfortunately, while such policies may have contained noble
intentions, their foundations were set in deﬁcit model approaches, which led to
outcomes that were often punitive and isolating in nature, thus causing deleterious
affects to the individuals they were designed to assist (Delpit, 2006; Dunbar &
Villarruel, 2004; Fine & Smith, 2001; Ginwright, Carnmarota & Noguera, 2006;
Pittman, Diversi, & Ferber, 2002).
Statement of Problem

Many of the community development and youth development policies
were anchored in deﬁcit model approaches. Deﬁcit model approaches, ﬁrst
identify the problem, then begin the process of preventing exposure to such
problems. The emphasis on prevention is often achieved by isolating the
individual from the problem. In affect, this approach required that individuals
were isolated and shielded from the negative or harmful aspects present in their
communities or at times, the entire community (Lightfoot, 1980). While this
approach succeeded in separating individuals from negative aspects it also
isolated individuals from the positive and resilient aspects present in those
communities. The result, created an insular structure of authority and control over
individuals, which often worked in opposition to the individuals and communities
being served (Fine & Smith, 2001). Rather than subjecting individuals to
approaches that are punitive in nature, researchers suggest the use of approaches

that identify, connect and utilize the positive aspects and inﬂuences within

communities (Delpit, 2006; Dunbar & Villarruel, 2004; Fine & Smith, 2001;
Ginwright, Carnmarota, & Noguera, 2006; Ladson-Billings, 1995).

Deﬁcit model approaches are problematic in other ways as well. They often
depict youth and adolescent development as a dark and stormy period where
youth lack motivation, lack concern for the well-being and development of their
communities, and are unwilling to work collaboratively with adults (Lerner,
Almergi, Theokas, & Lerner, 2005). Research has also failed to adequately
acknowledge or balance the above views of youth with literature that highlights
the resilient and determined nature of youth, the skills and talents of youth, and
the meaningful contributions youth make to their families and communities
(Ginwright, Noguera, & Camarotta, 2006; Lerner, Almergi, Theokas, & Lerner,
2005; Mohammad & Wheeler, 2002). There is need to broaden the discussion
and depictions of youth development to include suggestions of how to develop
supports from a wide range of sources ﬁ'om within the community (e. g., families,
schools, peers, neighbors, religious organizations, as well as other segments of the
community). Granger (2002) suggests it would be useful to broaden academic
scholarship from the position of understanding youth development to
understanding how to create the ecological conditions or the “place” that
promotes positive youth development and thus outline a transformational process
of positive youth development. As such, a broadened scholarship could then
advance from youth development to the progressive and emerging literature of

youth adult partnerships.

Youth adult partnership literature identiﬁes intersections of educational
administration and community development, and educational administration and
community leadership development. These intersections are important because
they provide an avenue to discuss the role of educational leaders in the process of
positive youth development, youth adult partnerships, community development
and community leadership development.

My youth Adult Partnerships

Positive youth development literature places emphasis on the positive assets
and approaches for youth, rather than settling on deﬁcit model approaches.
Mohammad and Wheeler (2001) suggest that researchers and youth workers focus
on optimistic approach of positive youth development, which identiﬁes youth as
individuals with skills and talents that are valuable to their families and
communities (Benson, 1997; Lerner, Almergi, Theokas, & Lerner, 2005;
Mohammad & Wheeler, 2001). The positive youth development approach has
gained traction because it helps to prepare youth to effectively meet their daily
challenges and the various interactions in their schools and within their
communities. It also provides a bridge for youth to develop leadership skills in a
holistic fashion and then move them into leadership roles in their schools and
communities (Lerner, Almergi, Theokas, & Lerner, 2005). Such leadership roles
also provide youth with access to community leaders in positions that could aid
addressing many of the social issues that affect their communities. Additionally,
researchers have found that youth leadership roles are further enhanced when

paired with adults who hold ﬁduciary capacities, participate in leadership with

community-based organizations (CBC) and are civically engaged (Mohammad &
Wheeler, 2001). Additionally they found, this type of partnership between youth
and adults potentially beneﬁts the adult in proportional ways as well (2001).
Community organizations report that many of its adult participants increased
communication skills, developed leadership capacities, and greater relevancy and
effectiveness in their youth serving programming as a result of engaged and
collective action with youth (Camino, 2000, 2005; Kirby & Coyle, 1997;
Klindera, Menderweld, & Norman, 2001). Engaged youth also provided fresh
ideas, new perspectives, and open and honest responses about existing programs
(Camino, O’Connor, Mook, & Zeldin, 2005; Klindera, 2001; Mohammad &
Wheeler, 2001). Furthermore, adults reported a change in their perceptions about
youth. Many adults reported that they viewed as apathetic about their
communities and unwilling to work with adults. These views changed to viewing
youth as concerned, connected and capable individuals that were willing to work
to make change in their communities (Benson, 1997; Ginwright, Noguera, &
Cammarotta, 2006; Pittman & Cahill, 1991). In essence, youth and adult
partnerships were linked to adults renewed commitment, accessing of new skills
sets, and experiences of renewed sense of hope. To expand the knowledge base of
youth and adults acting in partnerships, such outcomes are worthy of further

exploration.

Purpose of Study

The primary objective of this qualitative study was to understand and
describe the skills and capacities used by the leadership teams of three
community-based organizations (CBO) to develop youth adult partnerships that
focused on community change issues. Each (CBO) participated in the Kellogg
Leadership for Community Change Series (KLCC). KLCC worked to support
communities as they engaged diverse populations in the development of
collective, boundary-crossing leadership in an effort to harness collective thinking
and action in the pursuit of shared vision for the future of their communities.

I identiﬁed the leadership teams at three (CBO) engaged in youth adult
partnerships as my unit of analysis. The leadership teams of each (CBO) played
intricate roles in executing the mission and vision of each organization. Therefore,
the leadership teams were also closely linked to the organizations ability to
generate the skills and capacities to generate youth adult partnerships. To
explicate the relationship between the organization and the leadership team I will
describe the organizational context, the leadership team context, and describe the
leadership team context within the structure of the organization. Considering
Patton’s (1980) assertion that, “when a person, group, organization, or country is
the unit analysis, qualitative methods involve observation and description focused
directly on the unit” (p.228), I used focus group, one-on-one structured
interviews, document analysis, and cross case study analysis to understand the

research question.

Research Questions
The central question for this study was: What skills and capacities were
used by the leadership teams at three different community-based organizations to
develop youth adult partnerships that focused on community change issues?
Creswell (1994) suggests that the central research question in a qualitative
research study have a dual purpose. One purpose is to uncover and understand
the lived experiences of study participants as it relates to the phenomena being
researched. For example, what skills and capacities did the leadership team in
each (CBO) consider necessary to establish partnerships within the organization
and within the community? Next, Creswell explains that participant’s responses
to questions in qualitative research should help uncover underlying meanings and
the consistent structures that support their individual and group experiences in
connection to the phenomena being examined (1994). Creswell (1994) explains
that the goal of qualitative research is to determine what an experience means for
the persons who had the experience and that the researcher is able to provide
comprehensive descriptions of it. It is from those individual descriptions that both
general and universal meanings emerge.
The following three research questions were used to generate critical data and
contextual information that will explain youth adult partnerships:
1. How does “place” deﬁne the nature of youth adult partnerships focused
community change issues?
2. What are the necessary skills and capacities required for youth and adult

partnerships focused on community change issues?

3. How have youth and adult partnerships been used to address community
change issues?
Significance of Study

Understanding youth adult partnership will illuminate the potentials for
actively engaging nontraditional leaders in the work of community change and
could also positively affect issues within schools by developing collaborative
partnerships between adults and students. Bogotch (2005) argues that public
education is a public good often interlinked with the community that it serves. As
such, the quality of education has long been linked to the quality of a community.
Unfortunately, over the past century, schools and communities have been
systematically separated and fragmented. The ﬁ'agmenting of communities and
educational institutions has resulted in poorly performing schools and
communities that suffer from increasing social ills. Some would argue that social
ills have affected the performance of schools. Regardless of the order of events, it
is clear that there are links between the two. This research seeks to highlight how
a renewed partnership between corrrrnunities and schools could improve both the
quality of education and improve communities.

As previously stated, institutions of higher education have experienced a
drift from the once intricately interwoven interactions with public schools
(Checkoway, 2001; Zeldin & Camino, 1999). This research could serve as a
bridge that links institution’s scholarship of discovery with the scholarship of
integration and thus provide greater opportunities for its application within

communities. Furthermore, redirecting the research focus of scholars could

 

prompt institutions of higher education to reconsider the mission and purpose of
land grants as stated in the Monill Act of 1862 and later the Wisconsin Idea of
1904. The Morrill Act of 1862 established land grant institutions with the
purpose and rrrission to orient research, teaching, and service activities to solve
practical problems, and to increase the knowledge and skills of citizens (Zeldin &
Camino, 1999). Additionally, the Wisconsin Idea proposed that education should
inﬂuence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom. The Wisconsin
Idea proposed that universities commit resources speciﬁcally to address societal
issues.

This study could aid in the following ways; ﬁrst, it could illuminate
pragmatic approaches for institutions of higher education to develop research for
citizen and community consumption. It could accomplish this goal by
transforming knowledge, integrating themes across disciplines and placing
knowledge in larger contexts. Second, it could provide insight for teaching that
goes beyond lecturing by moving to a variety of teaching modalities, particularly
through cooperative education, service, and by fostering professional learning
communities (Zeldin & Camino, 1999; Mullen, 2009). Finally, this research could
inform practices aimed to decrease the isolation between youth and adults by
promoting the theory and research that suggest caring and supportive relationships
with non-familial adults contribute to the well-being and healthy development of
young people (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Eccles & Gootrnan, 2002; Zeldin &

Camino, 1999).

10

Institutions of higher education are capable of producing ground- breaking
research and theories. However, little this research appears to reach the
communities that need it most. Community based organizations provide the
services that change individuals and communities, but their stories are not
adequately documented and disseminated to assure that their successes are
duplicated. This research could serve as a bridge between the two; institutions of
higher education could share their research with communities, and community
based organizations could publish with institutions of higher education. If both
work together the work and the research will be published, disseminated, and
duplicated.

There are potentially long lasting and far reaching impacts as a result of this
study. The implications suggest and provide salient points of interest for future
research. However, the immediate implications of this research are to understand
how schools and community based organizations can improve their work together
to inﬂuence a positive difference in the lives of all community members.
Deﬁnitions and Terms

There were several terms and concepts paramount to this study. The terms
were operational deﬁnitions and descriptions intended to provide insight as to
how they were utilized:

1. “Youth adult partnerships” (Y AP) are characterized by shared teaching,

learning, and decision-making between youths and adults and therefore,

should not be confused with youth mentoring or youth development. Youth

mentoring and youth development places emphasis on adult expertise and

11

the adult’s ability to provide leadership and insight to and for youth
(Camino, 2000). YAP approach youth/adult interactions from the
perspective that both youths and adults possess skills and assets essential to
achieving speciﬁc and predetermined outcomes (Camino, 2000; Muhammad
& Wheeler, 2001).

2. “Skills and capacities” address the particular qualities, attributes, and
dispositions of individuals that participated in youth adult partnerships.
More speciﬁcally, skills and capacities enhance factors and levels of the
social ecology. Such factors are essential to the successful completion of
positive developmental aspects. Social ecology and positive development
aspects include, but are not limited to, critical thinking, decision-making,
vocational awareness, cultural competence, self-regulation, contending with
difﬁculties, conﬂict resolution, self-efﬁcacy, goal setting, pro-social values,
relationship skills, teamwork, connectedness to organizations and
community, and civic engagement (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Eccles &
Grootrnan, 2002; Hawkins & Catalano, 1992).

3. “Place” is viewed as the physical and geographical location of the
participating community-based organizations. That is “place,” is viewed as
a bounded system with functioning and integrative parts that work toward a
speciﬁc purpose (Stake, 1995). This study pays Special attention to
understanding the delicate nature and necessary time it takes to realize the
impact of community change efforts. “Place” accounts for the bounded

social system that operates within spaces, territories, and distinguishable

l2

boundaries (Stake, 1995). As such, “place” incorporates the nature of
historical background, physical settings, social and economic contexts, and
social and political environments, as it connects with the case (Stake, 1995).
The concept of place is important to this study, because it points to speciﬁc
expectations associated and aligned with the race/ ethnicity,
gender/sexuality, socioeconomic, multi-lingual, and other needs of the
physical and geographic location in which these partnerships are developed.
4. “Youth and young adults” are individuals between the ages 12 to 24.
Adults are considered as anyone 25 and older. Positive youth development
literature explains that an appropriate range for youth serving programs is
between the ages of 12 to 24 (Benson, 1997; Hart, Daiute, & Iltus, 1997).
The distinction of youth and young adult was determined based on the
levels of social independence as described in positive youth development
literature. Youth at the beginning of the age range are old enough to operate
at increasing levels of independence and maturity. Youth proclivity to
“grow up” aids in their quest for independence and coincides with
increasing levels of developmental maturity that allow them to beneﬁt from
youth leadership training programs. The decision to extend the latter age
range to twenty-four is based on those individuals eligibility to be claimed
as dependents on parental tax returns and employer insurance plans
(Benson, 1997; Muhammad & Wheeler, 2001).

5. “Leadership team” consisted of a program director, adult coach, youth

coach, adult evaluator, and youth evaluator. The leadership team was

13

responsible for the overall running of the program, its implementation, and

assessment of progress on meeting the program targets. The leadership

team also attended workshops and professional development activities that

they later would instruct and implement at their organization.
Delimitations and Limitations

There is no single pathway for how community change is achieved, nor a
preset list or order of events that indicates when community change has been
achieved. As such, measuring community change has a particularly expected and
implicit limit. Additionally, understanding and describing the concept of
partnerships also requires a rather ﬂuid and ﬂexible lens. Therefore, the research
questions and research instruments are designed to identify the perceived skills
and capacities of participants as a result of their participation in leadership
training exercises for the purpose of establishing youth adult partnerships. This
inquiry is designed to identify and describe a speciﬁc set of skills and capacities
utilized by leadership teams at the three community based organizations included
in this study. The identiﬁed skills and capacities were described by leadership
team as being paramount in the development of YAP and the address of speciﬁc
community change issues.

While preset limits on the scope of this research were set, there were other factors
that fell outside of the scope and purview of the researcher. The work and success of
community-based organizations is often determined by the commitment and participation
of the local-level citizenry. Due to the nature of nonproﬁt work itself, high turnover of

members and participants is common. Individuals are in ﬂux for a variety of reasons;

14

they ﬁnd that they have accomplished the task for which they joined the organization,
move on to accept other positions, or simply experience a decrease in the amount of time
they have to volunteer. Such challenges are multiplied when participants are youth and
young adults. Youth and young adults must negotiate additional sets of competing
values; they attend school, participate in social activities, have family commitments,
work jobs with inﬂexible work schedules, and have challenges with transportation. As
such, clearly youth who participated in this study did not represent all youth that
participate in community-based organizations. However, based on the literature they did
represent a signiﬁcant and broad swath of youth that traditionally participate in
community-based organizations, religious programs, visual and performing arts, sports
programs, and other out-of-school programs (Eccles & Gootrnan, 2002; Granger, 2002;

Independent Sector, 2002; Kretzrnann & McKnight, 1993).

15

CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The introduction of this study presented a few of the possibilities that youth
adult partnerships could provide to communities seeking to address community
change issues. Here I present a literature review that supports those possibilities.
This review highlights a progression from positive youth development to the
concept of youth adult partnerships. The literature outlines a transformational
process of positive youth development, and advances to the progressive and
emerging literature of youth adult partnerships. The literature identiﬁes
intersections of educational administration and community development, and
educational administration and community leadership development. These
intersections provide an avenue to discuss the role of educational leaders in the
process of community change through youth adult partnerships composed of
positive youth development, community development and community leadership
development.

This literature review is interdisciplinary. It is informed by educational
administration literature, but also strengthened by, community and developmental
psychology, urban planning, and the ﬁeld of social work. This literature also
serves as a framework, and begins to lay the foundation of youth and adult
partnerships as a form of collective leadership development. Lastly, this literature
review will help illuminate the concept of youth as leaders within communities

today, rather than, youth in training to be the leaders of tomorrow.

16

Youth Development Moments in Time

For three decades, ﬁom 1960 to 1990, youth development literature was
primarily focused on solutions to eliminate problem behaviors, such as; teen
pregnancy, substance abuse, delinquency and school drop out rates (Klau, 2006).
Unfortunately, many of the approaches to accomplish that goal were grounded in
the deﬁcit model. Deﬁcit model approaches place emphasis on prevention, by
isolating individuals from harmful aspects in their communities (Delpit, 2006;
Dunbar & Villarruel, 2004; Fine & Smith, 2001; Ginwright, Cammarota, &
Noguera, 2006; Ladson-Billings 1995; Lightfoot, 1980). That is, individuals were
to be shielded or protected from the harmful aspects of their environment. While
such separation appeared necessary and beneﬁcial, individuals were not only
separated ﬁom the deleterious aspects, but also, separated ﬁom the positive and
resilient aspects of their community as well. In effect, the deﬁcit model sought to
parse communities and individuals in a manner that would identify what and
whom were salvageable. For at least three decades, youth development literature
identiﬁed threatening factors and the individuals most “at risk” of suffering from
negative factors present in their communities (Klau, 2006). As a result, urban
youth were consistently and disproportionately identiﬁed as both perpetuators and
victims of social injustices. Much research focused on identifying social issues
and prescribed strategies aimed at preventing the effects and symptoms rather
than treating the cause or equipping those individuals to effectively address those
issues on their own. Prevailing views from public policy and media often

portrayed youth and adolescence as difﬁcult individuals experiencing a rather

l7

stormy and stressful time in their development and in great need of protection and
control from communities (Camino, O’Connor, Mook, & Zeldin, 2005).
Additionally, they portrayed youth as individuals that lacked motivation, and
concern for their communities, and therefore, unwilling to work collaboratively
with adults. Ginwright, Noguera, and Camarotta (2006) express that the literature
lacked sufﬁcient insight of the resources available within communities (e. g.,
families, schools, peers, neighbors, religious organizations, and other segments of
the community). They explain that the literature appeared to neglect an asset
approach, but instead, settled on a deﬁcit model approach.

Deﬁcit model approaches were successful in generating substantial
knowledge of the risk factors that potentially lead to psycho-pathology and
delinquency, but it failed to adequately present the resiliency and drive often
present to excel in spite of degenerative situations and circumstances (Ginwright
& James, 2002; Ginwright, Noguera, & Camarotta, 2006; Klau, 2006). Although
many urban communities experienced exceptionally turbulent times from the
19603 through the 19903, those communities were still able to produce productive
and positive leaders that made and continue to make meaningful contributions to
society. Urban communities were plagued politically, economically, and socially.
Additionally, there were recurring themes of racism, mass unemployment,
pervasive violence, and police brutality. Garbarino (1995) used the term social
toxins, to describe the declining social conditions that acted as social poisons. In
effect, these social toxins spilled into many communities and ultimately hindered

and, in some instances, even stopped efforts of youth development. Brooks-

18

Gunn, Duncan, Klebanov, and Sealand (1997) suggest that other factors, such as,
gun violence, police abuse, lack of health care, discriminatory school practices,
lack of jobs paying livable wages, and limited access to effective after-school and
out-of-school programs also threatened healthy youth development. The presence
of such issues, and the limited success of existing policies, made it clear that a
new paradigm was necessary to effectively serve youth and change communities.
Positive youth Development

Youth development is an inevitable and ongoing process in which all young
people are engaged and invested, even without family supports and formal
programs (Muhammad & Wheeler, 2001; Pittman & Cahill, 1991). However, the
level, quality, or outcomes of youth development is contingent upon the
inﬂuences, systems of support, and resources available to youth during their
development. Wheeler (2006) explains that youth development as an inevitable
process. That notion corresponds with the approach that human beings ultimately
seek measures that meet their basic physical and social needs. Therefore, it is
understandable that young people seek to build the individual assets,
competencies or skill sets they deem necessary to participate successfully in their
everyday interactions. The likelihood of positive youth development outcomes
increases when youth are also provided with opportunities to develop support
structures, relationships and networks that provide nurturing standards and
guidance, opportunities to master new roles and challenges (Bronfrenbrenner,
1979; McAdoo, 1997; Wheeler, 2006; Vygotsky, 1978). Additionally, young

people require stable places, services, and instruction that provide Opportunities to

19

contribute to their family and community (Mohammed & Wheeler, 2001). Youth
desire such opportunities, regardless of family income levels or academic ability.
Positive youth development research asserts that youth beneﬁt when adequate
academic, cognitive, civic, emotional, physical, vocational, social and cultural
competencies are part of their development (Benson, 2001; Carnegie Corporation,
1989). Ultimately, the goal of positive youth development is to include pathways
for all youth to become motivated, socially competent, compassionate, and
psychologically vigorous (Klau, 2006). Ferber, Pittman, and Marshall (2002)
present the National Research Council’s deﬁnition of youth development as, “The
acquisition of attitudes, competencies, values, and social skills that will carry
youth forward into successful adulthood.” This deﬁnition focuses on youth as
assets, transforming from children into conﬁdent, competent, connected and
contributing adults prepared to engage their communities.

Youth who demonstrate the ability to persevere and overcome their
circumstances stand as tangible markers of what is possible. Ginwright and
James (2002) attribute the successful transitions of youth into productive adults to
the positive and supportive families and adults, encouraging social supports, the
presence of identiﬁable goals, a developed sense of self, feelings of competence,
and the motivation to do well. Additionally, they suggest that youth development
professionals move beyond merely identifying the obstacles that youth face and
the factors that assist them in overcoming such obstacles, and conduct a more
explicit examination of the causes of the serious obstacles, problems and

conditions facing young people. They contend that the youth development move

20

beyond simply viewing youth as individuals that possess assets and move toward
viewing youth as individuals capable of using their assets in a manner that would
transform their “toxic environments,” rather than enduring and surviving in such
environments. This idea of “transformation” is further illuminated in community
leadership development work and community based organizations (Finn &
Checkoway, 1998). Ginwright and James (2002) identify the existence of a
critical consciousness in youth that work to transform their environments. They
describe critical consciousness as the awareness of how institutional, historical,
and systemic forces limit and promote opportunities for particular groups, which
then leads to collective action to change unjust conditions. Ginwright and James
(2002) explain that critical consciousness is achieved through activism, and civic
engagement. As such, they express that it is not enough for youth that to do well
in school, receive parental support, mentoring, exhibit positive self-esteem, and
participate in community service. Instead, they express that it is also necessary
that those youth also develop an understanding of the sociopolitical realities and
the understanding of how those realities affect them and their communities
(Ginwright & James, 2002; Ginwright, Commarota, & Noguera, 2006). Students
that have a grasp on the academic and social aspects of their development would
do well to challenge the social issues present in their communities. Ginwright and
James (2002) describe the process of incorporating positive youth development
with a concern for social justice outcomes, by preparing youth to be, pro-social
and civically engaged. This concept is described as Social Justice Youth

Development (SJY D).

21

Social Justice Youth Development

The SJYD framework uses Watts, Williams, and J agers (2003) social-
psychological approach combined with a social ecological model to address the
sociopolitical development of youth and incorporate the role of social Oppression
to explain the necessity of youth community engagement (Ginwright & James,
2002). SJYD connects with the social ecological model as an aid to explain the
political, economic, and cultural context in which youth development and civic
engagement occur (Ginwright & James, 2002). The social ecological approach
helps to examine how young people respond within oppressive social systems and
identify the process of sociopolitical development. Combining the two
approaches resulted in a social ecological approach that aids in extricating the
complex bundle of circumstances that continue to challenge many marginalized
youth. More speciﬁcally, it deepens understanding of the challenges faced by
individuals, families, and communities, by moving beyond the behaviors and
choices made, particularly by urban and marginalized youth (Ginwright & James,
2002). Consequently, this approach enables greater movement toward
understanding how social, political, and economic forces inﬂuence youth
development. SJYD focuses on principles, practices and outcomes. It examines
how urban youth contest, challenge, respond to, and negotiate the use and misuse
of power in their lives. SJYD covers ﬁve main domains: 1) analysis of power in
social relationships, 2) makes identity central, 3) promotes systemic social
change, 4) encourages collective action, and, 5) embraces youth culture. The ﬁve

domains point to the strength of youth working as adult allies with a common

22

vision of social justice. Additionally, SJ YD incorporates very speciﬁc principles,
practices and outcomes such as: a) political education and strategizing, b)
identifying power holders, c) joining support groups and other organizations
which value identity development, d) working to end social inequality, e)
participating in collective action strategies at the local and national levels, and, f)
celebrating youth culture. The above components of SJYD are closely related to
the KLCC framework for community leadership development and collective
leadership development which are covered later in this review. The SJYD has the
potential of preparing youth to critically analyze social and sociopolitical
situations by developing solidarity with others. Youth that are capable of
developing solidarity with others undoubtedly, generate empathy for the suffering
of others. As a result, they are authentically engaged in civic activities that
potentially lead to leadership roles within their communities (Ginwright & James,
2002).
Forming Youth Voice and Civic Engagement

There are at least three major questions central to forming youth voice and
civic engagement: 1) what role can youth play in forging a democratic society and
creating more equitable institutions? 2) How can adults support sociopolitical
development among youth? 3) What can be learned from youth organizing and its
affect on the development of young people? Or simply put, what does youth civic
engagement look like and how does it happen? (Ginwright & James, 2002;

O’Donoghue, Kirshner, & McLaughlin, 2002).

23

Youth civic engagement is often viewed as a constellation of activities that
empower adolescents to take part in issues they care about and inﬂuence decision-
making that affects their lives (O’Donoghue et al., 2002). As youth become
engaged partners within organizational and public decision-making they begin
sharing power (O’Donoghue et al., 2002). At that level of involvement, a shift
ﬁ'om focusing on the individual outcomes to more of organizational and
community outcomes becomes more salient. Understanding the impact and
importance of developing and fostering youth voice and youth civic engagement
is beginning to surface within several arenas of research, policy-makers, and
program evaluators. These individuals are beginning to involve young people in
their work (Finn & Checkoway, 2001). While youth involvement in community
change is not a new phenomenon there is still limited understanding of how to
generate a consistent and even ﬂow of youth involvement within communities.
There have been many successﬁrl outcomes with youth involvement and the
development of youth voice and civic engagement. However, it is important to
understand that these outcomes are often speciﬁc to particular locales or place-
based (Irby, Ferber, & Pittman, 2001). One option is to consider the level of
participation needed to generate broad and meaningful change. This is especially
effective when addressing large policy issues. Youth development practitioners
and school administrators have stated that youth participation in the decision
making process of their organizations have led to increased levels of youth
motivation and sustainable efforts in youth participation. Increased participation

has also been an especially effective strategy for engaging older high school

24

students that typically avoid youth organizations, especially, organizations that do
not give them a voice in the decision-making process or the planning of activities
that concern them. Additionally, this type of engagement has also had an impact
on organizational structure and climate and has led to a deeper commitment to
youth development principles from adults associated with these community-based
organizations (Eccles & Gootman, 2001; Firm & Checkoway, 1998; J arnes &
McGuillicuddy, 2001; O’Donoghue et al., 2002; Sullivan, 2002).
Challenges of Youth Development Approach

While beneﬁts of encouraging and facilitating youth civic engagement are
numerous, the gap in the amount of collaboration between civically engaged
youth and youth development practitioners still exist. Mohammad and Wheeler
(2001) explain that adults and youth often choose to serve in differing manners,
adults as youth development practitioners, and youth and young adults as civic
activist. These differences were more evident in communities that experienced
sustained social challenges. Youth in these areas often reported that they
preferred to be about the “action of changing their communities” rather than
engaged in “conversations about how to change the community.” Conversely,
many youth development practitioners found it difﬁcult to deal effectively with
issues of youth identity and meaningful engagement of young people in authentic
leadership and decision-making processes within their communities and
community based organizations. In fact, many youth serving organizations and

youth centered programs did not address the critical issues of youth identity at all.

25

As such, they failed to support youth interest to examine issues around sexuality,
race, class, or gender (Ginwright, Noguera, & Cammarotta, 2006).

These social issues represent many of the core socialization and
discriminatory practices that youth experience and in effect have had profound
negative effects on their development. Therefore, any failure from youth serving
organizations to address the very issues that serve as barriers in the lives of youth
only further alienates youth from participating in structured youth development
programs and organizations (Ginwright, et. a1, 2006). However, by presenting
youth with opportunities to express their disdain of how society has excluded
them and stiﬂed their development often helps youth to move forward in positive
ways. Youth organizations, their staff, and their organizational structure must be
properly equipped to deal with social issues in a manner that creates and fosters a
safe environment that will encourage all youth to act and participate and
ultimately help to increase their voice and development toward the role of
authentic leadership.

Unfortunately, many youth development programs and organizations have
failed at developing authentic leaders and fostering authentic youth voice.
Instead, many of these organizations perpetuate a culture of “adultism”
(Mohammad & Wheeler, 2001). Adultism describes the behaviors and attitudes
that ﬂow from the assumptions that adults are superior to young people and
entitled to act upon young people without the agreement or consent of these
youth. Youth often report that traditional youth development agencies do not

really listen to young people, nor do they support their ideas. O’Donoghue et a1.

26

(2002) present a captivating encounter a group of youth experienced during a
conference on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A young
woman that attended the conference explained that the conference was “the most
non-youth-friendly place.” She explained that they woke up early and spent long
hours listening to adults “lecture” about the experiences of youth. Youth were not
afforded any time to talk to anyone, nor was there time to move around
I (O’Donoghue et. al, 2002). Furthermore, they were not asked for their input or
their feelings on the matters discussed. When they did try to share or interject
their thoughts, the adults did not really listen. She stated that nothing truly
changed until the last day of the convention when the young people gave a
presentation. The youth presenters had to remind the adults that they were
prepared, competent and capable of conducting the presentation without their
assistance. One of the adults attempted to facilitate the question-and—answer
period, but was stifﬂy rebuffed when the presenter stemly asserted, “No, thank
you. We’re prepared to do this for ourselves. Sit down please.” The youth
presenter shared that they didn’t think the adults really “got it” until then.

The above example illuminates the often, unintended actions of adults.
Such conferences and programs actually proscribe youth engagement. The failure
of youth development practitioners occurs when they neglect to provide
adolescents with the appropriate developmental opportunities to explore identity,
independence, and decision-making. Additionally, the continued alienation of
adolescents, particularly those who are disengaged from society’s mainstream,

has tremendous implications for the future outcomes of community youth

27

development. For these reasons, civic activism has increasingly become a
strategy for achieving youth leadership development and the civic participation of
marginalized young people (O’Donoghue et. al, 2002). Instead, youth
development should be linked with and addressed with issues of identity,
adultisrn, power, and control in open and frank manners (Mohammad & Wheeler,
2001)
Challenges to Youth Voice and Civic Engagement

While there are clear beneﬁts, demonstrated outcomes, and documented
beneﬁts for communities with civically engaged youth, it is not without
challenges and opposition. O’Donoghue et a1. (2002) point out that many adults
feel that youth lack the necessary capacity to participate in decision making.
They also explain that some adults embrace youth participation but lack
understanding of how to authentically include youth voice. The latter group of
adults feel that youth civic engagement only requires that a young person be at the
table when decisions are made, or that youth be placed on governance or advisory
boards. At ﬁrst glance, the perception of youth on a governance or advisory
board may appear to be a positive step, however, upon closer evaluation, it is
often discovered that this practice serves as a facade myth because it generates the
idea of exclusivity in which youth often serve as a token. Although this could
serve as a step toward progress and the ﬁrst phase of youth participation, it
potentially creates an environment where youth feel outnumbered and therefore

silenced (O’Donoghue et. al, 2002).

28

Youth were not alone in their discomfort in working with adults. Adults
also expressed feelings of frustration. O’Donoghue et al. (2002) explained that
adults have expressed that generating youth participation and youth civic
engagement is often interpreted as surrendering their roles as guides and
educators. Adults explained that many youth participation discussions often focus
on youth only and neglect to include discussions of the roles of adults and the
importance of them serving as both supporters and educators. Supporters of
youth participation must be open to youth contributions and provide space for
youth voice, as well as, guide youth in recognizing the norms of the public arena
in which they seek to participate. Additionally, adults must undergo preparation
for their role and interaction with youth. Challenges often surface when well-
intentioned adults attempt to create youth participation without understanding
what youth participation really means. Adults need time to adapt to the concept
of youth participation. It would also be helpful for adults to participate in
ongoing training and professional development centered on youth participation.
Such training provides adults the opportunity to develop strategies in how to best
support youth and serve as their allies (Hart, 1992; Hart, Daiute & Iltus, 1997;
Pittman et al., 2000).

Effective and authentic youth engagement requires that adults change their
frame of references of how to work with youth. This requires that deeply held
beliefs of youth be acknowledged and challenged. It is beneﬁcial to also
challenge the assumption that youth are ready to participate and are simply

awaiting their opportunity. Authentic youth engagement requires that young

29

people be given the time and space to develop the skills they need to participate
effectively. As they actively participate they should also receive ongoing training
and support in the speciﬁc skill sets required for the successful completion of
particular projects. It is important to understand that both youth and adults require
training in how to work together through professional development workshops
and training in collaborative process. These techniques are valuable components
often employed to teach the model Of leadership (Mohammad & Wheeler, 2001).
This type of youth and adult interaction would require major changes in both the
attitudes and opinions of adult professionals and organizational leadership. It
would also require the preparation of a new generation of youth workers engaged
in positive youth development through leadership and civic activism. It should be
understood that these new youth workers require technical assistance and support,
the ability to integrate the theory, information and skills of civic activism.
Youth Leadership Development

It is not my intent to repave the familiar road that leads to a deﬁnition of
leadership. There are more worthy works available that serve as both the
foundations and the critiques of leadership. However, it is important to take some
space to identify what leadership means in the context of developing youth adult
partnerships for community change issues. Identifying particular leadership skills
sets and youth leadership capacities will assist in understanding the components
of youth and adult partnerships.

The word “leadership” has come to mean all things to all people (Klau

2006). Peter Senge (1990) has deﬁned leadership as “the collective capacity to

30

create something useful.” Others have maintained that collaborations and
teamwork are more necessary than any other time in history. As communities and
organizational cultures become increasingly more democratically based and
equality and diversity focused, more attention is directed the success of the group,
rather than the individual. Van Linden and Fertrnan (1998) explain that youth
lead in various subtle manners, such as, through working, volunteering,
socializing with peers, or through their involvement in school or community
activities. Van Linden and F ertrnan’s description of youth leadership seems to
suggest that youth can demonstrate leadership in any activity in which they are
involved. According to ﬁndings from a ten-year study conducted by the Carnegie
Foundation, of 120 youth based organizations across the United States, adults
undertake various efforts to teach youth leadership in which there are also varying
outcomes. The researchers found that there is often a disconnect between adult
efforts and the experiences of youth. Many of the adult approaches focused on
narrow interpretations and understandings of how young people develop
leadership traits rather than acting as leaders. They also found that practitioners
interjected their personal beliefs about what youth “need” to “become” leaders
(Klau, 2006; Roach, Wyman, Leisy, Brookes & Chavez, 1999). Currently, the
general understanding of leadership development includes a focus on the leader as
a person possessing, leadership tools, interpersonal attributes, and moral character
capacities. More speciﬁcally, focus is placed on the knowledge, competency, and
character of the leader; reﬂexive learning, communication, decision making, self-

discipline, and the ability to make effective actions possible; the ability to engage,

31

motivate, manage conﬂict; and ﬁnally, the character capacity or the ability to
understand the difference between right and wrong, and have the capacity to do
what is right (Klau, 2006). MacNeil (2006) adds that leadership is a relational
process that combines ability, and decision-making power to positively inﬂuence
and affect diverse individuals, organizations, and communities. These deﬁnitions
acknowledge both the contextual and applied nature of leadership and identify
that leadership is more than having authority or the ability to lead. Instead, the
deﬁnitions assert that leadership is actually evidenced in the act of leading.
Although deﬁnitions and identiﬁed components of leadership capacity exist,
many of them pose a somewhat of a problem. Many existing deﬁnitions are
subjective, i.e., contain words or phrases that project value judgments, or
positional words that connote prominence, authority, and inﬂuence. Additionally,
there is often a lack of distinction between authority and leadership (Heifetz,
1994). Although the terms may overlap in their deﬁnitions and applications,
Heifetz makes it clear that one can lead without authority, and having authority
does not make one a leader. Additionally, Heifetz makes a distinction between
technical and adaptive challenges associated with leadership. He explains that
technical challenges are relatively straightforward problems that we already know
how to solve. While adaptive challenges are far more complex, have no clear
solution, and therefore, require changes in the values and behaviors of the group.
The latter is often associated with changing systems, organizations, and
communities. Understanding leadership and leadership capacity is further

Complicated when you are considered. MacNeil (2006) suggests the importance

32

of asking “how do youth appear in the discussion of leadership, where are youth
leadership examples in youth literature, and what are the differences between
youth and adult leadership?

When youth are mentioned in leadership literature, it is with the
understanding that they will be leaders in the future. The focus is on working
with young people now so that they will be able to become leaders when they are
adults (Gardner, 1990; O’Connell, 1994). Although positive youth development
literature acknowledges and even encourages opportunities for leadership
experiences for all youth, it fails to capitalize on the potential such leadership
opportunities immediately provide for individuals and communities (Hechinger,
1992; Independent Sector, 2002; Lakes, 1996; McLaughlin, Irby, & Langrnan,
1994; Takanishi, 1993). According to MacNeil (2006) leadership is learned and
reﬁned in the context of practicing leadership. The focus is on learning, and
applying new skills and knowledge in real life contexts. MacNeil (2006) explains
the importance of youth leadership programs that frame leadership development
as a component in the teaching and learning cycle. Leadership centered on
teaching and learning provides opportunities not only to develop skills and
knowledge but also, provide opportunities to apply them in meaningful and
authentic ways (MacNeil, 2006). Zeldin, Camino, and Calvert (2003) suggest that
youth leadership development serve the purposes of simultaneously promoting
healthy youth development while providing opportunities for youth to make
contributions through their participation. This type of leadership development has

also been described as authentic leadership development. Authentic leadership

33

development also requires that adults share power with youth on decisions that
have true cause and effect outcomes for the organization or community (Benson,
1997; Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993; MacNeil & Krensky, 1996; Olson,
Goddard, Solheirn, & Sandt, 2004). This type of authentic leadership also taps
into the insights, talents, and energies of young people and can help groups and
communities develop and implement more effective solutions to issues that affect
youth. This is achieved due the fact that young people have perspectives and
experience that adults do not. Therefore, their participation brings useful
contributions, as well as, energy, knowledge, talents, and skills that are critical in
solving the challenges faced by youth.

Creating conditions that support new knowledge and practices are
paramount in leadership development. MacNeil and McClean (2006) present the
concept of youth governance as an approach that moves beyond developing
leadership skills, toward contexts that offer youth opportunities to practice
leadership. MacNeil and McClean propose six strategies for engaging youth in
opportunities to practice leadership: 1) adults involved with youth must assess and
adjust their attitudes and assumptions about youth, 2) clear understanding of
expectations must be provided for those working with youth, 3) the roles and
responsibilities of youth board members, committee members or staff should be
clearly deﬁned, 4) resources must be allocated to support the ongoing integration
of youth, 5) training to support the work of both adults and youth should be made
available, and 6) an evaluation plan should be in place to monitor the youth

integration process. Researchers suggest that the above-mentioned youth

34

leadership development strategies become part of an ongoing process that is
consistent, persistent and purposeful to assure that the practices become part of
youth and adult lives. As such, youth spend the majority of their time in schools.
Therefore, there is need to connect schools with the above components of
leadership development. Newmann, Secada, and Wehlage (1995) provide insight
of the importance of linking academic achievement of youth and community
development.
Intersection of Schools and Communities

Newmann, Secada, and Wehlage (1995) explain that community leadership
deveIOpment as essential to building community capacity to improve the quality
of schools and increase student academic achievement. First, Newmann et al.
describe curriculum and instruction and school climate as being strongly
connected to school improvement. That is, high-quality curriculum and
instruction are linked to rich academically rigorous instructional practices and
engaged students. Additionally, they both are strong indicators of a positive
school climate (1995). A positive school climate was often exempliﬁed by good
teacher and student rapport with equal respect, low incidence of discipline
problems, safe orderly and organized social environments, and well-maintained
facilities (Corcoran, Walker, & White, 1988; Newmann, Secada, & Wehlage,
1995)

Secondly, Newmann et a1. (1995) describe the importance of community
leadership development as components to improve schools and student academic

achievement. Community members learn the importance of public accountability

35

through participation in workshops on leadership capacity development,
participation in social networking activities that build social capital and provide
access to community stakeholders at various levels that share similar educational
concerns. Community members also learn the importance of building strategic
alliances by creating relationships with public ofﬁcials and holding them
accountable. Community members learn that the ability to change schools and
student academic achievement is largely dependent upon the strength of public
accountability and the community’s ability to sustain relationships. Relationships
are better sustained when there is a commitment made in public settings that
obligate a wide range of community stakeholders, such as, parents, educators,
public ofﬁcials, and others that are committed to improving the community
(Corcoran, Walker, & White, 1988; Gold, Simon & Brown, 2002; Shirley, 1997;
Warren, 2001; Wood, 2002). By expanding the view of public accountability to
include public education, corrrrnunity members are able to address issues of equity
and school/community relations, particularly those of curriculum, instruction, and
school climate. As such, respectful relationships among parents, educators, and
students are enhanced and extend ownership for the educational experiences of
children to the entire community. As a result of the extended ownership and
concern for the educational experiences of children, expectation levels are
increased, academic achievement rises, and community concerns are realized and

addressed (Comer, 1984; Shirley, 1997; Hatch, 1998).

36

Historical Perspective of Education and Communities

Public education has long been an important part of and intricately woven
into the American fabric. Dewey (1933) went as far as to suggest that the survival
of democracy depended on a well-educated citizenry. For as early as the mid
nineteenth century, communities across the frontiers of America campaigned to
start local schools. Communities that were successful at establishing local schools
were viewed as good places to live. As a result, public education was identiﬁed
as the most important resource fueling community growth (Kochan, Jackson, &
Duke, 1999). As such, schools played an integral role in society and the
communities in which they were located. Bogotch (2005) explains that the
general responsibility of towns and municipalities during the early mid nineteenth
century was to secure ﬁmds, to build and support schools and to oversee the
hiring and ﬁring of teachers and administrators. During the early mid nineteenth
century, it was also common for communities to experience a constant rotation of
teachers every 10 months or less. Additionally, even with a constant rotation of
teachers and the pressure to secure funds, communities still stressed the
importance of the success of establishing and sustaining a school (Butts &
Crernins, 1962). The presence of schools represented a certain level of progress,
pride, and possibilities within that community. As such, much effort was also
devoted to preparing students to be productive citizens to their communities and
to society. That is, schools often functioned in a transactional sense, where
students were taught to be good, do work, and then to get a good job. This cycle

became more entrenched in communities and schools as educational leaders

37

began adopting the managerial practices and business trends, particularly those of
scientiﬁc management (Bogotch, 2005). Districts began focusing on efﬁciency
and data-driven decision making. Although many educational leaders questioned
such practices, and expressed that it would turn teachers and administrators into
record keepers and accountants, the prescriptive pedagogical methods,
standardized testing, and data-driven decision-making were too much to resist
(Bogotch, 2005). The above practices increased in popularity with educational
leaders as a possible solution to combat the inconsistent instructional practices,
nonexistent curricula, ill-prepared educators, and substandard facilities that
continued to sprout up as communities grew and desired to have their own
community school. The following passage from Wray (1904) novel, Jean
Mitchell 's School, describes the physical condition of many community schools,
as dimly lit places that were dingy in appearance. Harris (1963) described the
condition of early schools as “deplorable, cheap and crude” (p. 158). Harris also
indicates that many teachers were ignorant and used “barbarous methods of
teaching” (1963, p. 158). Gilbert (1904) further illuminates the challenges faced
by early schools in his commentary of Wray’s novel with the following passage:
The low ideals of the villagers and their failure to comprehend the teaching
of children ﬁnds striking expression in the school premises. Barren and
uninteresting without, dingy and forbidding within, the schoolhouse spoke
of ignorance, of lack of thought, of abandonment to untoward conditions
that found reﬂection in the pupil’s attitude. Rude, hostile indifferent,

disorganized, these children are altogether too sophisticated in the art of

38

guile and deceit, in evasion and resistance, in disobedience and successﬁrl

rebellion. Anarchy names correctly the condition native to these boys and

girls; they are not innately bad. They are the inevitable product of the

education to which they have been given over. (p. 8)

The overall conditions and the general instructional practices present during
the early years made scientiﬁc management a pragmatic choice to educational
leaders. Scientiﬁc management offered prescriptive pedagogical methods,
standardized testing, and data-driven decision-making. This direct and forward
approach seemed reasonable and responsible. However, the gains achieved
through scientiﬁc instruction, were somewhat eroded by a disconnect between
educational leaders and community members. Patri (1917) explained “the school
alone could do nothing... the home alone could do nothing” (p. 83-84). Patri’s
statement underscores the importance of partnerships between community
members and educational leaders. Rather than acting independently, communities
that acted together essentially formed a “moral force” within the neighborhoods
that assisted parents in being more directly involved in the educational process,
rather than the school acting alone (Patri, 1917, p. 100). Instituting a moral force
in the educational process infers group interaction (Bogotch, 2005). One major
outcome of a moral force was to connect communities and schools and for them
to be directly interconnected in community affairs as active participants in
community life.

Bogotch (2002) explains that the interconnectedness of schools was once a

natural occurrence. In the early years of schools, teachers and administrators

39

were involved with social issues such as housing, jobs, clothing, and hygiene, all
of which affected their students directly. The mission of many urban public
schools speciﬁcally focused on eradicating poverty for students and the
community. This was especially evident in the tenement housing projects of New
York City. According to Bogotch (2005) teachers were encouraged to walk the
streets of their communities, interact with parents, students, and families. This
practice was evidently deeply engrained into the early concepts of public school
leadership, as even one of the most vocal proponents of scientiﬁc management
and business management encouraged educators to be deeply involved in
community activities. Franklin Bobbitt called for teachers to be engaged in
community work as an essential aspect of professional development (1913).
Bobbit stated,

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the teacher of today, who is able to

bear social responsibilities that the world is laying increasingly upon our

profession, must be a man or woman of the world. . .This is accomplished

only by participation in the full, active life of the world of affairs. (1913, p.

80).
Bobbitt encouraged teachers to leave their classroom, to visit other classes in their
schools, in other cities, and states, and to attend concerts, theater and productions,
and lectures, declaring all to be “absolutely necessary” for sustaining the vitality
of the profession.

The community focus supported by early educators appeared to shift to a

focused approach on replicable results of student achievement directed by

40

educational leaders. Dantley and Tillman (2006) explain that educational leaders
erroneously accepted the ideas interwoven into scientiﬁc management that
educational leadership operated in a frictionless environment, that can be reduced
to replication of behaviors that have proved to be effective and efﬁcient.
Scientiﬁc management in essence identiﬁed children as the product that schools
produced. Therefore, the goal was to produce students that were productive and
high achievers. This view posed at least two problems for the educational
process: 1) human development does not occur in a linear fashion, and, 2) the
view does not acknowledge or address that schools are often spaces that
perpetuate a level of social reproduction. That is, historically, schools were used
to solidify the status quo, as well as, cause societal change. In many instances
schools were the medium used to perpetuate a particular outlook that resembled
those that wielded political and economic power. As a result of irrrrnigration,
urbanization, and labor trends demographics of communities have changed. As
demographics change the cultural landscape of schools also change. Therefore, it
is important that educational leaders adjust their leadership approaches to include
more inclusive, egalitarian, collaborative approaches, to accommodate a more
diverse population (Cooper, Allen, & Bettez, 2009). Educational leaders would
also do well to promote social justice and culturally relevant education among
educators to assure they are prepared to equitably respond to demographic
changes. Educators that have the capacity to provide culturally relevant and
culturally responsive educational experiences for students also help to decrease

biases, fears, and lack of cultural awareness, all of which threaten the cultural

41

responsiveness in the educational process (Cooper et al., 2009). Culturally
responsive education emphasizes the importance that educators use culturally
relevant pedagogy that also afﬁrms the cultural background of students (Delpit,
2006; Gay, 2000; Gonzalez, 2005; Ladson—Billings, 1995). Failing to recognize
and afﬁrrn the knowledge, experiences, and assets of culturally diverse student
populations, reinforces the behavior that has traditionally marginalized ethnic and
linguistic minorities. As a result of such practices, marginalized students often
internalize educators’ negative perceptions of them, and in turn struggle
academically and socially (Delpit, 2006; Heath, 1996; Howard, 2000; Nieto,
2004; Valenzuela, 1999). This outlook poses a moral dilemma. As such,
educational leadership that is also connected to moral or purpose driven
leadership, places educational leadership within the broader cultural and social
context of issues of race, class, and gender, but also perceives the work of schools
as sites committed to social justice and issues that more genuinely demonstrate
the development of a democratic society. Moral and purpose-driven leaders have
the capacity and responsibility to infuse cultural relevant and culturally responsive
pedagogies within practices of the school (Dantley & Tillman, 2006). The moral
and purpose driven leader is more likely to acknowledge and confront their biases
about those who are culturally different from them, to develop and foster new
learning and leadership around cultural matters (F reire, 1970; F reire & Macedo,
1999; Howard, 2000).

The above methods, actions and described attempts to provide culturally

responsive pedagogy are aligned with cultural difference theory. Cultural

42

difference theory describes culture as an inﬂuential factor in learning and
development and a major part of how groups collectively adapt socially,
economically, and historically to society (Eisenhart, 2001; Heath, 1996). Cultural
difference theory also places emphasis on the connections individuals have with
home and school. This analysis of home and school connections places emphasis
on students’ backgrounds as strengths, rather than as deﬁcits. Cultural difference
theory illuminates how deeply structured school settings can clash with the home
setting, especially for students that are not part of the White middle-class social
structure (Pena, 1997). Use of the cultural difference theory and connected types
of self-assessment force individuals to broaden their idea of what makes schools
equitable. It aids in rejecting deﬁcit based thinking about culturally different
groups. Researchers have explained that cultural difference theory can serve as
bridge between the home and school, thus improving the educational outcomes
for children. Use of the cultural difference theory increases the likelihood that
schools and homes become cultural learning zones that support and affirm each
other (Delpit, 2006; Eisenhart, 2001; Epstein & Sanders, 2000; Heath, 1996;
Mehan, 2000; Pena, 1997).

Since the early years of education, schools have maintained an important
place in communities and continue to play a major role in society (Kochan,
Jackson, & Duke, 1999). As such, schools and school leaders have been forced to
meet the growing demands and higher expectations as society changes.
Additionally, school leaders have been required to negotiate the purposes of

schooling and the demands placed on schools. Schools are expected to keep pace

43

with the constantly shifting demands from state and national accountability
standards. As the responsibilities of school leaders continue to increase and
therefore become more complex, school leaders are expected to adjust their
leadership style to include a more democratic approach. This approach involves
others in the process of problem solving and analysis (Barth, 1990). Barth
explains that democratic leadership is a valuable approach for school leaders
seeking to build a sense of community with internal and external community
stakeholders. Democratic leadership applies a collaborative approach, builds a
sense of community, and shares power with others by involving multiple groups
of stakeholders in the decision making process. This form of leadership allows
educational leaders to become catalysts capable of connecting with their
communities to help rebuild relationships and reestablish trust between schools
and the community. Rebuilding community and school relationships and
reestablishing trust between schools and communities requires concerted efforts
from educational leaders, ﬁ'om pre-K to faculty of higher education; particularly
faculty responsible for educational leadership preparation programs, outreach, and
research. Additionally, to restore a sense of trust in public education requires that
educational leaders reﬁame their role as educators to include the role of
community builders. AS community builders, educational leaders must transcend
“what is” and create “what might be” (Mullen, 2009). Focusing on transcending
the current focus of preparing students to enter the workforce would be a positive
step toward rebuilding trust in public education. Public education currently

resembles a transactional relationship which espouses that students, be good, do

44

their work, and then get a good job (Mullen, 2009). Educational leaders are
expected to engage in conversations with communities that address the current
purposes of education and question the direction the educational process must
move in order to better serve all communities of learners (Mullen, 2009). Such
conversations will no doubt help educational leaders in the deliberation of how
they inﬂuence the preparation of future leaders to pursue the interest of the
common good for both individuals and communities. Mullen explains that faculty
members that are responsible for the development of educational leaders must
work to ensure that these leaders possess the pedagogical and epistemological
prowess but also the strong communication skills and necessary social skills and
capacities necessary to create a welcoming environment for each community
stakeholder involved in the schooling process. Creating welcoming environments
for community stakeholders does involve a particular level of ﬁnesse. However,
schools have embraced the challenges involved in building such bridges between
schools and communities, if it results in greater parental involvement in schools
(Gold, Simon, & Brown, 2005).

Henderson and Mapp (2002) detail that parental involvement in schools
greatly improves the school climate and student achievement. Traditional
indicators of educational outcomes such as family income and educational levels
can be compensated or counterbalanced by increased levels of parental
involvement in schools. The counterbalance is possible, despite the challenges of
poverty and lack of parents’ formal education (Gold, et al. 2005; Marcon, 1999;

Miedel & Reynolds, 1999). Families of all backgrounds have the potential to

45

encourage high achievement for their children. More parents would become more
involved if schools increased their outreach to them (Clark, 1993; Epstein &
Sanders, 2000; Henderson & Mapp, 2002). In order for parents to feel welcomed
in the school environment, schools must become more culturally responsive to
families and the communities that they serve (Au, 1980; Delgado-Gaitan, 1987;
Erickson & Mohatt, 1988; Heath, 1983; McConnell, 1989; M011, Amanti, Neff, &
Gonzalez, 1992;Valdes, 1996).

This concept of raising student achievement through parental and
community participation in curriculum and instruction was demonstrated in
Chicago public schools (Bryk, Sebring, Kerbow, Rollow, & Easton, 1998; Moore,
1998). Bryk et al. describe that establishing a level of trust was required prior to
the work of parental and community involvement. Schools often need to adjust
school culture, climate and interpersonal relationships to be more accommodating
to families and communities (Bryk & Schneider, 1996; Useem, Christrnan, Gold,
& Simon, 1997). There is often a need to change the deeply ingrained behaviors
that exist among the educational leaders of schools. These behaviors often
interpret the behavior of parents and community members in the most negative
way possible. Such behaviors and perspectives undermine the social trust and
professional culture necessary of schools for parents and communities to truly
welcome into the schools (Gold, Simon, & Brown, 2005). Social trust requires
accountable relationships through mutual agreement be established by
understanding the obligations of parents, communities, and schools have of one

another. Such mutual agreements and obligations are important to remove the

46

perception of a single individual or institution holding unilateral power (Gold,
Simon, & Brown, 2005). There is a shift from interactions that yield power over
individuals, to establishing relationships that create power to change particular
situations within schools and communities. At times, such power shifts result in
confrontation or conﬂict. However, the confrontation or conﬂict is not
intentionally provoked, nor are they intentionally avoided. Instead a space is
created that is capable and prepared to engage in conversations around such
conﬂicts.
Understanding the Theoretical Framework

The process of youth adult partnership will be ﬁltered through the lens of
the Kellogg Leadership for Community Change Framework (KLCCF). KLCCF
is an evolutionary approach to leadership development that emphasizes
community change through the collective leadership and collective actions of
individual leaders (Hughes, 2005). The KLCCF depicts stages of community
change and leadership development that could enhance the efforts of any group
(Hughes, 2005). The KLCCF translates the theory of change into strategies and
practices, guides communities to develop learning plans, and helps them negotiate
entrenched community issues toward a sustainable plan for change and
improvement (Hughes, 2005). The main construct of the framework is composed
of a four-stage change implementation process and four elements or forces
involved in the community change process. The four-stage change
implementation process are as follows, 1) build trust, 2) co-construct purpose and

strategic plan, 3) act together, and 4) deepen, sustain, and make the work a way of

47

life. The four elements in the community change process include the following,
1) community context: the power of place, culture and history, also known as
“community,” 2) crossing boundaries: the power of collective leadership, also
called “group,” 3) giving ones best: the power of developing one’s own gifts,

referred to as “individual” and, 4) making it happen: the power of change: also

called the “community initiative.”

Table I. Kellogg Leadership for Community Change Framework

 

 

 

 

 

 

ELEMENTS STAGES OF COMMUNITY PROCESS
Stage Stage 2: Stage 3: Stage 4:
1: Build Co- Act Deepen,
Trust construct Together Sustain and
Purpose Make the Work
and a Way of Life
Strategic
Plan
Community
as Context:
the power of
place, culture Be Learn Make Work becomes
and history ground from allies part of
(Community) ed in community community
place fabric
Crossing
Boundaries:
the power of
collective Know Create Collective Include new
leadership the shared action partners
(Fellowship) others purpose
Giving One’s
Best:
the power of
developing Claim Name Contribute Help develop

 

 

 

 

 

48

 

Table 1 (continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giving One’s
Best:
the power of
developing Claim Name Contribute Help develop
one’s own your your your gifts others
gifts own passions
(Individual) story
and
values
Making it
Happen:
The power of
change Deﬁne Make a Implement Sustain the
(the the plan the plan work
community work
Initiative)

 

The power and complexity of the framework are illuminated at the intersection of
the four stages and the four elements. The framework is laid out as a grid: four
stages across the top, intersecting with four elements down the left side. Each
intersection contains a series of questions designed to help coach participants to
fully explore that part of the change process. Although written as a two-
dirnensional, linear document, the framework represents a spiraling, evolutionary
process. Repetition is built into the framework questions to reﬂect this
evolutionary temperament of the change process.

The KLCCF highlights and emphasizes the participation of nontraditional
leaders and focuses on their ability to bridge gaps and eliminate boundaries. For
this project, nontraditional leaders are viewed as youth attending middle school
through college and adults that hold leadership roles in community based

organizations, but do not hold elected civic positions. These leaders were

49

a group of leaders who effectively collaborate to create change in their
communities.

The ﬁrst stage of the Framework asks members to get to know each other
at deeper levels than usual, focusing on the culture, history, strengths, challenges
and wisdom Of group members. They are encouraged to learn about the gifts,
resources and capacities of all members, and how to work and learn together
while honoring differences. They are also asked to have the courage to tell their
own story, how their passions align with the group’s work and their goals for
developing leadership capacity. Members are asked to go into the community to
learn about concerns and values related to the community initiative, in the case of
KLCC, youth adult partnerships for community change.

Studies support that trust is a critical ingredient to community change. In Trust in
Schools: A Core Resource for Improvement, the University of Chicago researchers
examined the role of social relationships in schools and their impact on student
achievement. They found that “a broad base of trust across a school community lubricates
much of a school’s day-to-day functioning and is a critical resource as local leaders
embark on ambitious improvement plans.” Bryk and Schneider (2002) contend that
schools with a high degree of “relational trust” are far more likely to make changes that
help raise student achievement than those where relations are poor. Bryk and Schneider
took the bold step of seeking empirical evidence that links trust and academic
achievement. In doing so, they drew on ten years of work in Chicago schools during a
period of sweeping reform, using quantitative and qualitative research, longitudinal case

studies of elementary schools, and in-school observation and interviews. For the purpose

50

of their study, they suggested four vital signs for identifying and assessing trust in
schools: respect, competence, personal regard and integrity. They concluded that trust is
the “connective tissue” that holds improving schools together.

The second stage of the Framework helps participants understand the diverse
ways members deﬁne community and co-construct a new, shared understanding about
community. It encourages members to develop a shared purpose for their work together
that can hold their individual visions, current knowledge, and data from other sources.
This shared purpose can keep the members connected during the tough times. This stage
also asks members to claim personal visions for the issue at hand, and asks how their
gifts and capacities will be developed and contributed throughout the project. The
members are asked to analyze data, consider best practices and select a community
initiative and action plan that would address their chosen issue. Creating shared purpose
and held the organizations avoid wasting energy due to misalignment of purposes and
visions. Additionally, it helped to assure that the hard work of individuals translated into
team effort. By contrast, when the team becomes more aligned, a commonality of
direction emerges, and individuals’ energies harmonize. In essence, individuals do not
sacriﬁce their personal interests to the larger team vision; rather, the shared vision
becomes an extension of their personal visions.

Stage Three of the Framework helps participants build allies in the community
who will become an ongoing part of the learning community, and act in concert with the
mernbers’ shared purpose and vision. Members are called to notice how their capacity to
work together is strengthened, how they practice “collective leadership,” and how they

hold each other accountable. Members are asked to make a deep commitment to stay

51

engaged in the initiative and to continue learning. Members are asked to help implement
the initiative, cooperate with partners, assess whether the objectives are being met, and
adapt the action plan as needed. The fellowship’s experience of deep relationship is
extended to others in the community.

Stage Four helps participants to reﬂect on the lessons learned from the group
experience and to develop resources to embed the work into the fabric of the community.
The group is asked to be intentional about creating a process or structure that will support
its continuing work, while inviting and nurturing new members into the initiative.
Members are asked to identify how they will personally be involved in sustaining the
work, while continuing to develop leadership capacity and share lessons with new
leaders. Finally, members are asked to work with community partners, funders and others
to sustain the work toward the shared vision. Following the Framework moves the
initiative from being one more project to being a sustained initiative embraced by the
larger community; it leads to a level of stewardship that becomes a way of life for those
involved.

Literature Summary

This interdisciplinary literature review is informed by literature in
educational administration, and strengthened by literature in community and
developmental psychology, urban planning, and the ﬁeld of social work. It serves
as a framework for this study, and as the foundation for understanding youth adult
partnerships focused on community change issues. The literature identiﬁed and
highlighted the progressions from youth development to youth adult partnerships.

The progressions outline the importance of better understanding youth adult

52

partnerships by illuminating its transformational potential. The transformational
potential of youth adult partnerships is illuminated through the intersections of
positive youth development and educational administration and educational
administration and community leadership development. Both intersections
provide an avenue to discuss the role of educational leaders as proponents in
processes of positive youth development, youth adult partnerships, and
community leadership development.

The above goals were accomplished by examining the historical moments in
youth development, youth leadership development, and youth civic engagement.
Acadenricians, community workers, educational practitioners, positive youth
development and youth leadership development professionals identiﬁed the three
above mentioned areas as key components for community change.

Lastly, this literature review helped illuminate the concept of youth as
leaders within communities today, rather than, youth in training to be the leaders
of tomorrow. This concept is an important component in the ongoing process to
inform communities and stakeholders of the power of intergenerational
differences, as well as, similarities in the community change process. Ultimately
this research could serve as a roadmap for organizations and individuals interested

in establishing youth adult partnerships to address community change.

53

CHAPTER 3
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
Research Approach
Marshall and Rossman (1999) explain that the selection of a particular

research approach can assist the researcher in selecting an appropriate method for
data collection and analysis. The foundation of subsequent assumptions and
objectives of the research are therefore based on the research approach (p. 105).
My objective was to understand and describe the skills and capacities used by the
leadership teams of three community based organizations to develop youth adult
partnerships that focused on community change issues. More speciﬁcally, a case-
based approach anchored with a simultaneous triangulated mixed method design
(Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2009) was used to explore
the following research questions:
1. What are the necessary skills and capacities required to generate youth and

adult partnerships focused on community change issues?
2. How have youth and adult partnerships been used to address community

change issues?
3. How does “place” deﬁne the nature of youth adult partnerships that focused

on community change issues?

The following four philosophical assumptions posited by Creswell (1998)
helped frame and guide the structure and implementation of this research project.
First, I focused on listening and learning from the “lived experiences” of the

participants. Second, I was careful to suspend and avoid passing judgnent on

54

participants’ statements regarding how they perceived or experienced particular
aspects of youth adult partnerships. Third, I was aware that my participant’s
perceptions of youth adult partnerships were based on their individual
experiences. Fourth, I understood that each participant’s experiences and
preparation was perceived based on the meaning that they attributed to their set of
youth adult partnership experiences. I used the above precepts as a
methodological guide. This guide was particularly helpful in the narration about
the meaning that the leadership teams of the three community-based organizations
ascribed to their understanding and development of youth adult partnerships.

The qualitative research approach allowed me to observe, record, and
collect data as situations unfolded in an unobtrusive manner. I understood that I
had very little control over events at each community-based organization.
Therefore, my ability to adapt to and contend with the real-life context and
difﬁculties of technically distinct situations was crucial (Yin, 1984).
Additionally, the qualitative approach provided participants with an opportunity
to share their experiences and provide in depth descriptions. Semi-structured
interviews, focus goups and ﬁeld notes provided opportunities for thick
descriptions and the development of complex and interrelated themes that
uncovered meaning, understanding, through interpretive explanations (Geertz,
1973). This inquiry was largely based on goup interactions and goup dynamics;

therefore, it was important to use an approach that was both ﬂuid and ﬂexible.

55

Collective Case Based Inquiry

The decision to use a collective case-based approach is directly linked to the
nature of the research questions for this study. The research questions were
purposefully desigred to explore and provide in depth descriptions about the
“how” and “why” as they relate to the phenomenon of youth adult partnerships.
A collective case-based inquiry provided the necessary space to explore
community-based organizations as bounded systems with functioning and
integative parts, working toward a speciﬁc purpose (Stake, 1995). A case-based
inquiry also provided Opportunities to understand the nature of the case, its
historical backgound, the physical setting, social contexts, economic conditions,
political environments, and the connection with other cases (Creswell, 1998;
Patton, 1980; Stake, 1995; Yin, 1984).

The above aspects of a case-based approach were important to understand
because they contributed to the concept of place. Place is deﬁned as the physical
and geogaphical location of the participating community-based organizations.
More speciﬁcally, “place” accounts for the bounded social system that operates
within spaces, territories, and distinguishable boundaries (Stake, 1995). Place
also incorporates the nature of historical backgound, physical settings, social and
economic contexts, and social and political environments, as it connects with the
case (Stake, 1995). The concept of place was important to this study, because it
pointed to speciﬁc expectations associated and aligred with the race/ethnicity,
gender/sexuality, socioeconomic, multi-lingual, and other needs of the physical

and geogaphic location in which these partnerships were developed. Ultimately,

56

“place” accounted for the degee of intentional inclusion or acknowledgement of
social, cultural, and political capital needed to sustain youth adult partnerships.
Data Collection

Data collection activities at each community-based organization included
two focus goups composed of members of the leadership team, and a one-on-one
interview with the executive director. There were a total of six focus goup
interviews and three one-on-one interviews. Each interview was transcribed.
Data collection was extended to include archival data from the community-based
organizations. The archival data contributed in the development of the
backgound and Speciﬁc contexts of the participating community-based
organizations and their work within their communities.

This inquiry was not intended to be predictive in nature nor was the intent to
provide results that lead to generalizations. Instead, this inquiry was desigred to
be descriptive and exploratory in nature. Therefore, the research question were
clearly developed and framed to explore the meaning of the lived experiences of
participants. Additionally, the research questions were crafted to guide and direct
data collection and analysis. Finally, the research questions also helped to reduce
the personal views of the researcher as well as increased the process of reﬂexivity.

In preparation for data collection, I used the three research questions as the
framework to develop the interview questions. The interview questions were
shared with the evaluation team for feedback. The comments were incorporated,

and changes were made to assure that the questions were aligred with the study.

57

Focus group interview. Focus goups, or goup interviews were used in
this study. A focus goup is essentially a goup discussion focused on a single
theme (Krueger, 1988). The goal of focus goup interviews was to create candid
conversations that addressed the research questions.

This study used a version of the traditional double layer focus goup desi gr.
The traditional double layer focus goup desi gr develops two separate themes or
focal points and provides for a cross comparison of the two. Marshall and
Rossman (1999) suggest that focus goups provide participants the opportunity to,
“listen to others Opinions and understanding to form their own” (p.114). This
notion fully supported the phenomenological intent and the objective of this
study-to understand the individual and collective perceptions, essential structure
and meaning of the lived experiences of the leadership team and executive
director at each organization. Focus goup interviews also provided space to
explore emerging themes uncovered from archival data from KLCC longitudinal
study. Emerging themes were explored in geater depth during the focus goup
interviews. Participants were asked to elaborate on speciﬁc aspects to better
develop and illuminate the emergent themes. Each focus goup lasted
approximately 90-minutes.

During the focus goups, I worked to establish a permissive environment
that encouraged participants to share perceptions, and point of views. Special
care was given to avoid the feeling of pressure for participants to reach a
consensus. In creating such an environment, I also increased the likelihood that

participants would share their feelings, attitudes, and perceptions about their

58

experiences in their responses to the research questions. Madriz (2000) explains
focus goups in the follow way:
Focus goup interviews provide the potential for a safe environment where
participants have opportunities to exchange ideas, share experiences, and
express opinions in the company of people from the same socioeconomic,
ethnic, and gender backgounds (p.835).
Additionally, this environment fostered the type of goup interaction that often
generated valuable insights, ideas, comments, and increased the frequency in
which participants responded (Creswell, 1994). Kamberelis and Dimitriadis
(2005) explain that focus goups provide for an intersection of teaching and
learning, interpretive inquiry, and assorted political views that create
opportunities for synergistic exchanges of ideas. Furthermore, when focus goups
achieved the above-mentioned level of interaction, they also provided in depth
descriptions of events, and a combined interpretive process of memories shared
by individuals. Lastly, the focus goups linked the historical recollections and
collective memory of the goup (Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2005). This was
particularly important in explaining the skills and capacities that the participants
found important to develop youth adult partnerships for community change.
Each focus goup interview contained questions that helped identify trends,
themes and patterns that helped to understand and illuminate the research
questions. During the focus goup interviews participants were presented with
three separate scenarios (Appendix B) that may or may not have represented their

experience within their community or experiences with their community-based

59

organization. The scenarios depicted social conditions that affect communities
across the United States and closely resemble social conditions present in the
participant’s communities. The scenarios served as a point of reference for
participants to ﬂame their understanding of the research topic and questions. The
scenarios also provided an opportunity to discuss difficult community issues
without directly implicating their own community. Additionally, the scenarios
provided examples or connecting situations for youth participants to ﬂame their
answers to the research questions. This strategy was especially helpful for
younger participants. It allowed them to ﬂame their experiences as it related to
community change work. After each scenario, participants were asked a set of
ﬂaming questions followed by several probing questions. Each focus goup
interview was audio recorded for transcription purposes and video recorded to
provide the researcher an opportunity to revisit the discussion.

One-on-one interviews. Interviews were selected as the primary method for
data collection in this research. The interview was selected for its ability to
generate rich, thick descriptions of the participant’s experiences and perceptions.
Additionally, it provided space to clarify and probe for geater understanding and
additional information. Interviews allowed opportunities to capture the
individual’s perspectives about particular events (Creswell, 1994; Denzin &
Lincoln, 2003; Marshall & Rossman, 2006).

Although interviews provided certain beneﬁts and strengths, there were also
limitations. One limitation included the level of openness, clarity, and perspective

about events. Additionally, participants vary in their level of articulation of

60

events. This was especially present when speaking with youth. Additionally, it
was clear that the quality of data gathered during interviews were also a result of
researcher skill levels in the interview process. Lastly, interviews did not always
occur in the most optimum environment. Therefore, it was necessary for the
researcher to remain both ﬂuid and ﬂexible to maintain ﬂee interaction and
openness ﬂom participants. The executive director of each organization
participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. The interviews helped to
understand how each community-based organization went about the work of
community change and implementing youth adult partnerships as a collective
leadership strategy.
Data Analysis

I used verbatim transcriptions ﬂom audiotapes of the focus goups and
one—on-one interviews to develop individual case studies for the leadership teams
of each of the three community based organizations. This approach proved to be
an effective way to segnent and make sense of the data. The structured protocol
helped to ﬂame the focus goup and interviews in a manner conducive for
conducting a cross case analysis of the three case studies. It also aided in
uncovering multiple, “patterns and themes that cut across individual experiences”
(Patton, 2002, p.57).

This inquiry relied heavily on the qualitative data approaches used in this
study. The transcripts were divided into goups of text segnents, which were

generated ﬂom focus goup interviews and one-on-one interviews. Each text

segnent was examined to determine its meaning or connection with particular

61

research questions. This process was used to uncovered themes or broad
categories that described the skills and capacities to generate youth adult
partnerships. As themes and categories surfaced, I interpreted the meaning of the
data by reﬂecting on how the ﬁndings coincided with, 1) the theoretical
ﬂamework, 2) existing research, 3) by stating personal reﬂections about the
sigriﬁcance of the lessons learned during the study, and 4) by drawing out larger,
more abstract meanings (Creswell, 1998).

To identify sigriﬁcant statements and ideas around themes, the data was
funneled through the following process; 1) data acquisition, 2) relevant extraction,
3) data transformation, 4) relevant content, 5) expert analysis, and 6) insights.
The funneling process aided in identifying sigriﬁcant statements or ideas.
Additionally, the funneling process linked clusters of statements and ideas around
themes. 1 was then able to synthesize the clusters into textual and structured
descriptions of the leadership team’s perceptions and experiences part of a case.
Content Analysis

This study utilized the process of early data analysis as described by Miles
and Huberrnan (1994). Early data analysis was an ongoing and recurring process
of analysis as data was collected. This process was effective because it provided
opportunities to collect new data to ﬁll gaps, or test new understandings that
emerged during analysis. It also encouraged a constant cross-check of researcher
assumptions and biases. Early analysis helped to cycle back and forth between
new and existing data. This process often helped to generate strategies for

collecting new data. That is, it helped to reﬂarne how the research questions were

62

posed during the focus goups and interviews. It helped to understand how to
segue into probing questions and ﬁne tuned the process of creating and allowing
pregrant pauses which allowed participants the ﬂeedom to think more deeply
about their responses without feeling pressure to answer quickly. Finally, early
analysis reduced the amount of data to be analyzed at the end of the study.

According to Lincoln and Guba (1985) a unit should reveal information
relevant to the study and stimulate the reader to think beyond the particular bit of
information. It should also be the “smallest piece of information about something
that can stand by itself—it must be interpretable in the absence of any additional
information other than a broad understanding of the context in which the inquiry
is carried out” (p. 345).

Category construction was part of the analysis that began with the ﬁrst
reading of transcripts, ﬁeld notes, and other documents. As I read through
portions of the transcripts, I made notations that were particularly interesting,
potentially relevant, or important to the study. After working through the data in
this manner I went back to the data and observed the comments and began to
goup them together. As I moved through each transcript I repeated the process
of making comments of bits of data that stood out and returned to goup the
comments. I compared each set of gouped comments ﬂom the data sets,
compared them to the previous list of comments, and merged the list into a master
list of concepts. The master list of concepts reﬂected the recurring themes or
patterns in the study. The categories that appear in the study met the following

criteria; reﬂected the purpose of the study, were exhaustive, mutually exclusive,

63

sensitizing, and conceptually conguent. I utilized cross-analysis of the data to
assure that the analysis went beyond mere categorical or taxonomic integation of
the data in an effort to deveIOp a theory.

Developing a Theory

The data analysis moved through four levels 1) basic levels that were
organized chronologically, 2) descriptive interpretation, 3) a concrete description
of observable data to 4) more abstract level that involved the use of concepts to
describe the phenomenon of youth and adult partnerships. This process consisted
of systematically classifying data into some sort of schema made of categories
and themes. The categories described data as well as interpreted the data. The
analysis also involved making inferences, developing models, and generating a
theory.

The process of thinking about the data or theorizing was a step toward
drawing inferences about future activity. This cogritive process of developing
and manipulating abstract categories and relationships among the categories
segued into the development of abstractions across cases (Le Compte, Preissle, &
Tesch, 1993). These abstractions provided a general explanation that ﬁt each of
the individual cases (Yin, 1994). Finally, I looked carefully at the complex
conﬁguration of processes within each case, to understand the local dynamics.
Participant Selection

Patton (2002) advised that ‘then a person, goup, organization, or country
is the unit of analysis qualitative methods involve observation and description

focused directly on the unit” (p.228). The leadership teams of three community-

64

based organizations focused on establishing youth adult partnerships for the
purpose of community change were the unit of analysis. I wished to be able to
“say something at the end of the study” about the skills and capacities of the each
leadership team to generate youth and adult partnerships (Patton, 2002, p.229).

In the fall of 2002, The WK. Kellogg Foundation launched the Kellogg
Leadership for Community Change (KLCC) initiative. KLCC is a leadership
initiative that marked a shift ﬂom the development of individual fellows within
communities, to the development of goups of fellows within communities.
KLCC was an evolutionary and innovative component of leadership development
because it emphasized leadership development as a process for creating
community change through the collective action among individual leaders. This
form of collective action also placed emphasis on the participation of the
nontraditional leaders and focused on their ability to work across cultural and
ethnic boundaries (Hughes, 2005).

Each community-based organization formed a leadership team responsible for
recruiting youth and adults conrrnitted to embracing youth adult partnerships and working
toward a particular corrrrnunity change issue. The leadership team also identiﬁed
potential local and regional funders who could support and sustain the community change
efforts of the community-based organization. Additionally, the leadership team created
plans to develop their own leadership capacity and created an action plan to work
collectively with community members. Finally, the leadership teams worked to identify
the lessons learned ﬂom their goup experiences and worked to transfer those lessons and

experiences in ways that citizens could learn ﬂom them, by creating a process and

65

structure that supported the work of community change. These communities shared the
goal of improving or generating youth adult partnerships, but differed vastly in terms of
their speciﬁc educational challenges and individual membership. For example, Roca
faced high dropout rates of minority youth ﬂom the public schools, as well as, imrnigant
right issues; the Benton Harbor community was recently recovering ﬂom the social
unrest and racial tension of previous years; youth and adults in MICasa, worked to
improve community and middle school relations by infusing student interactions with
meaningful cultural traditions.

Purposeﬁd Sample. Based on the above descriptions of the leadership
teams’ duties and responsibilities, I identiﬁed the leadership teams as the most
appropriate sample population to understand the research questions. This
purposeful sample consisted of two goups, youth/young adults and adults. The
youth ages ranged ﬂom 12 to 17, and young adults age ranged ﬂom 18 to 24.
Adults included anyone 25 and older. Positive youth development literature
explains that an appropriate range for youth serving pro garns is between the ages
of 12 to 24 (Benson, 1997; Wheeler, 2006). The distinction between youth and
young adult was determined based on the levels of social independence as
described in positive youth development literature. Youth at the beginning of the
age range were old enough to operate at increasing levels of independence and
maturity. Additionally, youth proclivity to “gow up” aided in their quest for
independence and coincided with an increasing level of developmental maturity
that allow them to beneﬁt ﬂom youth leadership training progarns. The decision

to extend the latter age range to twenty-four is based on those individuals

66

eligibility to be claimed as dependents by parents and guardians (Benson, 1997;
Mohammad & Wheeler, 2001).

The sample consisted of 18 participants, 6 ﬂom each of the three
community-based organizations. The leadership team at each site represented the
sample. The leadership teams consisted of 1) a youth coach and an adult coach 2)
a youth evaluator and an adult evaluator; 3) a pro garn director (adult); and 4) a
community-based organization executive director. Each member of the leadership
team was active with the KLCC project at their organization for three years or
more, participated in youth adult partnership activities at the community-based
organization, and was available to participate in focus goup interviews and one-
on-one interviews during the site visit.

Selection ofcommunity-based organization. The three community-based
organizations in this study were selected ﬂom a pool of eleven community-based
organizations that participated in the W. K. Kellogg Foundation funded
longitudinal project entitled Kellogg Leadership for Community Change (KLCC).
The KLCC initiative was a project conducted over a six-yearperiod that focused
on collective leadership development among nontraditional community leaders
interested in social issues in their communities. The three community-based
organizations were chosen based on their diverse geogaphic locations, their
strong commitment to youth adult partnerships, and a higher number of members
that were consistently involved and engaged in the longitudinal project.
Additionally, each community-based organization had a historical tradition and

record of youth and adults working together with special focus on positive youth

67

development as one approach used to address social issues in their community.
The determining factors for the selection of the three organizations were 1) their
participation in the KLCC session committed to developing youth adult
partnerships, 2) a sustained and documented historical tradition of addressing
community issues, and 3) vision and mission dedicated to developing youth and
adult interactions in families, communities, and the organization.

The three community based organizations selected for this study were
located in urban areas ﬂom three distinct regions of the United States, 1) Boys
and Girls Club of America Teen Center located in Benton Harbor, Michigan; 2)
MiCasa Center for Women and Families located in Denver, Colorado; and 3)
Roca Chelsea, Massachusetts. Each site had an extended history, mission, proven
record of youth and adults working together to affect change within their
communities.

Ethical Considerations

I understand that in any research study, ethical issues relating to protection
of the participants are of vital concern (Marshall & Rossman, 1999). As such, the
researcher is responsible for informing and protecting participants. Therefore,
each participant was enlisted on a voluntary basis. They were informed of the
purpose of the study, the central issue under exploration, and the possibility of
their responses being published under a pseudonym. Although it was anticipated
that no serious ethical threats were posed to any of the participants or their well

being, the study employed safety measures to further secure and protect them.

68

Each participant sigred a consent form which indicated that they
participated voluntarily. Each participant was informed of their rights and interest
prior to their participation. Names and other identifying characteristics have been
changed to maintain conﬁdentiality of participants. All data was stored in a
locked and secure location to which only the researcher had access.

T rustworthiness and Validity

I was a member of the national evaluation team for a longitudinal project
being funded by the WK. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, MI entitled Kellogg
Leadership for Community Change initiative (KLCC) ﬂom the fall of 2006 until
the spring of 2009. During that time, I developed interview protocols for the one-
on-one interviews and focus goup interviews, and assisted in the design and
implementation of data collection instruments. I have also participated in and
contributed to numerous site visits, conference calls, and meetings and data
analysis.

In the spirit of qualitative research, my goal was to tell an objective story.
However, considering that this objective story was gounded in my own lived
experiences and realities, it inevitably contains a minor degee of subjectivity. In
an effort to compensate for such subjectivity, I used verbatim transcripts and
descriptions of participant’s accounts, direct quotes and quotations ﬂom video
and audio recordings and triangulation that included cross-checking of gathered
information and conclusions. Multiple data sources were utilized as a form of
triangulation of the data to better understand the studied phenomenon.

Investigator triangulation was also applied throughout this study. Multiple

69

investigators reviewed all collected data. Finally, participant response and
discussion of the researcher’s interpretations were used for veriﬁcation. Each
community-based organization received copies of the audio and video recordings
of focus goups and one-on—one interviews.

I used reﬂexivity, self-awareness, and critical self-reﬂection to address my
potential biases and predispositions. Additionally, I addressed the interpretive
validity by extending the data collection process to include original text or
participant stories to illuminate the research questions. I used several types of
member checks to improve the accuracy, credibility and validity or
trustworthiness of data analysis and interpretation. During this study participants
had an opportunity to assess or respond to the adequacy of data and preliminary
results. Although, clearly ﬁxed truths are elusive, a level of inter-rater reliability
was sought to conﬁrm the interpretation of the data. To accomplish the above
goal, this project used the expertise of an advisory board composed of individuals
that are part of the KLCC initiative. The advisory board functioned as a member
check for interpretive and descriptive validity. The advisory board consisted of an
individual ﬂom the evaluation team, the coordinating organization, and one ﬂom
each of the selected sites. This project also relied heavily of the expertise of the
individuals on the dissertation committee. Special attention was given to the
desigr of this study to reduce participant fatigue, stress, and any
misunderstanding of questions on the research instruments.

I am clear that the nature or intent of qualitative research is not to generalize

the ﬁndings, but to “form a unique interpretation of events” (Creswell, 1994,

70

p.159). Additionally, the ability to generalize ﬁeld research in qualitative studies
is challenging for at least three speciﬁc reasons, 1) due to the personal nature and
inﬂuence of the researcher, 2) the comprehensive and in-depth understanding
gained by the researcher is often less understood by others, and 3) generalizations
are difﬁcult to attain within speciﬁc observed subject matter (Babbie, 1992).

The use of focus goup interviews was also carefully considered. Focus
goup interviews involve creating a non-threatening environment for participants.
Participants in this study included individuals ﬂom youth serving community-
based organizations that were committed to developing youth and adult
partnerships. However, a commitment to a particular leadership development
approach does not erase the existence of varying levels of power or expertise.
Giroux (1981) and Polite (1992) suggest that rapport be developed between the
researcher and participants to compensate or lower the resistance to power and the
mistrust of authority ﬁgures or individuals associated with any authority structure.
Additionally, in an effort to create an environment where participants felt
comfortable to speak ﬂeely, adults that held obvious positions of power such as
supervisors or progarn directors within the organization did not participate in the
focus goups. Adults that had daily interactions with youth and served as youth
coaches or youth evaluators were the only adults that participated in the focus
goups with youth. Adults in the above capacities were often described by youth
as “cool.” The idea of a “cool” adult translates to an adult that youth view as

advocates that are accessible and approachable. Potential adult participants were

71

selected ﬂom a pool of youth coaches and youth evaluators that worked with

youth as adult partners.

72

CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS
Three Community Based Organization Case Studies

The objective of this research was to understand the central research question,
“What skills and capacities were utilized by leadership teams of three community-based
organizations to develop youth and adult partnerships that focused on addressing
community change issues?” To better understand the skills and capacities to generate the
complex phenomenon of youth adult partnerships, I focused on the leadership team of
each community-based organizations. The leadership team at each organization
purposefully worked to generate youth adult partnerships. The ﬁndings presented in this
chapter illuminate what was expressed as the necessary skills and capacities to generate
youth adult partnerships. Furthermore, this chapter identiﬁes key components necessary
for youth adult partnerships to address particular community issues.

The ﬁrst section of this chapter presents a case study of each community based
organization. Each community based case study is to provide insight to addresses the
research question: How does “place” deﬁne the nature of the youth adult partnerships
focused on community change? The case study addresses the research question by
providing insight into the following areas: understanding the complexities of community
context, organizational context and youth adult partnerships within the organization. A
table containing demogaphics information of the three community based organizations is
provided to ﬂame and focus the research question. Table 1, Demogaphics is included to
help understand the composition of participants at each organization that participated in

the youth adult partnership work. Of special note is the balance of gender across the

73

organizations. Additionally, while not surprising, the demogaphics of the participants in
the youth adult partnership work was dependent upon the composition of the community.
Therefore, race/ethnicity within each organization may not be diverse. However, across

the three (3) organizations there is broad race/ethnicity representation.

Table 2: Demogaphics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BENTON MICASA ROCA
HARBOR
Gender
Male 50.0% 47.8% 42.9%
Female 50.0% 52.2% 57.1%
Race/Ethnicity
African-American 80% 0% 9.5%
Latino 0% 60.9% 57.1%
Native American 0% 4.3% 0%
Multiracial/ethnic 10.0% 4.3% 4.8%
White 10.0% 26.1% 23.8%
Current Work
Situation
Full Time 10.0% 26.1% 42.9%
Employment
Not Employed 0% 0% 9.5%
Volunteer 0% 0% 4.8%
Post-Secondary 20.0% 30.4% 0%

 

 

 

 

74

 

Table 2 (continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post-Secondary 20.0% 30.4% 0%
Student

K-12 Student 70% 43.5% 33.3%
Adults 10.0% 26.0% 67.0%
Youth 90.0% 74.0% 33.3%

 

 

 

 

Findings were generated ﬂom data collected during focus goup interviews with the
leadership team, one-on-one interviews with the executive directors of each organization,
and archival data for each organization. This chapter is meant to provide an
understanding of and familiarize the reader with the history of organization, an
understanding of the community each organization serves, and the core programs
provided to the community by each organization.

Research Question 1

The ﬁrst research question asked: How does “place” deﬁne the nature of the
youth adult partnerships focused on community change?
Findings 1

Place matters. Place and the understanding of community identity, values, and
practices help individuals become more aware of how to affect positive change in their
communities. Identiﬁcation with “place” and its ecology helps to develop a concept of
“learning how to be.” Learning how to be helped the leadership team to navigate and

negotiate their position in “places” within the community. Additionally, it helped

75

 

It is within the concept of “place” that individuals learn how to navigate politics,
economic systems, and negotiate resources. Additionally, it is in “place” that individuals
learn values, politics, relationships, and concepts of how to improve upon circumstances
and situations. Improving circumstances and situations was explained as learning how to
nurture ideas, make decisions, and build strong communities based on collective dialogue
with community members and community based organizations. The following case
studies for each community based organization provides the insight of how each
organization approaches, develops, teaches and provides training and resources for
community members to impact community change.

Boys and Girls Club of America Teen Center, Benton Harbor, MI
Understanding Complexities of Community Context

Benton Harbor is located on the Southwest corner of the state of Michigan.
During the early 1900s, the city of Benton Harbor was home of one of largest ﬂesh ﬂuit
markets in the United States. The area once enjoyed the prosperity generated by the
farming industry, as well as, serving as the headquarters for Whirlpool, at the time the
largest US manufacturer of appliances. The city was established as a result of the
innovation and vision of Eleazar Morton. In the 18303, Morton bought 160 acres of land
in a portion of present day Benton Charter Township. Morton and his son Henry planted
orchards and prospered in the sale of ﬂuit. A market was established for
the convenience of farmers on the East Side of the Saint Joseph River. Henry, Charles
Hull and prominent resident Sterne Brunson, built a mile-long Canal through the wetland
between the river and the future Benton Harbor. The town that developed ﬂom this

venture was named Brunson Harbor. In 1865, Brunson Harbor was renamed Benton

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Harbor in honor of Thomas Hart Benton, a Missouri Senator who is credited with helping
Michigan in its plea to become a state.

Benton Harbor ﬂourished for nearly a century. The town’s population gew
largely as a result to meet the employment demands of the appliance and other industries.
Many of the new residents were Aﬂican-Americans ﬂom the South in search of better
employment and equal opportunity. The area also became a popular destination for many

tourist and attracted many new businesses and industries. Unfortunately, in the 19608,
Benton Harbor began to decline. Industries and residents moved out of the city. Many
blame the decline on poor race relations and other inner-city issues that plagued Benton
Harbor and the rest of nation. Benton Harbor is separated by the St. Joseph River which
winds its way ﬂom northern Indiana through the hilly croplands of southwestern
Michigan, and eventually empties into Lake Michigan. Although at is widest point, the
St. Joseph River spans 450 feet across, the gap is dwarfed by the distance between the
two communities that it cuts between. South of the river on a hill is St. Joseph, a town of
nine thousand that resembles the quaint tourist town of the New England coast. Its
downtown has several boutiques, antique shops, galleries, and small clothing stores. It’s
a short walk ﬂom the downtown business district to Lake Michigan’s coast. The town is
made up of both blue-collar families and professionals, many of whom work at the
international corporate headquarters or Whirlpool. However, the most deﬁning
characteristic of the town is its racial makeup of over 95 percent white.

Benton Harbor lies just across the river. It has a population of nearly twelve
thousand. It is often referred to as the “Twin City” of St. Joseph. Technically speaking,

the term should be altered ﬂom “twin cities” to “ﬂatemal twin cities.” Although they

77

were developed or conceived at the same time, ﬂom the same swath of land, and then
split or separated, by the St. Joseph River, the two cities similarities end there. Residents
of Benton Harbor are over 92 percent Black and poor. The typical family income of
Benton Harbor residents is one fourth that of a family in St. Joseph.

The decline continued until the late 19803. In 1986 Benton Harbor became the
focus of state government attention and was desigrated as an enterprise zone. The
enterprise zone provides substantial incentives for business location and has become the
basis for the renewal of Benton Harbor. While Benton Harbor is experiencing somewhat
of an economic awakening, the city is still sluggish in reducing many of the ills created
during previous decades. Unemployment is high and many of the 11,000 residents, over
ninety percent African American, still struggle. Nearly 70 percent of the children in
Benton Harbor live in poverty and adult educational attainment is low, with slightly more
than 60 percent holding high school diplomas. Many residents lack access to either a
home telephone or a vehicle and there is no public transportation.

Understanding complexities of Organization context

Although Benton Harbor still faces many obstacles, the Benton Harbor Boys and
Girls Club of America began harnessing the energy of youth to power the movement of
social change. The Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor ﬁrst opened its doors at
Berrien Homes Public Housing in Benton Harbor in 1999. In June 2001 they obtained a
lease on the former Bard Elementary School ﬂom Benton Harbor Area Schools and
relocated to its current site at 1200 East Main St., Benton Harbor, MI 49022. In 2002 the
Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor obtained the use of Benton Harbor Area School’s

Charles Gray Teen Center, located at 801 9th Street, Benton Harbor. The teen center or

78

“The Club” as it is affectionately called, was established with the focus to provide local
youth, particularly teens, a safe haven ﬂom the streets and a constructive place in which
to begin preparing themselves for the future by providing development opportunities for
young peOple ages 12 to 18 years old, the Boys & Girls Club of Benton Harbor Michigan
(BGCBH) offers local youth a diversion ﬂom the gim realities of their community.
Considering the physical, emotional, cultural, social needs and interests of girls and boys,
and recogrizing developmental principles, the BGCBH offers progarn activities in ﬁve
progam areas: Character and leadership development, Academic and career
development, Health and life Skills, Performing and visual arts, and Sports, Fitness and
Recreation.
Core programs

Character & leadership development. Programs in character and leadership
Development empower youth to support and inﬂuence their Club and community, sustain
meaningful relationships with others, develop a positive self-image, participate in the

democratic process and respect their own and others’ cultural identities.

Education and career development. Pro gams in education and career

development enable youth to become proﬁcient in basic educational disciplines, apply
learning to everyday situations and embrace technology to achieve success in a career.
Health and life skills. Progams in health and life skills develop young people’s

capacity to engage in positive behaviors that nurture their own well-being, set personal

goals and live successfully as self-sufﬁcient adults.

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The arts: Progams in the arts enable youth to develop their creativity and cultural
awareness through knowledge and appreciation of the visual arts, crafts, performing arts
and creative writing.

Sports, ﬁtness and recreation. Progams in sports, ﬁtness and recreation develop
ﬁtness, positive use of leisure time, skills for stress management, appreciation for the
environment and social skills.

Computer lab and technology center. The state of the art computer lab at Boys &
Girls Club of Benton Harbor has 22 computers that are networked together with intemet
connectivity. Members learn a wide range of subjects in computers and technology. They
learn Microsoft ofﬁce applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Access. They
also learn about the different parts required to assemble a computer.

Understanding Complexities of KLC C Youth Adult Partnerships

Along with the national mission of the Boys and Girls Club to inspire and enable
all young people, especially those ﬂom disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full
potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens; the Boys and Girls Club Teen
Center of Benton Harbor has embraced KLCC as a tool that will increase the capacity of
local individuals and organizations that are already engaged in social change work. It also
aims to widen the pool of youth and adults partnering in these efforts, and encourage their
pursuit of formal leadership positions within various sectors of the community.

The Boys and Girls Club Teen Center of Benton Harbor has seen their mission
come to ﬂuition in yet another way when it began its participation in the Kellogg
Foundation’s leadership for community change project (KLCC). The Benton Harbor

Leadership for Community Change Project began in the fall of 2004. The fellowship

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chose education as the forum to affect the change needed in Benton Harbor. All
progamming at the Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor Teen center became models
of “youth adult partnerships” it included the forming of the after-school progarns and the
daily schedule to accommodate the character of the leadership pro garns. There were
also several education initiatives underway (parenting progarn, after-school tutoring,
after-school loft progarn, and youth in government). The BHLCCP has helped to
remodel the Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor Teen Center. Youth have long been
the catalyst for change throughout the history of Benton Harbor. They realize that they
must partner with adults that embrace similar spirits of activism and change to succeed.
The mission of KLCC at Benton Harbor is to “build youth and adult partnerships that
give Benton Harbor youth hope for tomorrow by empowering them today.” The Club has
served as a catalyst to cause change in Benton Harbor. It has aligred youth and adults in
a collective fashion that allows both goups to learn ﬂom each other. The youth realize
that adults can serve as more than people in charge, but as resources and allies that can
aid them in making changes in their community. The adults have come to see youth as
individuals that care about their community and are willing to do something to improve
it, rather than as young people with problems that cause problems.

The Benton Harbor KLCC project has addressed some of the social conditions
that currently plague their community by mobilizing their members to inform the
community of the issues and providing them with viable solutions. Alarmingly low
school achievement and gaduation rates have increased the incidence of real poverty,
teen pregrancy, substance abuse, and other social ills for many youth in Benton Harbor,

MI. To address these dilemmas, community members have partnered with city

81

government, local schools, and local/national businesses to offer supplemental leadership
development progamming. They have managed to engage city ofﬁcials in discussions
about concerns and provide suggestions for solutions. As a result of their engagement
they are now considered in decisions that affect their community. Additionally, they are
often contacted by members of the city council, school boards, and businesses for insight
on issues that affect the community.

Youth are training other youth to do service work. They are beginning to develop
partnerships that allow collective leadership development between neighboring
communities. Many of the youth that participated in this progarn have gaduated ﬂom
high school and have gone on to college and remain connected to the work in Benton
Harbor. They visit regularly and serve as mentors to those that are still in school.

All progamming at the Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor Teen center
became models of “youth adult partnerships” it included the forming of the after-
school progarns and the daily schedule to accommodate character development
and the leadership development progams. There were also several education
initiatives underway (parenting progarn, after-school tutoring, after-school loft
progarn, and youth in government). The Benton Harbor Leadership for
Community Change Project (BHLCCP) has helped to remodel the Boys and Girls
Club of Benton Harbor Teen Center. Youth have long been the catalyst for change
throughout the history of Benton Harbor. They realize that they must partner with
adults that embrace similar spirits of activism and change to succeed (Li gi Benton
Harbor leadership team).

Mi Casa Resource Center for Women and Families, Denver, C 0
Understanding Complexities of Community Context

“One of the most profound things is that youth are often already leaders and have
skills related to leadership and simply need opportunities and/or support and
encouragement to display those traits. As one Fellow put it, “. . .the youth are very
good. It’s amazing when you are real and get to the point, when you are not
judging, and really listening and asking the right questions that it brings out the
best. For those youth who are less outgoing and not currently at a place to step up
as leaders, merely presenting leadership opportunities is not enough. Often they

82

need tools and resources in order to fully implement their gifts and use them to
create community change.” (Member of Leadership Team)

Located high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Denver is well known as the mile
high city. Denver is a vibrant city with 300 days of annual sunshine, year-round
adventure and breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains. The City has long been a
beacon of hope and a place of opportunity for many since its origin in 1858. Today,
Denver continues to be a magret for individuals in search of hope and opportunity. The
City has gown to over half-million residents, over a third are Latino. The strong Latino
presence has made Denver the most diverse city in the state. Latino culture is intertwined
throughout the city; it is present in the lively music, delectable dining, eclectic arts
collections, and a gowing educational system. Unfortunately, while Denver
provides opportunities for some, others search for their chance for success. The median
income for residents in the city is $40,900. But, 20 percent of people still live in poverty.
At 23 percent, Latinos have the highest poverty rate in the city. Families struggle to
attain jobs that pay livable wages and work to overcome low levels of educational
attainment. Many Latino residents face high dropout rates, increased levels of teen
pregrancy, and decreased options for affordable housing. The schools served by Mi Casa
have between 93 to 96 percent of students meeting federal poverty standards and qualify
for federal ﬂee or reduced lunch. A quarter to over half of those students are learning
English as a second language. The effort of the fellowship is focused on working to

empower youth and adult allies to improve education.

83

Understanding complexities of Organizational context

MiCasa Resource Center for Women and Families was founded in 1976.
The mission of the organization is to “provide quality employment and education
progarns that promote self-sufﬁciency for primarily low-income, Latina women
and youth.” The organization was started by eight Head Start mothers that lived
in West Denver. From the outset the organization sought to advocate for the
needs of Latina women and their families by providing educational and
employment services. Meeting in a donated space they called Mi Casa (My
House), the women enlisted the support of the community to start classes,
focusing on life skills training for primarily low-income Latina clientele.
Gradually, Mi Casa added progarns to meet the evolving needs of its
constituency. While still offering basic life skills training, the organization began
offering advice on starting a new business, dropout intervention for teenage
youth, and health education. With these new progarns, Mi Casa expanded their
target population beyond Latinas to include youth and males. Today, the
organization’s clientele includes males and females ranging in age ﬂom teenager
to senior citizen. Its progamming is diverse, with career counseling, sex
education, teen pregrancy and dropout prevention, employment referral, GED
preparation and computer training just a sampling of the services offered
(Extending the reach of youth development through civic activism: Research
results ﬂom the youth leadership development initiative. Volume 2, December,
2003). MiCasa’s efforts to make connections between personal identity, culture

and community, paired with empowering youth to take a leadership role in

84

ﬁnding solutions to local problems, is one way they seek to transform dreams and
hopes of opportunities for success into realities. With KLCC, MiCasa plans to
expand its current work, connecting to other decision-making institutions and
creating new Opportunities for youth and adults to work together as peers in social
change.

MiCasa’s mission has been to advance self-sufﬁciency for primarily low-income
Latinas and youth. Over the years the mission of MiCasa has gown and now serves
young people and women and men of all backgounds. The center offers entrepreneurial
training and small business planning; job training, placement and career counseling; GED
and English as a Second Language classes; education, wellness and youth leadership
activities; and community development.

MiCasa’s efforts to make connections between personal identity, culture and
community, paired with empowering youth to take a leadership role in ﬁnding solutions
to local problems, is one way they seek to transform dreams and hopes of opportunities
for success into realities. With KLCC, MiCasa expanded its current work, connected to
other decision-making institutions and created new opportunities for youth and adults to
work together as peers in social change.

MiCasa Resource Center for Women and Families is located in Denver’s
predominately Latino West-side community. The area has experienced a steady stream
of Spanish-speaking immigants for most of the twentieth century. The community
suffers ﬂom high rates of poverty, economic underdevelopment, crime, and
unemployment. Located near the economically revitalized downtown Denver, the area

has become a prime choice of residence for newly affluent professional Anglos, and as an

85

unfortunate result of this gentriﬁcation, community residents face a housing crisis. The
community has a long history of gassroots organizing, neighborhood activism and
community development which continues today through the work of several prominent
gassroots organizations that offer Opportunities for Latino youth and promote awareness
of public policy issues affecting the Latino community.

Core programs. Mi Casa operates three major progam components-career,
business, and youth development. Within youth development, Mi Casa operates the
following progarns:

The FENIX project. The F ENIX project is desigred to teach language pregrancy
prevention and educate youth regarding the dangers of STD/HIV infection. The core of
the FENIX strategy is the use of peer educators. These educators undergo intensive
training in anatomy, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and birth control. They
make educational presentations and theater performances in area schools, recreation
centers, churches, detention facilities, and community agencies.

Mi Carrera. Mi Carrera (My Career) is a dropout prevention and career
development progam for middle and high school age young women. Its dual goals are to
reduce the dropout rate and increase the number of youth Latinas who go on to college or
vocational school. The sessions focus on issues such as self-esteem, goal setting, career
awareness, leadership development, and vocational and post-secondary educational
research.

Mi Camino. Mi Camino (My Road) project increases the awareness of the
importance of education and the knowledge of post-secondary educational opportunities

for young pregrant and /or parenting mothers (ages 16-21). The project consists of

86

intensive GED preparation, workshops and trips to familiarize participants with post-
secondary and vocational opportunities.
Understanding Complexities of KLC C Youth Adult Partnerships

The KLCC progam was departure ﬂom other Mi Casa projects, which primarily
focus on business, career, and educational development. Many of the Mi Casa staff were
less experienced with working with youth development and were challenged by the
parameter of avoiding conﬂict with agency policy regarding civic engagement by staff
members. Mi Casa policy does not allow the agency to be involved in partisan political
issues. Therefore, the KLCC project required staff to involve youth in social change in
ways that required a renewed discussion and articulation of those policies. After working
with the board of directors and executive director, the decision was made that these Mi
Casa boundaries could be respected by engaging youth in local causes that did not require
a partisan orientation, but focused on issue education and individual skill building of
youth participants. After these discussions, staff realized that they had strayed ﬂom the
organizational strengths in traditional youth development tenets-safety, relationship
building, and youth participation-and moved into a narrowly deﬁned civic activism. Mi
Casa leaders decided to shift approaches. The result was a focus on civic activism that
included leadership training, public speaking, and participation in local mobilization
efforts around several issues (education reform, voter education and the building of the
prison in the neighborhood). The Mi Casa KLCC has organized informational
roundtables for community youth that offered a variety of perspectives on local, national

and international concerns (US/Middle East relations, under-representation of people of

87

color in elected ofﬁce, and police brutality). Mi Casa is now looking for ways to infuse
the principles of youth adult partnerships into all youth progamming.

Roca Chelsea, MA
Understanding Complexities of Community Context

Chelsea is one of the oldest cities in America. For close to 400 years immigants
have found their way to Chelsea and called it home. Chelsea deﬁnes itself as a landing
point for immigants but also understands the transitory nature of many new residents. As
such, Chelsea has been at the foreﬂont of recent immigation issues, both at the state and
national levels. Much of their involvement centers around the gowing population of
undocumented residents and the city’s recent decision to declare itself a “sanctuary city.”
Like those before them, the current trends in immigants have unique needs that the city
seems willing to embrace, but also share many common hopes of the waves of
immigants that preceded them.

Chelsea borders Boston and is situated in the heart of a major metropolitan area.
Although Chelsea measures only 1.8 miles in land area, there are over 35,000 residents of
varying ethnicities, incomes and religions occupy the space. The median income is
approximately 60% of state median. The city is a popular destination for young
professionals seeking refuge ﬂom the ever increasing rent and mortgage cost found in
neighboring Boston. While Chelsea serves as home for young professionals and blue
collar families, it is also home to individuals facing incredible obstacles to healthy
lifestyles. A few of the obstacles to healthy living include prostitution, gang activity,
involvement with drugs, elevated high school drop out rates, and teenage parents. As a

result of the above mentioned obstacles, many of these individuals also have problems

88

with traditional education and therefore, place a lower premium on education. As such,
nearly 30% of ninth gade students drop out.

A majority of Chelsea’s residents are Latino, 33% are Caucasian and 12% are
Southeast Asians. Chelsea is the fastest gowing city in Suffolk County, and 28% of
residents are under the age of 18. Chelsea has the lowest per capita income of any city in
the Commonwealth ($13,633), and in 2002 the teen birth rate was more than three times
the state average. Although Roca is located in Chelsea, it serves individuals ﬂom at least
two neighboring communities.

The City of Revere lies north of Chelsea, and is home to a large immigant
population. The 3,000 plus Cambodian refugees live near a gowing number of Aﬁican-
American and Latin American immigants, as well as recent newcomers ﬂom Bosnia,
Somalia and Nigeria. The youth and families of Revere live in a community where the
per capita income is nearly 20% lower than the Commonwealth’s median per capita
income 12% of the population lives in poverty and/or receives some form of public
assistance the AIDS case rate is in the highest 90th percentile in the Commonwealth
reported STD rates are among the highest in the Commonwealth and the nation teen
pregrancy rates are 200% higher than the Commonwealth average 61% of 10th gaders
failed at least one portion of the MCAS exam in 2002.

The East Boston neighborhood of the City of Boston, which borders Chelsea to
the southeast and Revere to the northeast, has always been home to immigants, and in
recent years, has experienced the most dramatic change in terms of a newcomer

population. East Boston is home to many recent immigants or refugees ﬂom throughout

89

South and Central America, as well as South East Asia, Haiti and Eastern Europe. Like
Chelsea, these neighborhoods also face challenges.

East Boston’s socioeconomic indicators reveal that 40% of its residents have not
achieved a high school diploma or GED equivalent approximately 30% of East Boston’s
children live below the poverty level East Boston High School is one of Boston’s inner
city high schools selected for reform due to performance challenges cited by the
Massachusetts Department of Education.

Understanding Complexities of Organizational Context

Roca is a youth development organization in Chelsea, MA. It provides services
and development opportunities to many marginalized youth in the Boston, MA area. The
organization has a vision to aid young people in thriving and leading change by
promoting justice and fostering opportunities to lead happy and healthy lives (Wheeler,
2006). The organization serves individuals that come across diﬂiculty participating in
traditional progarns for school age youth, adult educational progarns, job training,
planned parenting, just to name a few. Roca means “rock” in Spanish. Roca’s
hopefulness and belief that we can “be the change” is the foundation of our commitment
to young people and the communities in which we live. Launched ﬂom a single gant
ﬂom the Teen Challenge Fund of Massachusetts, a passionate goup of young people and
adults started Roca in 1988 to address teen pregrancy prevention and violence in
Chelsea.

Roca’s theory of change focus is that young people thrive and lead change when
they understand, practice, and live the values of belonging, generosity, competence, and

independence. In order to help youth and young adults understand, practice and live these

90

values, we use ﬁve strategic methods: (a) relentless street work and outreach; (b)
transformational relationships; (c) peacemaking circles; ((1) Opportunities for life skills,
education, and employment; and (e) engaging the institutions that are a part of young
people’s lives.

These methods are used to engage young people and others in a process of
change that enables them to increase positive knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors
over time and in stages, which allow youth and young adults to be self-sufﬁcient
and live out of harm’s way. The use of “circles” and “ﬁshbone diagarns” has
helped Roca to build trust and critical communication among teenagers and young
adults often considered disenﬂanchised. Rather than focusing on others as
sources of problems, participants commit to making personal transformations.

They learn to respect, listen with compassion, and tolerate differing points of
view. The process provides opportunity for individuals to speak and be heard.
One member of the Roca staff explains that circles create social change by
shifting ﬂom a power-based center to one focused on relationship building. The
relationship building is gounded in the desire to create an environment that
fosters respectful relationships and views youth and young adults as part of the
solution rather than as problems in need of solving.

Roca works with young people who are without the relationships, resources, or
support to keep them alive and help them imagine and embrace possibility, learning, and
change. Through relentless outreach and support, Roca builds life-altering,
transformational relationships between disconnected young people and caring adults.

Relentless not only means engaging with these young people when they are most

91

resistant, it means meeting them where they are — in the streets, in their homes, at school.
For many of these young people, voluntarily coming into Roca is not a realistic
expectation. Youth workers continue to meet them in the places where they are until they
are ready to engage within Roca.

At the core of Roca’s work with young people lies the Transformational
Relationship Model. We fundamentally understand that in order to engage very
disconnected and disengaged young people in opportunities to move toward self-
sufﬁciency and living out of harm’s way, it is essential to ﬁrst spend the time to
reconnect and re-engage them in positive relationships. It means showing up in a young
person’s life, over and over, both when things are going well and especially when it gets
very hard. Transformational Relationships create a connection that can hold the balance
and the tension of gowth and change. They engage young people and adults that care in
a process of change that enables them to increase positive knowledge, attitudes, and
behaviors over time and through the stages of change.

Roca uses this alternative communication technique to enable discussions around
challenging issues and facilitate personal learning, healing, accountability, and
community building. We learned peacemaking circles ﬂom the Tagish Tlingit people of
the Yukon Territory and share them to the best of our ability as we learned them.

The circle process is “simple but not easy,” and must be experienced to be fully
gasped and replicated. There is an intangible quality to circles that must be experienced,
in order to be understood. However, there are some key structures that help to deﬁne the

circle. The meeting space is the most visible structure. Participants are seated in a circle

92

focusing on the center where symbolic objects may be placed to remind participants of
values shared among those in the circle.

A talking piece is used as a way to ensure respect between speakers and listeners.
The talking piece is passed ﬂom person to person within the circle and only the person
holding the piece may speak. Two “keepers” of the circle have been identiﬁed. The
keepers guide the participants and keep the circle as a safe space. While it is possible to
have only one keeper, generally a team of two is preferable. Ceremony and ritual are used
to create safety and form. Consensus decision making honors the values and principles of
peacemaking circles and helps participants to stay gounded in them.

Roca has worked very hard to create places where our young people can learn and
practice the necessary skills that will allow them to successfully reconnect and to advance
their educational and employment opportunities. We desigr and develop stage
appropriate pro garnming to responsibly serve our speciﬁc target populations. Roca is
committed to on-going evaluation of progam effectiveness, progess, and impact. Given
that most young people at Roca will go to work before they complete their education,
Roca has developed a unique transitional employment model to help young people with
virtually no job skills learn and practice the skills they need to get a job and stay
employed. This includes a combination of earned income and transitional employment
progamming, job placement and readiness support and partnerships with area workforce
and educational institutions.

Helping high-risk young people to re-engage with education is particularly
challenging as many of them have experienced low to minimal educational success, less

than basic literacy, and have had negative experiences with education systems. To

93

address this, Roca works with area school systems to help young people stay in school
and gaduate, operates out-of-school and adult education progarns, and has implemented
an innovative “alternative” adult education model speciﬁcally desigred to re-engage
young people. Life skills and engagement activities, run regularly by youth workers, are
used to create entry points for young adults who are not quite ready to dive into
educational classes, pre-employment activities or life skills curriculum based

goups. Life skills also includes addressing court issues, housing and living skills,
parenting education, child development, substance abuse, mental health, and physical
health.

Roca is fortunate to work with many wonderful individual, organizational and
institutional partners. Given these partners’ involvement in the lives of young people,
Roca’s engaged institution strategy is desigred to promote informal and formal practice,
procedure, policy and systemic change. The institutions that are in a young person’s life —
schools, local government, agencies, and organizations — are just as inﬂuential to the
needs and gowth of a young person as Roca is. In recogrizing this, Roca sought to create
partnerships with these institutions, and open the lines of communication in order to best
serve young people. In order to share the values Roca developed, and be truly committed
to every one belonging, it was important to establish and maintain these connections.

Core programs. At the core of Roca’s work with young people lies the
Transformational Relationship Model. Roca works to engage disconnected and
disengaged young people in opportunities that provide them with the skills to become
self-sufﬁcient. These skills also aid youth in reconnecting and being more engaged in

positive transformational relationships with others. Transformational Relationships create

94

a connection that can hold the balance and the tension of gowth and change.
Transformational relationships engage young people and adults that care in a process of
change that enables them to increase positive knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors over
time and through the stages of change.

Strengthening our lives. Strengthening Our Lives (SOL) is an intensive
intervention progam for 150 in-school youth ages 14-18 in Chelsea. Project SOL’s goals
are for young people to gaduate ﬂom high school and have options for their future.
Project SOL is a ﬂee progam that runs ﬁve days a week ﬂom 3:00-8:00 pm.
Progarnming includes academic assistance, college preparation, computer classes, art,
dance, sports, ﬁeld trips, and life skills goups. We provide consistent, long-term
supportive relationships with nurturing adults; these relationships become a foundation
for success.

The via project. The via project serves 240 youth and young adults ages 16-24
every year with education, life skills, and employment opportunities. Desigred for youth
and young adults who are street, gang, court or system involved, and for newcomer
goups, the Via Project offers positive alternatives through transitional employment
opportunities, job readiness and pre-vocational training, and alternative adult educational
classes. Youth workers reach participants through relentless street outreach and referrals
ﬂom community partners and the justice system. Youth workers provide case
management and run goups focused on parenting support; HIV/AIDS, STI and substance
abuse prevention; and re-entry goups in DYS and adult facilities. VIA accepts youth and

young adults from Chelsea, East Boston, Revere, and Charlestown.

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Healthy families progam. Healthy families progam serves more than 170 ﬁrst-
time young parents with children ages 0-3 years old in Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop,
Charlestown, and East Boston through a unique home visiting pro garn that focuses on
both parent and child. Roca’s progam integates Healthy Families of America and
Healthy Families of Massachusetts with Roca’s youth development model of
transformational relationships. Roca’s progam is unique in that it is housed in a
community-based youth center and provides academic and vocational support to parents.
Roca’s Healthy Families Home Visitors reach young parents through outreach, home
visits, and referrals ﬂom community partners, health centers, and Roca’s other progams.
Home visitors run gender-speciﬁc school-based parenting goups at local high schools, an
on-site Family Center every Monday afternoon, and life skills/parenting goups in
collaboration with school-based health centers and Massachusetts General Hospital
Adolescent Health Centers.

Youth star. Youth star is an AmeriCorps-funded progam that provides
transitional employment and youth leadership development to 17 young adults ﬂom
Chelsea, East Boston, Revere, and the surrounding communities. Members of this civic
action corps commit to 11 months of community service and organizing work and receive
a weekly stipend and an educational scholarship for college tuition. Youth Star members
are working on an anti-violence and health awareness campaigr and are conducting 20
educational workshops for youth and adults throughout the community. Members
collaborate with community partners, volunteer at two area food pantries serving several

thousand people per year, and reach many more community members through weekly

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outreach. The corps hosts ﬁve major community events per year to engage their peers to
take action on critical issues, promote generosity, and work toward community change.

Roca’s MGH clinic. Roca’s MGH clinic was established in response to Youth
Star identifying an important need that wasn’t being ﬁlled — young people accessing vital
health care services. The initiative for the clinic began during Youth Star team
discussions, when members saw young people at Roca and in the community who had
nowhere to go for ﬂee conﬁdential medical care including pregrancy testing, HIV/AIDS
testing, physicals, birth control, and general health care and advice. In partnership with
Massachusetts General Hospital, the full-service, fully-equipped clinic operates on
Tuesdays and Thursdays ﬂom 5 to 9 pm. and provides ﬂee anonymous care to anyone
who desires it, including referrals for substance abuse counseling on-site.

Understanding Complexities of KLCC Youth Adult Partnerships

Now locally, nationally, and internationally recogrized, Roca is fortunate to bring
together young people, adults, community members and partners to help young people
become self-sufﬁcient and live out of harm’s way. It is our privilege and desire to share
something of value so that all of us can live Gandhi’s dream that we must “be the change
we hope see in the world.”

The core values that inspire Roca’s progams are belonging, generosity,
competence and independence. These core values help to relay to young people that they
have a place in the world, and that they have something of value to offer. Roca has
offered assistance to the community in various ways. Roca has created authentic
opportunities for youth and young adults to thrive by helping them understand and

practice the core values by two strategies, circles and ﬁshbone diagams.

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The use of “circles” and “ﬁshbone diagarns” has helped Roca to build trust and
critical communication among teenagers and young adults often considered
disenﬂanchised. Rather than focusing on others as sources of problems, participants
commit to making personal transformations. They learn to respect, listen with
compassion, and tolerate differing points of view. The process provides opportunity for
individuals to speak and be heard. One member of the Roca staff explains that circles
create social change by shifting ﬂom a power-based center to one focused on relationship
building. The relationship building is gounded in the desire to create an environment that
fosters respectful relationships and views youth and young adults as part of the solution
rather than as problems in need of solving.

Several members of Roca attribute many successful outcomes of their
organization to the use of ﬁshbone diagams. Fishbone diagarns were used to address
issues of anti-violence, pro-immigation, and dropouts. Fishbone diagarns helped
members of Roca to respond and act very quickly on various issues. For example, a
member of Roca shared that after undocumented immigants were taken ﬂom their
workplace on March 23, 2007, the immigant and refugee committee responded by
collecting money, clothes, and food. They also participated in a march on the state lawn
of Massachusetts and Washington, DC. Another member of Roca explains how quick
responses to community needs have helped her to trust members of Roca. She shared the
story of the KLCC Pro-Immigant goup working to assist her and other families after an
Irnrnigation and Customs Enforcement raid. The leader of the KLCC Pro-Immigant
goup provided support and contacted lawyers. She stated that she was able to turn other

members of the goup for support and has developed a geater sense of trust in the goup.

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Cross Case Analysis

The purpose of this cross-case analysis was to explore and understand youth adult
partnerships with a purposeful sample of leadership teams ﬂom community-based
organizations engaged in community change issues. This section presents the ﬁndings of
the remaining two research questions for this study which were (a) what are the necessary
skills and capacities required to generate youth and adult partnerships focused on
community change issues, and (b) how have youth and adult partnerships been used to
address community change issues? Rigorous analysis of the case data revealed four
major ﬁndings:

1. Importance of Building trust

2. Importance of Co-constructing purpose

3. Importance of Working together was important

4. Importance of Deepening and sustaining the work to make it a way of life

Below is a narrative with details that support and explain each ﬁnding. I set out to
document a broad range of experiences, which would provide the reader with an
Opportunity to understand the reality of the research participants. Direct quotes ﬂom
participants were used throughout this section in an effort to let participants speak for
themselves. Extensive illustrative quotes were taken directly form interviews in an
attempt to portray participant perspectives as well as capture the complexity of situations
as they unfolded during the interview.

The ﬁndings are organized and ﬂamed in a narrative cross case analysis. There were
two sigriﬁcant beneﬁts of ﬂaming a narrative cross case analysis: (1) collectively, the

categories functioned as an effective and efﬁcient rubric for performing a cross-case

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analysis to identify common interview and focus goup themes and (2) provided a
narrative ﬂarnework that could explain the ﬁndings and provide recommendations. What
follows are responses to the three research questions for this study. Each research
question is followed by narrative that is supported by interview and focus goup data.
Research Question 2

This research question asked: What are the necessary skills and capacities
required to generate youth and adult partnerships focused on community change issues?

Findings 2. Members of each leadership team indicated that Building Trust was
an essential skill and capacity to generate youth adult partnerships.

LARRY: I think for me the biggest learning tool was simply getting to know the

other people in the goup and getting to understand where they were coming ﬂom,

what brought them to the fellowship. What was their motivation for being there?

Was it because they wanted to? Was it because they were asked to? Was it

because they were involved with someone who was a part of it? Once I

understood why Rudy was there or Sharon was there, it was the understanding

that we were all here to make a change that was a big thing. Once we were able
to ﬁnd common gound, I think to move forward ﬂom that shared space, just to
keep on moving and working and touching base on why we were here. (Adult

MiCasa Leadership team)

The leadership team alluded to several necessary components to build trust, but
the most salient point was made when they reﬂected on the process of “gacious space.”
Gracious space is a concept that was implemented by the coordinating organizations as a
process that opens up dialogue and provides an opportunity to collectively create a space
that welcomes the opinions of others. More importantly, it creates a space that welcomes
differing opinions. It provides an environment that is capable of holding conﬂict. The
following quotes were taken ﬂom a segnent of a focus goup with the leadership team in

response to the question about the building blocks for generating youth adult partnerships

for community change.

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MODERATOR: As a leadership team, what would you say the building blocks
are for youth and adult partnerships, or the DNA that's required for youth and
adult partnerships to develop?

CODY: I think realistically as long as everyone comes in with an open mind and
a willingress to learn in public and really value the ideas of the other partner, and
not have adults looking to nurture the leadership abilities of these children...
(Young Adult MiCasa Leadership Team)

JACKIE: But before that happens, I think that gacious space really plays a huge
role in the ﬁrst fundamental steps. You need to have trust to have any of these
things in that gacious space. I think that deﬁnitely is what tied us all in together
and put us on the same page, made us accountable, made us learn in public, made
us learn to trust each other, made us want to work together on something. And I
think gacious space deﬁnitely played a huge role, and it's still playing a huge role
in our fellowship. It's kind of like, you know, underlying, we don't think about it
as much. But it's one of the biggest things that has helped our fellowship and
helped KLCC in general for this session anyways. (Young Adult MiCasa
Leadership Team)

CODY: Yeah, I agee. Building trust is probably essential to any relationship,
[especially] youth and adult partnerships... [to] make sure that everyone feels
comfortable enough to express their ideas and feel like their ideas are being
received, whether it's adults to youth or youth to adults, either way, in our normal
everyday society...So, again, it is gacious space that allows people to feel like
they are talking with ﬂiends and not talking with adults or talking with youth. As
we all come together and when we are in our meetings or when we're in our youth
and adult partnerships, just the rapport is so important just for everyone to feel
comfortable, and I think that's what really sustains youth and adult partnerships.
(Young Adult MiCasa Leadership Team)

During a separate focus goup interview, Larry Left Hand Bull explained the
importance of building trust and working collectively. He attributed much of the success
of the fellowship to their early and ﬂequent use of gacious space as well.

LARRY: I think... for our goup, the biggest thing for me was learning to work
collectively. That means working with Rudy, Adam and Sharon and some others
in our goup who are a lot younger than me but in some ways are a lot older than
me. And I think building that gacious space is paramount and key that the goup
itself feels comfortable addressing a multitude of issues at any given time and to
step back when necessary and say we're maybe not ready to take this on yet, but
we'll come back to it and table this issue and we'll work on what we can do right
now. And I would recommend that to other community goups out there that they

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spend the time and energy in building the gacious space between youth and
adults or adults and adults and what have you. (Adult MiCasa Leadership Team)
Gracious space was a concept introduced during training sessions developed for

the leadership teams. The concept was described as a way to facilitate Opportunities for
individuals to generate a collective vision through which everyone can participate. The
leadership team also described a process called peace-making circles, also referred to as
peace circles or trust circles, as part of creating gacious space and building trust. Peace
making circles is a process attributed to the aboriginal and native traditions that brings
together individuals willing to work on conﬂict resolution, decision making, or other
outcome based practices, with honest communication centered around relationship
development and community building.
SHARON: The trust circle is when we just did a circle but we asked various
questions of one another. . .we asked basic stuff and we got to know each other.
We gew to trust one another and it's not like trust can never happen. It will
happen eventually whether it takes two years or two hours. It will happen. (Youth
MiCasa Leadership Team)
ADAM: We spent the ﬁrst year building trust and everything we did at that point,
I remember our fellowship, if you were to talk to anyone of us for the entire ﬁrst
year, like you mention the fellowship and everyone just ginds up that's my
family. . .. But a lot of it was because of the trust circles. We were so honest with
each other, that we would shed tears together. We would love on each other.
Larry would notice that I was feeling down, we'd spend that time together.
There's no replacement for time. NO goodhearted community ideas can ever
replace time with each other. That's what a fellowship is, its spending fellowship
and being with each other. So the trust thing just hits me because for the ﬁrst ﬁrll
year our entire fellowship was deﬁned, to me, as building trust just by getting to
know each other. (Adult MiCasa Leadership Team)
The Leadership team explained that after they were able to develop the necessary
skills and capacities with their fellowship, they were then able to effectively work with

each other, and eventually they were able to work with individuals outside of their

fellowships. The fellowship at MiCasa identiﬁed Lake Middle School as the ﬁrst

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community organization that they would work with as part of their goal of creating
community change.

LARRY: For me it really helped to move the goup process forward in that we
were able to in the Middle School (Lake Middle School). We started off with an
agenda with what we wanted to do at the school and then we back stepped and
said, wait a minute, shouldn't we have people ﬂom the community as a part of this
goup before we go deciding what our agenda is. That's something we came up
with internally. So the next process was moved ﬂom going forward to going to a
lateral side and saying the next process is to get youth members and adults and
faculty and teachers and parents, ﬂom the community, so that people ﬂom the
Lake community can be a part of our goup so we can move forward as a unit.
Based on that, we've done quite a few events, community garden, wall painting,
parent/teacher night. We've done a lot of community outreach events that link the
fellowships faces with positive events. (Adult- MiCasa Leadership Team)

PERLA: MICASA has a progam going on over at Lake (Middle School)
already, and the progam seems to be helping most of the kids that are in that
community. They help them by not getting them involved in gangs and all that
stuff. They provide a variety of active different progams. Like, I looked at the
roster and they have music, they have art, computers. Pretty much a variety of
everything. (Y outh- MiCasa Leadership Team)

KATHRYN: The fellowship has been really geat. It's a progam that we feel

safe. I like that I feel safe talking and having ideas heard and people around me.

And we're doing a bunch of projects that are helping our community at Lake

Middle School and it's been fun. (Youth MiCasa Leadership Team)

Molly Baldwin, the executive director for Roca, expressed the importance of
being clear in the vision and mission of an organization. She stressed the importance of
telling truth about what is going on in organizations, communities, and around the
country. Next, she ﬂamed her understanding of trust being the foundation of
relationships. Finally, she explained that the combination of truth and trust make way for
transformation or change to occur. Members of Roca’s leadership team also expressed
the importance of adults to rethink how they engage and interact with youth. The
comments above and those that follow identify key points that ﬂame the importance of

establishing open, honest, and truthful communication as a component of building trust.

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The passages indicate that once trust is established, it establishes relationships that allow
youth and adults to be open to learning together in public and prepared for transformation
and change.

MOLLY BALDWIN: We revisited our vision and mission and got clearer in our
tag line, which is truth, trust, and transformation, and I think it provides a good
solid base for youth and adult partnership work for community change. You have
to tell the truth about what's going on... And then trust is kind of how you build
relationships over enough time that you can talk about work and then the
transformation is about change. (Executive Director Roca)

VICTOR: It's also very hard to once again the truth piece, like, to sit there and
tell a young person the truth in a very respectful way so that they get it, and
they're not defensive. There's a lot of conversations that I don't want to have, but
I know that I have to because it's my responsibility. Nobody is doing anybody
any favors when we don't address the truth, and we let things slide by, which
happens a lot in organizations and families, schools and society. People don't
hold each other accountable and they don't tell each other the truth, and they want
to avoid the tension and the problem ends up getting bigger. So once that trust is
built, I'm able to have an honest conversation with young people, and them back
at me too. I get checked, too. It's not a one-way deal. (Adult- Roca Leadership
Team)

EMILY: I would say it's about communication. They have to be able to talk to
children. Like here, building relationships between adults and young so they can
work together as partners in the same level. Not like I'm bigger or I'm smaller,
you know. (Youth Roca Leadership Team)

VICTOR: I want to say that the adult is the difﬁcult end making sure you're
doing right by the young peOple and that you're not putting your stuff on them,
[and] that they're gowing. Yes, you're helping, but you're not taking ownership
of their success or, like, trying to tell them what to do. And then just making sure
that the bond is there and that the trust is there. When I came on board, Roxanne
told me straight up, she said, “I've been working alone and I feel like I have no
direction,” and she laid it straight out. So I wanted to make sure that I did right by
her and I honored what she needed. That, to me, can be a little challenging, not
because we can't do it as adults but we want to do right by them. (Adult- Roca
Leadership Team).

ROXANNIE: I can say these workers are real. They don't lie to you or sell you
dreams. I don't know, they’re encouraging, but they don't tell you what to do.
They're just there for you. That's part of the inﬂuence they have. They're
awesome. (Youth- Roca Leadership Team)

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VASARAS: I would say when you ask how does that work, I would say try
talking to someone who's young. You just might have some things in common,
that's when you get to know people. (Y outh- Roca Leadership Team)

VICTOR: I think that it's a lot of things. The young people here identify with

their youth workers. Like, many of us are ﬂom this community or there's

diversity among the staff so there's always someone that a young person can go
to, whether they're Latino, African-American, gay, straight, there's people that
they can go to. So I often see young people going to more than one person, which

I think is geat. Because of youth workers, you also need the help of older adults.

And that whole piece about being relentless and helping and being truthful and

honest, this is what I can help you with and this is what I can't. (Adult— Roca

Leadership Team)

Victor adds an additional layer to the importance of truth, trust, and
transformation, as he expressed the point of View of an adult working with youth. He
explained the pressure of “doing right” by young people. Doing right by youth was
explained as a form of self-check conducted by the adult. The adult self-check occurred
in other places throughout the data. Adults expressed that they wanted to be sure that
they provided the necessary space for youth to gow, be held accountable and
responsible, while still providing support. The balance was identiﬁed as being very
delicate.

Members of the Micasa and Benton Harbor leadership teams provide insight of
outcomes when there is lack of balance in youth adult partnerships. MiCasa describes a
situation when there was too much interaction and support ﬂom adults, and Benton
Harbor provides a contrasting view when there was too little adult interaction and
support. The passages indicate that even though the intent to “do right” by youth may be
present, there are incidents when the leadership team and the organization needed to

recalibrate their interactions. The leadership teams explained that building trust was

important; however, they also shared the importance of co-constructing a shared purpose

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for community change, both within the organization as well as within their communities.

Findings 3. Members of each leadership team indicated the importance of co-
constructing purpose as an essential skill and capacity to generate youth adult
partnerships.

In the following statement, Cody and Jackie explain an incident that took place
around the desi gr of an invitation for a community wide fund raising dinner hosted by
the organization. Organization leadership asked the youth adult leadership team to
coordinate the invitation desi gr efforts. After numerous hours and several iterations, the
leadership team completed a ﬂyer that they felt accomplished the task and goals that they
were given. However, upon completion, they were presented with a new set of
expectations and a completed invitation that they should use as a template. The
leadership team stated that they felt that the organization leadership did not truly believe
that the leadership team composed of youth and adults would facilitate the process in an
effective and professional manner. In an attempt to safe guard the outcome, organization
leadership prepared a backup plan that consisted of additional criteria and a separate
invitation that was already completed.

JACKIE: So we took 4 hours of our day to go and ﬁnish these invitations... I

come and I show her our invitation and I'm all proud of it that we all worked on it

together and she's like, you know, this is geat, now let me show you how I want
it to be. She pulled out this invitation that was a lot longer, and we need to
change this and this here, and we need to add cosponsors and completely
transformed the whole Invitation. We need to take these pictures out and put
these in with that. I was like, wow, you completely just messed up 4 hours of our
work that we just did. (Young adult- MiCasa Leadership Team)

The team completed a new invitation with a new set of criteria. Instead of the

organization including the names of all that worked on the invitation or just

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acknowledging the leadership team for their design efforts, the invitation only included
the name of an adult that worked on the invitation.

CODY: The invitation was produced and desigred by Jacqueline Granados and
not recogrizing the organization. (Young Adult- MiCasa Leadership Team)

GINGER: It actually created some internal tension within the fellowship because
people who had worked hard on it felt like they were not getting credit, which
they weren't. (Adult- MiCasa Leadership Team)

JACKIE: Yeah, yeah, there were scathing emails that went around. (Y oung-
Adult MiCasa Leadership Team

CODY: There were several instances in the planning of this dinner that were very
similar [incidents] in which we were asked to produce or desi gr a progam or
something that we did and then, you know and a lot of it was leading up, and a
few days before we're [told, we’re] just going to change this, and this and we want
you to say this and we're going to shorten this and we want you to say this and a
lot of it was coming down on us and not necessarily giving us an opportunity to
sit down and discuss it. And I think a lot of the problem was it's hard to get the
fellowship all together other than at fellowship meetings, which happen once a
week, and it was hard to get a lot done on the day-to-day planning. But
oftentimes we felt like input wasn't even sought. (Young Adult- MiCasa
Leadership Team)

JACKIE: I think at the end of the night the things that we put on by ourselves,
and our performances and the speeches that we did without them... They were
really, like, blown away by what we did accomplish and what we did do together
and how we did put it together with all of us. (Young Adult- MiCasa Leadership
Team)

CODY: I feel like if we were to do another event, say, next month, it would go
much, much smoother and a lot of these problems would be avoided because of,
like Jackie just said, the end result. (Young Adult— MiCasa Leadership Team)
CODY: Again, I think a lot of it is because they were able to really see how
capable our youth are and (Young Adult- MiCasa Leadership Team)

JACKIE: How capable our adults are. (Young Adult- MiCasa Leadership Team)

CODY: Exactly. So I think they would be much quicker to think of giving us an
assigrment and letting us run with it now that we've been able to prove ourselves,
if you will, and establish the fact that we're able to do this competently. (Young
Adult- MiCasa Leadership Team)

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GINGER: Once again, it's still part of the whole KLCC ﬂarnework of building
trust. This was our ﬁrst opportunity to actually build trust, but when you add

expectations, deadlines, people trying to prove themselves in a new environment,
all of those factors... (Adult- MiCasa Leadership Team)

JACKIE: You can't skip one because it's going to end up biting you. You're
going to be like, crap, when you totally skip that one stage. (Young Adult-
MiCasa Leadership Team)

MODERATOR: Can you give me an example?

JACKIE: Kind of like the whole trust thing, we're kind of jumping forward.

We're like, okay, yeah, I trust you without kind of like really trusting. It's one

thing to say Cody, I trust you, but it's also another thing to be like I don't think I

want you to go with me because I don't think you could do that. And that takes a

while, and you can't really skip that. And you can't assume that people know the

things too. (Young Adult- MiCasa Leadership Team)

A member ﬂom the Benton Harbor leadership team gave similar insight about
building trust between youth and adult partners. By providing opportunities for members
to make meaningful contributions, it builds conﬁdence and supports authentic
interactions between youth and adults. Authenticity was a recurring theme that was
interwoven with building trust throughout the data. Participants also ﬂamed authenticity
and building trust as being “real” or authentic in the interactions with each other

EDDIE: I think another part is to be authentic. A part of authenticity is giving the

young people an opportunity to be held accountable for their actions. Because a

lot of times we continue to move forward without an opportunity to get [them]

involved. So again, just giving them an opportunity to become engaged in the
process and be responsible for some outcomes, I think helps with the authenticity.

Because the young people may feel that we are not being sincere, or we are just

playing around or going through the motions. But when we give them a project

that they have to be responsible for the outcomes of the project I think that helps
to add to the authenticity. (Adult-Leadership Team)
The above passages addressed the importance of acknowledging the

accomplishments and efforts of both youth and adult members rather than focusing on the

contributions of the adults only. The leadership teams expressed a need for open support

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of partnerships between youth and adult. Additionally, the passages ﬂom the MiCasa
leadership team identiﬁed moments that they felt undermined.

MiCasa expressed that there was lack of conﬁdence in the abilities of youth on the
part of adults at the organizational level. They also shared that once they had “proven”
that they could handle things on their own, they were given more ﬂeedom to move
forward independently. Benton Harbor shared a contrasting view.

The Benton Harbor leadership team expressed that they did not have enough support.
They shared that they were in essence abandoned, or left on an island. Although they
stated that they gew to embrace the situation and thus reﬂarned their situation as having
autonomy and creative rights to proceed in the work as they saw best, they ultimately
longed for the organization to be cogrizant and supportive of their efforts. Both
leadership teams mentioned separate occasions when the organization inadvertently
undermined the youth adult partnership efforts by the organizations lack of participation
and lack of visibility in the community. These unintentional actions were often subtle
and unnoticed by the organization. However, it was clear and expressed to the leadership
team. The leadership team attributed the organizations behavior to their lack of
participation in workshops, trainings, and gatherings focused on developing individual
and collective leadership skills. The leadership team expressed that it is not enough to
have youth adult partnerships present in isolated goups. Instead, the organization and its
members are better served when the partnerships permeate the organization.

LIGI: Basically what they've done, what Doug spoke about earlier, is

unintentionally and intentionally gotten out of the way and allowed us to have

autonomy, and with that we've had the ability to do what we needed to do. But with

that, we didn't have the support of the organization, i.e., all of the mechanisms of the
organization to help us along the way.

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GENTRY: Like, for me, there's not been enough support ﬂom the host organization,
the Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor, and I'm hearing geat things about Doug
Schafer and his support of moving forward. I have become kind of jaded, because
there has been a lot of turnover at the top spot, and every new ED that has come
along has always stated their vocal support for what they're going to do. And I think
we could have had a name brand for youth and adult partnerships where we had
headquarters where people knew that Boys and Girls Club is the place for youth and
adult partnerships at both sites. I think we could have done that if we had board
members and an executive director that ﬂom the beginning said we are going to give
110 percent support in this. You're going to see our faces at the meetings, and we are
going to be on the streets when you have your community projects. I think if that
had happened, it would be more than just the raised expectations and the good things
that we talked about, there would be a hub that's the adult partnership place, and that
would have given us a branding that we could have taken throughout the commtmity.
So that's been, to me, the biggest disappointment.

LIGI: I can't disagee with anything that Gentry just said... We never had much of
you can't do this, you shouldn't do that, we didn't have that. Which in some ways
was good. But we didn't have that foundation to lean on which made it difficult
when we were trying to make changes in the community. When you're trying to
make community change, you need that thing behind you that says they have your
back. And whenever we walked into a particular situation it was a Benton Harbor
for Community Leadership for Community Change project, not the Boys and Girls
Club. And that, at times, slowed down the process. Folks eventually warmed up to
us, but it took a longer period of time because it didn't have the gavity of the Boys
and Girls Club organization behind it.

GENTRY: We walked into a goup we had never talked to before and we knew by
the time we came out of that room that we would have had to make that sale; if we
didn't, there's not going to be a follow up ﬂom president so and so that's going to
help seal the deal. We have to seal it. We come in with our youth and adult
partnership pitch, and if we don't get it sold right here that might be it, because they
don't have that executive Web and such, we had to be quick to follow up and make
sure we get the deal. So that's been a negative. But to me it's easily solved. It's
easily solved as we get that backing.

The leadership team spoke of support ﬂom the organization leadership. They were

able to accomplish a lot on their own, but they felt isolated and somewhat unsupported.

They embraced not having oversight and micromanagement but longed for some type of

boundaries and expertise of how to handle certain situations. They wanted the historical

tradition available for them to fall back on. They wanted the name and the brand of their

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host organization to validate them in the work that they were doing, especially in regards
to reaching out to community members and community partners.

MODERATOR: Did any of your board members go to any of the national
gatherings to participate in any of the training, to your knowledge?

LIGI: Every time they bought the tickets there was reasons given that they didn't go.
(Adult-Benton Harbor Leadership Team)

GENTRY: Sure, the short answer is no... I hate to harp on it, I do, but I've just been
disappointed with the level of participation of the host organization. I just feel like it
would have been an easily solved issue to have a board member or a staff member
that was here that would have pledged to be a partner with what we were doing, and

I think that would have made a world of difference. So that was an obstacle. (Adult-

Benton Harbor Leadership Team)

Other members of the leadership team members shared similar sentiments about their
need for support ﬂom organizational leadership. This point is further supported below
with comments ﬂom interviews during a Q-sort. Q-sort is a method used to help
understand the perceptions of participants in response to speciﬁed queries. Participants
placed preselected statements about youth adult partnerships and components of
community change into rank order of maximums and minimums, thus forming a forced
distribution of the set of statements. The maximums represent statements that the
participants are most aligred to, while the minimums represent statements participants
are least aligned to. During the Q-sort participants share a range of factors and viewpoints
ﬂom their perspective. The Q—sort emphasized the qualitative how and why people think
the way that they do. The following comments were made during the Q-sort and further
illuminate perceptions about organizational support for youth adult partnerships.

MODERATOR: James, I notice that Card Number 6, which reads, "I believe that

our KLCC host organization is an integal partner and the work of the fellowship

generates and sustains community to change efforts,” was one of the ﬁrst cards that
you placed in the negative column. Why was that?

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JAMES: Yeah. I believe they could have did way more because they could have
been way more helpful. And with us going through so many EDs, I feel they were so
standofﬁsh, and it just mostly fell on us. We had to wony about a lot more
administrative stuff than the other sites did. (Young Adult-Benton Harbor Leadership
Team)

MODERATOR: Ligi would you explain why you placed this particular card in the
negative column?

LIGI: Well, when I saw negative 4, when I saw that one, number 6, all the
difﬁculties that we've had lead back to that one issue of having our leadership at the
executive director position to help guide us and be able to empower us and to
whether it's sealing the deal on a community partnership or helping to keep us
focused on how this particular project coincides with the direction of the overall
organization, that kind of thing, I think, was probably the easiest card. The rest of
them, I had to think it through. (Adult-Benton Harbor Leadership Team)

Group leadership has been the catalyst for many geat goups and teams of creative
persons that have banded together to achieve remarkable success that would not have
been possible through a hierarchical approach (Heifetz, 1994). The community based
organizations in this study implemented many of the same principles. The leadership
teams expressed that community based collective leadership begins with a shared dream,
vision, or mission that rest at the heart of a goup of skilled and passionate individuals.
The process of deﬁning a shared dream, vision, and mission assist in setting the direction
or the organization. They also expressed that the process can aid in exercising inﬂuence
over other people and organizations. This is possible because, the leadership ﬁrnction is
shared by the goup and individuals within the goup. The leadership teams explained
that by co-constructing a purpose they were able to explain and view community change
as a commitment to social advocacy and social justice.

MOLLY: You can do a lot of capacity building of people, and that's Okay, but
when it's connected to something and gounded in something and has meaning

and has a life to it and gows and is challenged on its own, I think it makes it
easier to do. Training leadership development, when young people are clear, their

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organizing agenda is really powerful. (Executive Director- Roca)

Co-constructing purpose for a shared understanding of community change was
explained as a process during many of the interviews. The process included both
individual and collective efforts to create a climate for change through youth adult
partnerships. The opportunity to co-construct a purpose together encouraged members to
develop a shared purpose for their work. The shared purpose allowed for individual
visions, and assisted individuals in staying connected and focused on the community
change.

The process of co—constructing purpose happened on at least four levels: personal,
interpersonal, institutional and cultural community. On the personal level, there were
shifts in attitudes, values, and skills. The interpersonal level was expressed as an
involved process that also required changes in language, actions, and included
relationship building. Each community-based organization also experienced some type
of institutional change characterized by shifts in policies and practices. Finally, shifts in
the cultural community, whiCh included a shift in social norms and focus on what is
“right.” That is co- learning was conducted and ﬂamed in a culturally responsible manner
that intentionally, created opportunities to embrace the epistemology of place. The
epistemology of place explained the content of both implicit and explicit knowledge of
the community’s history, geogaphy, lineage and the struggles that have deﬁned how the
community addresses issues of politics, economics and demogaphics. The leadership
teams often referred back to the importance of building trust and developing a shared
vision. The passages below illuminate how diverse community leadership worked across

boundaries of age, gender, geogaphy, race, culture, class, and faith to mobilize collective

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action to improve local conditions and the quality of life in their communities.

GENTRY: We were fortunate to start our work after what was called the unrest
of 2003, because then a lot of focus was put on young people and their needs and
what can be done to help them better themselves and their communities. So we're
fortunate to kind of come into that atmosphere where the governor and mayor and
all the city ofﬁcials were already looking at what we can do with youth. But they
were more looking like what can we do [emphasis added] TO the youth or FOR
the youth instead of working With them. So we were fortunate to have that
atmosphere, and we said adults need help too, so why don't we work together. So
it's timing. (Adult-Benton Harbor leadership team)

MOLLY: They went with some people to talk to some people about challenging
issues on immigant youth, and the person wasn't so open and they weren't
listening, and that was really hard. But they were able to handle it because of
their own capacity and their own gowth. But it's easier to do, what you call,
capacity building or leadership development when it's around something real,
gounded, as opposed to in the air, vague, we're going to do this thing. (Executive
Director-Roca)

LIGI: I think the one thing that I noticed was that our young people that go ﬂom
the Boys and Girls Club mainstream cycle [Main Street] and come over here, they
don't ever want to go back. There's a reason for that, because they walk in here
and they say to us, I don't like how this is going. We say, why. We don't say, this
is how it is. We say. Why? And we actually ask them to explain themselves and
then ﬂip it back onto them and say how are you going to help us change? They
walk through the door, they listen and get an opportunity to make the change that
they want. So it's just a different atmosphere. We don't say the word
empowerment, we actually do it. So it's they get excited about that. Like I said
earlier today, it slows the process down sometimes. It's much easier to tell
somebody go do this and this than, it is to elicit their opinion on how to do it, or
come up with a plan on how to do it and then actually implement it. It takes time
to get things done sometimes, but, nonetheless, the ultimate reward is the youth
and adult beneﬁt and the organization beneﬁts and that should be the ultimate
goal, in my opinion. (Adult-Benton Harbor leadership team)

MOLLY: Well, I'm excited that there are clearer things that young people want to
work on and organize and mobilize around and work with partners on. The
immigant and refugee issues are really, challenging in this world right now. So
with ROCA and it's a hard thing, painful thing. It pushes me to how could we
change things and what are the strategies and leverage for that. It's really exciting
and powerful to see the young people and their partners organize around issues or
ﬁnd a way to do it right. But it's hard. Violence issues are continual and anything
that we can do to make the world a little less violent and keep young people alive
longer so they can choose is a good thing, I think. (Executive Director-Roca)

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LIGI: When we impact that young person, that young person is going to go out in
the community and be positive. We do that inherently as a Boys and Girls Club.
But when we get to the point where we're purposely going after that kid and that
kid has something to teach us and together we have something to teach the
community, then everybody beneﬁts instead of that narrow focus of just trying to
teach this kid some skills so they make better decisions. Okay, they make better
decisions, they're better people, but how are they impacting the community as a
whole? Have we really showed them to go out in the community and impact the
community positively? Have we given them the opportunity to do so? When I
started thinking about it ﬂom that perspective it made the ﬂow easier. (Adult-
Benton Harbor leadership team)

In the following passage, members ﬂom the Benton Harbor leadership team were
asked to describe a community event they called “The Big Bash.” The Big Bash was a
day-long event that included a basketball game, a type of talent show, and culminated
with a mayoral debate. Ardale explains that they were very strategic in how they planned
the event. Their focus was drawing both youth and adults to participate in the mayoral
debate. He explained that they planned the event so that attendance would increase as the
day progessed. Additionally, he explained that they were strategic in the type of
activities that took place as well as the sequence of those activities. Ardale shared that
their careﬁrl planning and attention to the cultural identity of the community paid off by
sustaining the large numbers of both youth and adults throughout the entire day.

ARDALE: Yeah, the event took place, when we publicized it to the community so
that the youth knew that it would not just be the adults, but would be a youth and
adult collaboration where we were coming together, we wanted the youth as well
as the adult to be heard. We were not just looking for the adults to come out and
take the lead, but we were looking for youth to come and take the lead also. The
event was a large event, probably at the end of the day, the event had at least 500
peOple that came in and out. The event was packed. We planned it so that events
of the day led up to the big debate was at the end of the day. So, when we started
the day, we started it with a big three on three basketball tournament. We knew
that we would get a lot of male and females interested in sports to play in the
tournament. Then right after that we hit them with the Harbor idol, which was the
Benton Harbor KLCCP rendition of the American Idol. Of course basketball
players were not gonna go home after they ﬁnished playing ball, but they went
over to the next activity. So we fed everybody after that, so while they were

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eating we were setting up the debate so that we could catch their attention, so as
soon as they ﬁnished eating the table and chairs and whole gym were set up for
the big debate. Everybody, the youth fellows took place in the big debate, they
asked questions and they brought friends along. I brought three of four ﬂiends
that I am close to, to come along and ask questions and be heard, something that
you want to know. One of the fellows had a saying “that if you doubt, then get
out.” The saying was about people sitting up and talking about how they want
change, and how they want this and that to happen, but if they don’t come out and
voice it and get their side heard, basically you are just a voice that is unheard of.
(Young adult-Benton Harbor leadership team)

EDDIE: I think that one of the things that we did differently with the big bash,
was we strategically had questions that the young people could ask the candidate.
Because often times what can happen is that the adults can take over asking the
question to the candidate but we wanted to be intentional about giving the youth a
voice in this debate, relative to asking questions of the candidates. Frankly, I
think that some of the young people asked some of the better questions and
probably caught some of the candidates off guard. So again, I thought it was
important for them to have a voice because often times they are just overlooked,
or people assmne that they don’t have anything to say, or they are just not paying
attention to what’s going on with this whole mayor’s election, but it was just the
opposite. They had very good questions to ask the candidates. And I think that at
times that the candidates were kinda stumped by the questions that the young
people asked.

The Big Bash culminated with the mayoral debate. The Benton harbor mayoral

race was highly contentious due to several factors that were unfolding, the city was still

working through the unrest of 2003, and two unresolved police cases, both viewed as

wrongful deaths. The school board was also recovering ﬂom shifts at the superintendent

level, and there were development projects that were viewed by some, as opportunities

for gowth for the community, and as the beginning of gentriﬁcation by others. The

fellowship identiﬁed those issues as some of the salient points that they wanted to express

as concerns throughout their youth adult partnership experience and in particular during

the mayoral debate.

Each leadership team worked to identify issues that were important to them and

the community. After identifying those issues they began to work on effecting positive

116

change in those areas. The passages below highlight a few of the issues that were
addressed by the Roca leadership team.

ROXANNE: I believe I have the skills and capacity to identify community based
problems, determine its level of urgency and work with KLCC fellows to
implement solutions or strategies. Me and the girl I was translating for her, we
spent 5 minutes talking about that, because in our goups we have found out in
our community, big problems, nobody knows their rights, nobody has safety
plans, everybody is getting picked up by immigation. Kids are being left at DSS
without their parents and everything is hysterical. So we sat down and we just
talked and we come up with ideas of what to do, so now we have backup plans,
safety plans. We help one another. We talk about what's happening in our
community and what can we do about it. That's what I meant. (Young adult-Roca
leadership team)

AN ISHA: With the dropout prevention work we have actually someone on staff
now who has sort of got this ﬂont line role and additional responsibility or
working with this goup of young people, they call themselves TOP now, and it's
strictly around dropout prevention. Actually, those people have been working in a
coordinating fashion with the school, training some of the teachers and staff on
the use of circles, and talking to them about using circles as an alternative for
detention. They've also developed an informational workshop for young people
who are transitioning into high school. We have a huge dropout problem in
Chelsea where students dropout in 9th gade. So it's critical for them to get into
the middle school for 7th and 8th gaders and talk about some of the transitions
they'll be facing when they go into high school. Structurally what that's done in
the organization is they function almost like working goups. They come in and
kind of oversee the tasks of the work that has to be done and they keep moving
their agenda with the school. The vice principal of the school comes to a weekly
circle with them now. They've helped lead to new teacher orientations, a
workshop in the new teacher orientations, and took them on a tour of the
community. All of those things have impacted the organization, because it sort of
drives the agenda of what is happening in some progamming and what we're
doing with young people and making sure that we allocate appropriate staff
resources to make sure that that work can be supported through staff. (Adult-Roca
leadership team)

The leadership team also described how individuals that themselves as leaders for
the ﬁrst time as well as established those viewed as established leaders, were able to
embrace the knowledge, gifts, and wisdom of others as they addressed community issues.

Members worked to understand the importance of bringing together a full representation

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of the community that was able to work together to move past barriers that traditionally
separated people They explained that they were able to do this by emphasizing inclusion
of individuals that were not typically seen as leaders and involving them in decision-
making processes. This process was described as a challenging task. One that often was
accompanied with tension, however, members of the leadership team expressed that they
were able to embrace the tension as representation of potential progess it could bring.

VICTOR: This is something we talk about, because in meetings often times we
want to be so politically correct, and so really nice all the time, and I'm a true
believer that out of tension, creativity is born. So allowing for that and just
holding the values allows us to kind of go there, get a little tense and come up
with some possible solutions. So it's something that I encourage us to do and I
deﬁnitely encourage as a team. We get out of some of our team meetings and I'm,
like, my head hurts. It's really intense work. And then I feel very fortunate that I
get to work with and a staff team that takes a lot of the stuff so much to heart, so
folks are very passionate about the issues. Each single person on the team brings
something different. I appreciate that. (Adult-Roca leadership team)

ANISHA: I would agee. If you really want to get anything done, if the kind of
stuff you want to do is real change in the community, you can't be aﬂaid of the
hard stuff. You're going to keep encountering, whether it's tensions within your
own team or your own organization or community or it's tensions with others or
barriers that come in the way of everyone saying you can't do that and you can't
do that, you have to stay at it because that's where you can actually start getting
the momentum going. I think a lot of times it gets so hard that people just stop or
get angy, and that doesn't really necessarily translate into energy that moves
things. So it's a delicate balance, but you can't be aﬂaid of it and it's where a lot
of things happen.

MODERATOR: So how did you create that environment to hold that energy and
create that necessary tension?

ANISHA: I think the circles. Yeah, we practice what we preach here. We go
through sometimes when we use circles with staff, we all go through that. It's
about being able to sit with ourselves and others in a good way and about values
and how you practice values. The key of it is when it's hard and not when it's
easy, so it starts that process, I think, it creates a space, I think, in the organization
where it's like a container for really hard things then you just know that we have
to go there for any of us to gow, to heal, to change, you have to go there. So how
do you do it in the best and safest way? I think that's part of an environment that
we've tried to create here and that we also try to create with our partners and other

118

people. We've trained hundreds of people in this community in circle, and so
they're used to having that as a space to do the same with us and we help lead
some of that. And those circles are led by young people and adults together and
we've been able to create that, not just at ROCA, but in our different spaces with
partners and fellows.

The following statements further clarify the importance of co-constructing
purpose at the beginning of stages of youth adult partnership work, but it was also
mentioned that the process be ongoing. As new members join in, they would beneﬁt
ﬂom the process as well. The leadership team expressed that the process be ongoing.
There were moments that they went back to the stage of building trust. They speciﬁcally
identiﬁed moments when they used the peace making circles to reestablish a baseline, or
to get everyone on the same page.

ADAM: I could share that a lot of times when you have youth and adult
discussions adults try to tend to over power your voice. One of the strongest tools
that's always helped our fellowship that we adopted at the KLCC sites was using
circles as a way to make sure that every voice is equally heard. (Adult-MiCasa
leadership team)

GINGER: There are two things that I can think of right off the bat. We did a
youth/adult partnership training but it was along time ago, and there's been a
hundred percent turnover in staff. So that's probably one of the things that we
should revisit with the staff, and have our own workshop and having them
experience that and see that. The other thing I'd love to see change is a change in
the staff meeting time so that all the staff can show up. That would be huge.
(Adult-MiCasa leadership team)

ADAM: I believe that change won't happen if you don't have everyone on the
same page, a critical mass of people who believe and have faith and are dedicated
to establishing that. So a fellowship ﬂom the quietest person to the most vocal
person, when we agee on an issue and we're all brought in and sold out for that
issue we move forward constructively. That's been what's moved the fellowship
ﬂom the beginning. And at times when we haven't had that, even if there was two
that weren't on board on the same page we moved slower and sometimes we had
to back up and reﬁne that critical mass. (Adult-MiCasa leadership team)

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The next sets of passages continue to build on the theme of co-constructing
purpose as a valuable component for community change. The theme also intersects with
the theme of building trust through open communication. However, the concept of
building trust appears to move ﬂom the conﬁnes of the fellowship and the community
base organizations to a more community wide focus that incorporates members ﬂom the
community in learning the process as well.

ADAM: We have youth and adults in our fellowship, some that barely speak, and
we have some that are very vocal and you can't stop them ﬂom speaking. In a
situation like that, a regular conversation will be led by the same 3 or 4 people,
each conversation. So as we began to do circles and pass our talking piece and go
through the process, gacious space, and making sure and we'll even open up
meetings with circles. Our last meeting at Lake, remember, we did nothing but
questions in the circles, that was our entire meeting to debrief and to get feedback
on an event that we just had. Here the input and advice ﬂom those who don't
speak up very much and for those of us to learn how to listen is huge. It's helped
me, even just my own work, to learn better how to listen. If I can use my friend
Rudy here as an example, as someone who just completely came out of his shell
this past couple of years, who has actually facilitated workshops with us and was
the major voice in certain workshops that I was thinking of, and I believe that him
having the chance to speak with voice in circles I don't want to speak for you, but
I just know that I've seen gowth. (Adult-MiCasa leadership team)

PERLA: I fully expected the adults to take over our conversations and making it
an adult thing. I don't know why, but I'm so used to adults taking over what we
do. It was completely different. They wanted our input but they wanted us to
mature, I guess, and take charge and help with the meetings, not only the
meetings, but with the projects. (Y outh-MiCasa leadership team)

KATHRYN: When I ﬁrst got here I seriously expected adults to take over our
projects. Just to elaborate on that, I never expected to have any adults listen to
me; respecting, listening and understanding me. But with this fellowship it was
wonderful because they were pushing us and they were listening at the same time
and they just understand that that we wanted to commit and we didn't know how.
But they pushed us little by little and pushed us out of our little comfort zones and
having us gow. Our little victory was that we talked in ﬂont of this many people
or we did a whole page of minutes and stuff like that. Just little things that made
it worthwhile. And the love and understanding and the compassion that we had
towards each other really helped.

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MODERATOR: What's required for youth and adults to work in a real way?
How can you get them to really have a partnership that works in a real way?

KATHRYN: I think that what really helped was we took so long to get to know
each other. We took time. We trust each other now. We can honestly feel safe
talking about what's on all our minds about what we think and we're not going to
get put down. I think it's just taking the time to get to know each other and I think
that really, really helps. (Youth- MiCasa leadership team)

LOIS: I think that a youth and adult partnership is taking the adult's wisdom of
life and melding it with the youth's excitement and exuberance and enthusiasm for
life and bringing it together so that you can listen to one another and then come up
with solutions that work for everyone with an understanding. (Adult-MiCasa
leadership team)

KATHRYN: I would say it takes a lot between both parties, just being patient
with each other, being understanding and kind of like a ﬂiendship. You have to
have that friendship for it to work, just making a bond with each other personally
to make the youth and adult partnership work. (Youth-MiCasa leadership team)

GINGER: When we went to the retreat we got to know each other more
personally and more on a one to one level. It really helps us connect with each
other. We had some problems there learning to agee or disagee and we decided
we would talk about it. We would actually sit down and take our time and talk
about how we were feeling at the moment and how we could ﬁnd a different
solution that we would all agee to. So I think that helped us a lot. (Adult-MiCasa
leadership team)

The leadership teams spoke clearly on the importance of building trust and co-

constructing purpose as valuable components of youth adult partnerships for community

change. They also expressed the importance of acting together. The leadership teams

explained that as a result of working together various assumptions about leadership skills

and capacities were challenged and reconsidered. They learned that all members of the

fellowship beneﬁted ﬂom the same leadership skill training regardless of leadership

experience and indiscriminate of age. For example, initially, it was assumed that youth

would need leadership training and capacity building at all levels, however, adults were

expected to possess particular leadership skills. They found that adults need safe places

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where they could to be open to learn as well. Such opportunities reduced the pressure,
risk and expectations that adults already possessed leadership skills and capacities.

Findings 4. The importance of working together was expressed as the leadership
teams’ commitment and ability to strengthen their skill and capacity to practice collective
leadership. The leadership team described collective leadership as holding each other
accountable, regularly discussing progess of initiatives, engaging in decision making,
keeping open communication and conﬂict resolution open. Collective leadership also
included a comnritrnent to build allies with and within in the community. The leadership
team linked the ability to work together as paramount in the success of the partnerships.
The ability to work together allowed and even encouraged individuals to mature into
leadership roles. The maturation process provided space for individuals to understand
their current abilities and the patience to nurture that ability through supportive goup
action.

Participants shared that in order to make change happen the goup must learn how
to work together to build new relationships, create alliances, and assemble a critical mass
of diverse leaders. They also expressed that new people should be included as leaders.
That is, individuals not typically identiﬁed as leaders, should also be included in the
process.

ANISHA: Part of what has been clear to me was by watching how some things

happen. To affect the level of change that you want, it really means that everyone

has to belong. But there has to be a role for young people to participate whether
it's people who don't normally get picked to participate or people who aren't
generally given opportunity to have their voice heard, or police or school officials.

The only way it can truly, I think, the level of community change where

something is a different practice or way of being in community happens, is that

everyone has at least some level of connection, belonging, or ability to participate
in it. (Adult-Roca leadership team)

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One member of a leadership team shared that part of learning to work together is
to understand how to engage in a respectful and critical process while still holding one
another accountable to the collective decisions of the goup was also important. The
Executive director for Roca mentioned that with time the level of clarity and strength of
the youth adult partnership increases. As clarity and strength of the partnership increases
it provides opportunities for the partnerships to address larger and more complex issues.
She provides examples of initiatives that youth adult partners were involved in.

ROXANNE: Once we sit down together to pick out our main issues and what's
going on, once we start talking about who is going to work on something, we
always make sure we hold each other accountable for what we're doing. If we
need any help, we also help one another, but you're in charge of it. (Young adult-
Roca leadership team)

MOLLY: The thing that I think that's been so geat with the KLCC youth adult
partnership work is that we have young people working with adult partners on
several major initiatives, and I think each year it gets clearer and stronger. I think
the refugee and immigant work has gotten very strong and very clear, its purpose
and what needs to happen. So I'm very excited about it going forward. It's
probably one of, at least in my life, it's one of the more sigriﬁcant human and
civil rights issues in this country. The work with the young people around
violence prevention and their adult partners is interesting and happens in a lot of
ways ﬂom sort of broad based education activities to more speciﬁc alternatives to
violence, not only through progamming but partners with their organizations and
also kind of evolving into some restorative justice and peacemaking circle work,
both in the community and the courts, and that's sort of ready to go. And the
capacity of young people and adult partnerships has increased a lot.

The third piece that we focus on is all around the school work. What's
exciting is there's a really good commitment to work with the schools and the
schools to work with young people and adult partners to look at the hard things
and say it's more about we can help you keep more young people in school. Let's
keep more young people in school. And there are alternatives. Yes, there are
more young people dropping out. How do we help young people who are in and
struggling, stay in? How do you collectively get young adults to push them back
in and help them stay there until they can gaduate? It's very important and
increasingly so in this country. (Executive Director-Roca)

VICTOR: I think a couple of things, there was a gang ordinance that was going

to pass in Chelsea eight years ago which said that if more than two people walk
together here on the street they're considered a gang. So what did ROCA do? We

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showed up a hundred deep at City Hall, and the ordinance ended up not passing.
But that also took some preparation. So you can't just bring a hundred kids to a
City Hall meeting and expect them to know how to behave in that type of
situation. So there was preparation on the issue, preparation on how to present
yourself, and then let them know about the strength of organizing. And I think
nobody was talking to the kids about the issue. So an ordinance was going to
pass, yet not one person had a conversation with a young person. So once ROCA
started engaging young people in this process, young people then got passionate
about the issues. Like, okay, you know, this is going to pass and I can show up
with ﬁiends and make a difference. (Adult-Roca leadership team)

A youth member of the leadership team summarized the importance of
community with clarity and simplicity. She stated “they, City Hall, can’t do anything
without community anyways. If you can't deal with them and you can't talk to them and
they're not willing to understand, you have to talk to the community.”

The next set of passages describe how the leadership team at MiCasa established
partnerships with various members within the community in developing projects or
initiatives that could address community change issues. The leadership team explains
that although they were responsible for the initial steps of establishing projects, the
community partners have assumed ownership and responsibility of the projects. Both
projects described below address speciﬁc issues that were identiﬁed by the community
members and community leaders.

GINGER: So both of those projects were started by the fellows and have taken on

a life of their own. They now exist independent of the fellowship and they've

have gown a lot. So basically the fellows ﬂom the community garden gave them

a seed fund of $700 and they did some trainings on how to budget, how to solicit

for donations. They connected them with other resources, like with people who

have done other community gardens, and doing the interview and research thing.

So they started the garden and it went well. (Adult-MiCasa leadership team)

JACKIE: Wasn't it seasonal at the time and now it's year around? (Young adult-
MiCasa leadership team)

GINGER: Right. It basically turned into an entrepreneurial progam to become
like selling the vegetables at a farmers market, and in the wintertime they make

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jewelry to sell at the farmers market for the following year. (Adult-leadership
team)

MODERATOR: Who participates, are they fellows or a goup that is separate
ﬂom the fellows?

GINGER: It's separate. It's an afterschool progam. It's taken on a life of its
own. (Adult-MiCasa leadership team)

MODERATOR: Who are the people that participate in now? Are they mostly
Lake Middle school students?

GINGER: Lake students. There's some community members, some MICASA
staff plays a supporting role and teachers...some parents. But I think that the
biggest thing that we've done since last year, not the biggest, but a good example
of youth/adult partnership, Tiatro, because that was an idea that started in
September of last year and since that time it's gown exponentially. And you can
probably talk about that, Jackie. (Adult-MiCasa leadership team)

JACKIE: We got together with the youth adult partnership leadership team to
write the scripts on ideas of how we can use workshops to teach youth and adults
collective leadership. So we're planning workshops to teach, I guess, whoever, it
really doesn't matter because it's for youth and adults. And they're really ﬂexible
with how they're set up, and towards the end or beginning or however, we're
going to do a theater or point presentation that would either involve the youth or
the adult and possibly perform it. It would be about youth and adult partnerships
and collective leadership. (Young adult- MiCasa leadership team)

MODERATOR: So you guys have written scripts that would be small plays?

JACKIE: Yeah. There's a monologue about 10 minutes long that could be
intermixed that could go back and forth, and also just regular monologue. So if
only one person can make it they can perform that instead of casting it. So it's a
really ﬂexible piece. It can be a 10minute skit with one monologue or it could be
a full hour long play. (Young adult-MiCasa leadership team)

SAM: We're talking about the goup right now? We're in the stage where our
goup is having potential. It's been in this cycle where they're getting ﬂustrated
and people are leaving and it seems as though the project is going to be stopped.
But right now we're at this point where we just had a big event and all these
people are coming and now we have, like, more fellows than we did in the
summer that are actually wanting to do something. And with the youth, they're
really passionate about making a comic book and that's one of the projects that
we're starting right now. (Y outh-MiCasa leadership team)

MODERATOR: What is the skit about? Is this about the adult book store?

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SAM: Yeah. It's something that the youth actually thought of.
MODERATOR: Could you talk a little bit about that?

SAM: It's ﬂom the comic book we desigred, where we used acronyms, we use
Dash, or LEHA, [for example] where it stands for leave her alone. They're just
characters and it helps to break [down] you know how they used to give out
whistles at ﬁrst we thought that wouldn't work because they would just whistle all
the time and people wouldn't know like the boy who cried wolf or something. So
we thought of a comic book, and the whole book is about this object. And since
there's a porn shop across the street, we're trying to tell people to not touch toys
and to tell people before and then try to remove it ﬂom the premises. And that's
basically the whole point of the book. It's like all of the youth are helping to
make this and the adults are too. So they just want to distribute it to basically
students. (Y outh-MiCasa leadership team)

MODERATOR: Who identiﬁed this store as a problem? Was it youth? Was it
adults? Was it both of them?

SAM: It was actually both. (Y outh-MiCasa leadership team)

JACKIE: And then, like, all the issues because the ﬁrst one that we're doing is
ﬁnding an inappropriate object, whatever the comic is, but there were 7 different
things that were all identiﬁed ﬂom the issue of the adult book store. So we did
this thing about identifying issues or policies and practices. So you had all these
issues okay, strangers are taking pictures of little kids. Kids are ﬁnding
inappropriate objects when they're walking home and all these different things.
And then we assigred them either a policy or practice issue. All of them are
practices. So we thought probably the best way to deal with it would be through
education. So each comic has a theme and it's all the things that were identiﬁed
by the community as being a problem. So the ﬁrst one we're starting with is the
inappropriate object. (Young adult-MiCasa leadership team)

SAM: We hope that that will set forth a train reaction for the club at the middle
school so that they keep going on with these things and spreading the message.
Basically we're trying to, like, make another train reaction like we did with
various other projects that we've done, like the garden project, and just spread it
around like a train effect. (Y outh-MiCasa leadership team)

Research Question 3

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This research question asked: How have youth adult partnerships generated by

leadership teams at community based organizations been used to address community

change issues?

Findings 5. The importance of deepening, sustaining, and making the work of

youth adult partnerships a way of life was explained in several ways:

1.

2.

The community has learned about the youth adult partnership experience
Youth adult partnerships became imbedded in the practices of the community

based organizations and partner organizations

. The leadership teams identiﬁed methods for renewing youth adult partnerships

Leadership teams developed identiﬁed allies and resources that will support the
ongoing work of youth adult partnerships.

Leadership team committed to the ongoing development of their leadership skills
and capacities.

KAREN: Since I've been involved with the project, I’ve had a keen eye as far as
involving youth and adults in certain situations. In my new role as assistant
principal a lot of committees are focusing on being really mindful on making sure
that youth are a part of the committee, even ﬂom the parent standpoint, all the
way to school committees, the newsletter, things like that. (Adult- Benton Harbor
leadership team)

MODERATOR: Do you think you would have thought of that if you were not a
part of the youth adult partnership work?

KAREN: Never. I was an advocate for getting youth, but getting them involved,
no, I wouldn't, and to make sure their voice is heard. And also, too, I think the
school board had not started, but until we talked about it they started having two
youth on the school board and that is something they have continued and are at
the point of doing that. Making sure that the youth voice is heard. They elect two
school board members each year. (Adult— Benton Harbor leadership team)

LIGI: A year and a half ago, two years ago, every time a youth and adult

partnership happened we stopped the presses, and said “yoth and adult part
partnership.” Now it's become such a part of how we do things, we tend to not

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even acknowledge it, because it's just how we do things. (Adult- Benton Harbor
leadership team)

GENTRY: ETS, Educational Talent Search, which is a trio progam, which is
connected with Upward Bound, federally funded progarns that have been going
on for 30, 40 years, but ETS has been here for 6 or 7 years. At the end of the
2006/2007 school-year there was an end of the year banquet where we recogrized
seniors who accomplished geat things during the academic year and were headed
to college, and that year was the ﬁrst time that we did it based on youth and adult
partnerships. We had a committee on how we're going to do it and what's the best
way to recogrize the students and their families and what's going to be the look of
the event itself. My director said, Wow, they had some geat ideas, the younger
people. I said, “yeah, they normally do.” But that was only because I had done
that already within KLCC, because before that I would have never mentioned
that. I might have brought some youth on as we normally would do, kind of like
tokens, but not let's share ideas and come up with such and such. (Adult- Benton
Harbor leadership team)

LIGI: When I look at it, I look at it like a virus. You continue to notice the
symptoms, and the community is really not going to notice the symptoms until it's
too late, and youth and adult partnership is actually going to end up being the
model. You have the virus spreading to City Hall, to the school board, into key
positions in schools, into key positions at charter schools, into key positions at
Lake Michigan College, and into key positions at the Boys and Girls Club. And
one of the goals was to get this entrenched into the host organization, but I believe
what has happened is that the folks that have worked directly with this project
have gone and taken this youth and adult partnership model to be a part of who
they are and what they are, so they're taking it into areas in which they're working
and inﬂuencing their organization to be a part of a joint effort. I think the impact
has been broader than we even understand at this particular point because it's a
part of many different organizations and many different levels, and a lot of our
young people who are involved with a bigger goup of young people are
enforcing those young people to say youth and adult partnerships work. So
there's probably hundreds of individuals in the community now who are aware of
youth and adult partnerships and want them to happen. So I see the impact being
larger than what we can really see right now. (Adult- Benton Harbor leadership
team) -

GENTRY: For the ﬁrst time the organization that I work with followed a youth
and adult partnership model for a year, and a tribute to our young people who
went through our progam; that had never been done before. Youth had never
been given a voice as to how that event was run. How it was held, where it was
held, the look of the event, when the youth and adults would speak, who would be
invited, the menu, everything was based on the youth and adult model, and that
was at the end of the whole 2006/2007 academic year. (Adult- Benton Harbor
leadership team)

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MODERATOR: What made a difference in that event or activity?

GENTRY: What made the difference in how it happened. Basically, I presented
the youth and adult partnership model to my supervisor and she was willing to
take a chance on it. She was skeptical of it, but she was willing to take a chance
on it and she was overwhelmingly impressed with how that model worked. So it's
something she has pledged to use again. (Adult- Benton Harbor leadership team)

ANISHA: I think as a result of the fellowship and the youth and adult partnerships
in the trainings, the Know Your Rights workshop, we have players even engaged
at the level of conversation on the policy goup that is a mandated order by the
governor to kind of do these series of things and then be able to have a voice and
the kind of recommendations that go towards policies for immigants in
commonwealth is huge. I don't think two or three years ago we would have been
as prepared to show up and be a voice in that for underrepresented goups of
immigants and young people. We deﬁnitely wouldn't have been in a place where
we would have had young people who are engaged with us and able to participate
at that level. . .. When ROCA shows up, not ROCA the organization, but ROCA
the community, because people attach themselves here in funny ways; young
people always have a voice in some of those things and they're participating and
talking and engaged in that little conversation, and I think people seek it out more
and more now. And even at that level, in this community there are a lot of voices
in the community around some issues, but there's not as many voices that are as
united around what the needs are. So there's tensions in the community because
people have different opinions. But I think the fellowship has really represented a
united voice of what people really want in their lives in the immigant community
and has been able to through the youth and adult partnerships has been able to be
that voice for those goups of immigants in our community, too. I think it's
tremendous.

I think it's tremendous that because of all that and the work that's
happened over the past years and the training that's happened, you know, we have
young people who are representing voices of these goups of immigants in our
community who get heard sitting at the table with the people who are making the
recommendation and the governor about policy. I think it's awesome, awesome
work that they've done. (Adult- Roca leadership team)

MIRRIAM: I'm working in a public school system now and every day I think
about these things that we've learned that we could use in situations. It's a very
difﬁcult environment to introduce some of these collaborations, because in the
school system it's pretty much top down. I started dialogues with people on
campus who are interested in engaging some of these practices. So it's these
subtle relationships that are beginning and just working towards the time when we
can begin to collaborate and engage young people in more higher level
responsibility skills that right now they are at the mercy of all of us who are in
charge. So it's something I think about a lot. How can we implement. (Adult-

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Roca leadership team)

MODERATOR: Okay. In the next segnent, I guess, at the end of each initial
KLCC session, two year time period, you have to ask how is the work that your
organization is doing might be different in terms of capacity development? How
do you deliver? How do you sustain the work of collective leadership and adult
partnerships?

MOLLY: I think there are a couple of ways. One, as we get clear on what the
agenda and the purpose of the youth and adult partnerships is, you can ﬁnd
funding that's sustainable and work on it. So we've been able to leverage funding
for some of the violence prevention work and immigant organizing and the
school organizing things of KLCC. As it becomes important it can get integated
to how the host organization runs itself, because we're committed to it. It's going
to become something that's about part of what we are as opposed to something we
get to do that's over here. (Executive Director- Roca)

MODERATOR: SO how does that happen?

MOLLY: We sort of embraced the organizing agendas. It didn't make sense
because it's what matters to young people and our partners so we have to ﬁgure
out how to keep going. It's not set up around the gant, the gant is an
opportunity, but it's not the conﬁnes of the gant. I think that our peacemaking
circle model really brings people to the table and helps them stay at it for a long
time and it's a good way to blend relationships and trust within youth and adult
partners. It's fundamentally about a way to be in the world and behavior and
attitudes and approach, some of that approach question. So I think as we behave
better we're better partners in community change efforts.

It depends on what you think is important. So we have some former youth
members on the board. We've been through periods when we had young people
on the board and they're like, this is boring. What I want to know how to do is the
community organizing agenda for immigant and refugee rights. What I want to
do is ﬁgure out how we deal with violence issues, and that's not necessarily what
governing boards do. They have to set policy and they raise money and look at
the budget, right. So we have a set of ideas that we think are about youth
leadership. That's geat. I'm not saying they're not. I think we're inviting a
broader discussion on what youth leadership is, right. When young people feel
like they can talk with the city manager just because they matter and the city
manager ﬁgured it out. They don't need to sit on some board to do that, they can
just sit and talk to the city manager. That's a powerful thing because they all
belong together, right. So it's a different ﬂamework. (Executive Director-Roca)

SAM: The peace circles, you guys brought them into Lake, and now the principal
uses peace circles with the staff. Just techniques like that. We brought them into
other sites in schools (inaudible) so the youth staff here was trained on peace
circles and I think meetings are also conducted in peace circles. I don't know of

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an agency, but the youth and the Lake staff does peace circles for meetings.
(Y outh-MiCasa leadeship team)

GINGER: I think that we do a lot of work at the youth end of MICASA. We
spend a lot of time thinking about how to incorporate some of the adult progarns,
like the entrepreneurial path and things like that. And because we work with
youth, we have to have youth and adult partnerships all the time. An interesting
thing Christine is starting to consider is how do the two adult progarns start
incorporating youth. And in the three years I have worked here it's never been
spun around that way. So that's just a thought that is beginning to gow literally
within the past couple of months. So we'll see. But it's an exciting idea that, for
once now, the adult progarns have to start considering youth and what that might
look like. (Adult- MiCasa leadeship team)

SAM: Other than the fact that our new fellows since I've come on board in
August have been students at Lake, where previously we didn't have many Lake
students. So as part of our effort to really incorporate ourselves more into the
school and into the community we've been trying to bring more Lake students on
board and hopefully more people ﬂom the Lake community that really live there
or have a student that goes there or has a stake in the community. (Y outh-MiCasa
leadership team)

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CHAPTER 5
ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND SYNTHESIS OF FINDINGS

The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to explore and understand the
skills and capacities required for leadership teams at three community based
organizations to generate youth adult partnerships focused on community change. The
utility and usefulness of this study speciﬁcally would assist community based
organizations, educational institutions, and community members in understanding how to
utilize youth adult partnerships to effectively address issues affecting their communities.
This research used a case-based approach anchored with a simultaneous triangulated
mixed method desigr to collect qualitative data. The qualitative data included three one-
on-one interviews with executive directors of community based organizations, focus
goup interviews with leadership teams of three community based organizations and
archival data ﬂom documents submitted by each community based organization. The
data were coded, organized, and analyzed, ﬁrst by research question and then by
categories and sub categories which were guided by the conceptual ﬂamework, as
depicted in chapter 3. The study was based on the following three research questions:

1. How does “place” deﬁne the nature of youth adult partnerships generated by
leadership teams at community based organizations that focused on community
change issues?

2. What were the necessary skills and capacities required for leadership teams at
community based organizations to generate youth adult partnerships focused on

community change issues?

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3. How did youth and adult partnerships generated by leadership teams at

community based organizations been used to address community change issues?

These three research questions were addressed by the ﬁndings in chapter 4. The
overarching ﬁnding in this study revealed that building trust was paramount in multiple
aspects of youth adult partnerships. Participants explained that building trust required
that individuals seek to understand the individuals that they worked with on a more
substantive and deeper level than usual. Additionally, building trust required that each
participant engage in understanding their individual story and the story of others. Many
of the participants explained that sharing stories and personal experiences often revealed
the motivations, expectations, and a degee of willingress that community members
shared to create a safe environment suitable for learning in public.

This chapter used the following categories to analyze, interpret, and synthesize

meaning of the ﬁndings.

1. Importance of Context of place

2. Importance of Building trust

3. Importance of Co-constructing purpose

4. Importance of Acting together was important

5. Importance of Deepening and sustaining the work to make it a way of life

The above analytic categories are directly aligred with each of this study’s research

questions. These same analytic categories were used to code the data and present the
ﬁndings in the previous chapters. During the analysis, I searched primarily for patterns
that connected with the analytic categories. Next, I searched for clusters of themes or

connections that emerged among various categories. At that point, I employed a level of

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secondary analysis that linked the themes or clusters to the relevant theory and literature.
Lastly, the ﬁndings were compared and contrasted with the existing literature.

The previous chapter presented the ﬁndings of this study by organizing data ﬂom
various sources into categories to produce a readable narrative. The narrative included
quotes and passages ﬂom participants. However, the purpose of this chapter is to provide
interpretive insights into the ﬁndings. Whereas the previous chapter split apart and
parsed out pieces and chunks of data to tell the story of the research, this chapter will
attempt to reconstruct a more holistic understanding. The analysis is therefore intended
to depict a more integated picture of youth adult partnerships. The end result of this
process should be a layered synthesis that explains youth adult partnerships at the three
participating community based organizations. More importantly, this chapter should
highlight the skills and capacities identiﬁed by the leadership teams as paramount in
generating youth adult partnerships focused on community change issues.

The discussion in this chapter took into consideration links and intersections in
the literature of community leadership development, youth adult partnerships,
educational leadership and administration, and community based organizations. The
implications of these ﬁndings are intended to augnent the existing understanding and
perceptions necessary to generate youth adult partnerships for community change. The
chapter concludes with a reexamination of the research assumptions, which were
identiﬁed in the ﬁrst chapter, and a summary that incorporates a note regarding the effect
of possible research bias in interpreting the ﬁndings.

Throughout this study I often asked the following, 1) Given what I have found,

what does this mean? 2) What is really going on here? 3) What does this tell me about

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youth adult partnerships? The answers to the above questions served as a calibrating self-
check. This calibration process allowed me to work back and forth between the ﬁndings
of the research and my own perspectives and understandings. This process has helped
me to make sense and meaning. This understanding and meaning emerged ﬂom looking
at differences and similarities, and ﬂom inquiring and interpreting causes, consequences,
and relationships. Finally, by making use of description and interpretation, I was able to
sort and synthesize the sigriﬁcant patterns among the ﬁndings.

Analytic Category 1: Importance of Context of Place

The ﬁrst major ﬁnding of this research is that the organizational context and
community context are directly linked to the epistemology of place. Epistemology of
place includes both the implicit and explicit knowledge of the community’s history,
geogaphy, lineage and the struggles that have deﬁned how the community addresses
issues of politics, economics and demogaphics. This knowledge is most completely
deﬁned by the diverse cultural epistemologies that make up any community and include
race/ethnicity, mi gation history and socioeconomic status. Additionally, this knowledge
is dynamic, because it has the capacity to evolve over time with the inclusion of new
relationships and new understandings (Guaj ardo, 2002).

Therefore, given what we know about the importance of place, what is the
sigriﬁcance in the formation of youth adult partnerships? The ﬁndings ﬂom this study
explain that by understanding epistemology of place, the leadership teams were able to
generate youth adult partnerships that were appropriate for their communities. The
leadership teams were able to generate partnerships that were able to articulate

community issues in a manner that was unique to the values and practices of the

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community. In fact, the organizational and community context were inextricably
interwoven and intertwined into the fabric of each of the leadership teams at each of the
organizations. The leadership teams explained the importance of implicitly and explicitly
utilizing the knowledge and resources present within their own communities to assist
them in the process of coming to common gound, identifying common goals and
deﬁning a shared vision. The leadership teams were deliberate in their consideration and
use of community resources. They expressed the importance of relying on the knowledge
of the community in their quest to address particular community issues. As such, they
found this to be especially helpful when dealing with large policy issues, such as
immigant rights, community policing, and parental involvement in schools.
Additionally, by utilizing the epistemology of place in the generation of youth adult
partnerships, each community was better able to address the multiple and often
competing contexts present in communities.

The complexity of the community context required that individuals tap into the
expertise and talents of community members to effectively address such issues. The
leadership teams at each organization speciﬁcally and intentionally engaged youth in the
process of community change. Youth and adults participated in leadership development
activities. They both played integal roles on the leadership team and directly interacted
with community members, community leaders, and K-12 educators and administrators.
A direct result of their participation in leadership development activities and their
interactions with various members of their communities, the leadership team members
began to see themselves as leaders both within their organizations as well as within the

community.

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The leadership team at Roca discussed how they rely heavily on each other for
guidance, direction, and expertise. Youth looked to adults and adults looked to youth.
The executive director looked to the leadership team and vice versa. They expressed that
each person held some reservoir of knowledge, skill, insight or expertise that would
beneﬁt the goup and the community. As such, no individual person was stronger than
goup. They shared, that by working together, they were able to uncover blind spots in
and ﬁll gaps in their understanding. This point was illuminated during an interesting
exchange during a focus goup at Roca. The members of the leadership team were asked
to introduce themselves and tell a little bit about their community. The probe was
deliberately open and broad. It allowed space for each person to share what he or she
wished to share about themselves and their community. Several members shared their
occupations and explained community challenges and community issues. They expressed
that they worked closely with community members to gain their perspectives. They held
forums to exchange information with community members, conducted interviews to
capture historical accounts and to preserve historical knowledge, and they welcomed
community members to become a part of the organization.

Epistemology of place appeared especially important for communities that were
marginalized culturally and economically. The ﬁndings indicate that communities are
important. Communities are the places that individuals learn how to negotiate their
position. Communities are places that help individuals prepare to interact and negotiate
in places outside of their comfort zone. It is the place that individuals learn to utilize
assets and negotiate shortcomings. Communities provide the arena to learn values,

negotiate politics, establish relationships, and practice giving back. It is often through

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these experiences that individuals learn the skills and develop the capacities to nurture
ideas, make decisions, and build strong sustainable relationships. Communities also help
to build the next generation of leaders, who in turn will impact their community and
ultimately the world. Unfortunately, communities that are marginalized culturally and
economically are often forced to compromise and acculturate their consciousness,
identity, values and practices in an effort to demonstrate their willingress and
commitment to change and improve their communities. More often, marginalized
communities are expected to compromise and acculturate for the promise of economic
and political capital. Unfortunately, when communities compromise and acculturate,
they indelibly alter their ability to negotiate their position in places outside their comfort
zone. That is, when individuals are forced to distance themselves ﬂom the communities
responsible for their development, they sever the link to that community and thus reduce
the community base. Therefore, it is important to understand communities through the
eyes of the residents. Understanding how individuals perceive their community reveals
their sense of well-being, being well, belonging and connectedness. Understanding the
level to which individuals feel connected to their communities facilitates an
understanding of the community change desired, and the amount of support required and
more importantly, the amount of support they are willing to accept.

The discussion above helps to explain how the leadership team at Benton Harbor
addressed particular issues in their community. The leadership team identiﬁed and
explained that a large majority of Benton Harbor residents lived at or below poverty
levels. Additionally, they expressed concerns about the high crime rate, low academic

achievement of students, and low parental involvement with schools. However, even in

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the midst of describing the challenging circumstances that their community faced, the
leadership team was able to ﬂame those challenges as opportunities. They explained that
as a result of such community issues, various community leaders, policy makers, and
school officials were turning to them for assistance. They explained that those
individuals were aware of the success that the boys and girls club had with its members
and had began learning of the new work taken place as a result of youth adult
partnerships. Members of the leadership team brought their knowledge, skills and
expertise as college administrators, K-12 educators and administrators, community
activist and students, to the work that they did with and within the organization. They
found that they were actually experts in many areas and therefore were capable of
contributing to community change efforts. For example, the leadership team recogrized
a disconnection between elected community ofﬁcials and community residents.
Therefore, they worked to bring elected community officials and the community together
for a question and answer forum. The leadership team ﬂamed the discussion by utilizing
the local knowledge of the community and enlisting the help of both youth and adults
ﬂom the community. They involved local community advocates, religious leaders,
parents and students in the planning of the event to assure that the forum was productive
for both the community and the elected ofﬁcials. They were well aware of and resisted
the temptation to simply host a nice event, but lacked substance, and therefore, failed to
address the lack of communication between the community and the elected officials.
Therefore, the leadership team was careful not to lose the identity of the community

while they prepared to host prominent city ofﬁcials and local businesses.

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The leadership team incorporated the values and practices of the community into
the structure of the forum. The community context of Benton Harbor indicated that
residents of have high regard for its high school sports teams and high school band.
Understanding that the high school played a major role in the identity of the community,
the leadership team systematically involved both the band and local athletes in the events
of the day. The leadership team organized a basketball tournament to jumpstart the day,
followed by a talent show, in which several bands members participated, and culminated
with the question and answer forum. During the question and answer forum members
ﬂom the community were encouraged to ask questions and share their experiences within
the community and express their vision for the community. The elected ofﬁcials were
encouraged to participate in a manner that was authentic. They were encouraged to listen
and respond in a manner that transcended their ofﬁce. By structuring the day around the
local knowledge and expertise of the community it allowed individuals to connect with
each other around common themes and common issues

The leadership team was able to connect and incorporate the epistemology of
place within their leadership development activities, as well as, into the events that they
hosted to address community issues. This provided geater opportunities for all that
participated to feel connected, valued, and safe within both the organization and within
the community. When individuals expressed a feeling of being connected, they also
expressed geater feelings of belonging. Feelings of belonging linked to feeling “safe.”
The feeling of safety was described as being present more so within the community
organization facility. However, as individuals expanded their relationships with

individuals within the organization they began to bond with those individuals and build

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trust. As levels of trust increased, they were able to co-construct a purpose for the work
they wished to engage in. As they co-constructed a purpose, they were able to develop
and wield power within their communities. The interpersonal connections of youth and
adults generated a source of power that directly contributed to sigriﬁcant capacity
building in both organization members and community citizens. It was through those
relationships that partnerships developed. In turn, those partnerships begin to address
community issues, and thus changed their communities ﬂom within.
Analytic Category 2: Importance of Building Trust

The research questions sought to identify speciﬁc skills and capacities necessary
to generate youth adult partnerships within community based organizations focused on
community change. Each community based organization had speciﬁc missions of
positive youth development and community leadership development. Participants
indicated that their leadership teams took speciﬁc steps to generate youth adult
partnerships. One member of the leadership team at MiCasa, ﬂamed the steps in this
way, “We spent the ﬁrst year building trust... a lot of it was because of the trust circles.
We were so honest with each other, that we would shed tears together.” He concluded
his comments by expressing that the trust circles brought their fellowship together to a
point that they viewed each other as family. He shared that they spent a lot of time
together, and they learned to place a high premium on spending time together. He
concluded his thoughts with this comment, “So the trust thing just hits me because the
ﬁrst full year our entire fellowship was deﬁned by me, as building trust just by getting to

know each other.”

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Building trust required that individuals get to know each other at deeper levels
than usually expected ﬂom casual everyday interactions. Building trust required that
individuals focus on the culture, history, strengths, challenges and wisdom of the
individuals they worked with. Participants shared that they took time to learn about the
talents and gifts, as well as, the skills and capacities of others. The leadership team
explained that they opened up to share their expectations, their passions, and were willing
to learn and share in public spaces.

An important step in building trust began with individual transformation.
Individual transformation shifted individuals thinking and actions. Individual
transformation required time, involved trust, and required a commitment to learning new
skill sets. Responses during focus goups and interviews revealed that the leadership
team and executive directors, by in large, felt that individually they were moving forward
to create change, and that collectively they had developed the capacity to begin acting in
a manner that would positively affect the type of change they wanted to see in their
communities.

Bryk and Schneider (2002) discuss the importance of building trust between
schools and communities. They describe the importance of establishing positive social
relationships as a component of creating sustained improvement in the academic
performance of students. Additionally, they explored the importance of establishing
relational trust as a central component for developing a broad base of trust across and
between school leaders and community members (2002). This work helped to ﬂame and

linked how I explain building trust.

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The ﬁndings ﬂom this study are aligned with Bryk and Schneider (2002) assertion
that building trust involves risk taking and an understanding that the actions of one party
inversely affect the other party. Additionally, this study revealed that trust is explained as
a social or collective attribute that can be drawn upon to achieve a collective objective.
Responses ﬂom the leadership teams suggest that building trust is often generated when
ageements are understood and embedded within the cultural fabric and structure of the
school, organization and community. That is, trust is gounded in the obligations and
expectations or particular sanctions imposed or expressed by particular networks,
organizations and communities.

The leadership team alluded to several necessary components to build trust, but
the most salient point was made when they reﬂected on the process of “gacious space.”
Gracious space is a concept that was implemented by the coordinating organizations as a
process that Opens up dialogue and provides an opportunity to collectively create a space
that welcomes the opinions of others. More importantly, it creates a space that welcomes
differing opinions. It provides an environment that is capable of holding conﬂict. The
following quotes were taken ﬂom a segnent of a focus goup with the leadership team in
response to the question about the building blocks for generating youth adult partnerships
for community change. During a focus goup interview, Larry Left Hand Bull explained
the importance of building trust and working collectively. He attributed much of the
success of the fellowship to their early and ﬂequent use of gacious space as well.

LARRY: I think... for our goup, the biggest thing for me was learning to work

collectively. That means working with Rudy, Adam and Sharon and some others

in our goup who are a lot younger than me but in some ways are a lot older than
me. And I think building that gacious space is paramount and key that the goup

itself feels comfortable addressing a multitude of issues at any given time and to
step back when necessary and say we're maybe not ready to take this on yet, but

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we'll come back to it and table this issue and we'll work on what we can do right

now. And I would recommend that to other community goups out there that they

spend the time and energy in building the gacious space between youth and
adults or adults and adults and what have you. (Adult MiCasa Leadership Team)

Gracious space was a concept introduced during training sessions developed for
the leadership teams. The concept helps to facilitate opportunities for individuals to
generate a collective vision through which everyone can participate. In addition to the
process of creating gacious space the leadership teams used a process called peace-
making circles, also referred to as peace circles or trust circles. Peace making circles are a
process attributed to the aboriginal and native traditions that brings together individuals
willing to work on conﬂict resolution, decision making, or other outcome based practices,
with honest communication centered around relationship development and community
building. The Leadership teams explained that after they were able to develop the
necessary skills and capacities with their fellowship, they were then able to effectively
work with each other, and eventually they were able to work with individuals outside of
their fellowships. The fellowship identiﬁed Lake Middle School as the ﬁrst community
organization that they would work with as part of their goal of creating community
change.

Molly Baldwin, the executive director for Roca, expressed the importance of
being clear in the vision and mission of an organization. She stressed the importance of
telling the truth about what is going on in organizations, communities, and around the
country. Next, she ﬂamed her understanding of trust as being the foundation of

relationships. It is the combination of truth and trust that make way for transformation or

change to occur. Members of the leadership teams also expressed the importance of

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adults to rethink how they engage and interact with youth. The comments above and
those that follow identify key points that ﬂame the importance of establishing open,
honest, and truthful communication as a component of building trust. Once trust is
established, it establishes relationships that allow youth and adults to be open to learning
together in public and prepared for transformation and change. They were also asked to
explain what was important to generate youth adult partnerships.

Victor identified the importance of youth being able to identify with adults.
Additionally, he explained the importance of youth having multiple adults to go to for
various needs. This ﬁnding is important for educators and educational administrators.
The idea of trust ties nicely with Bryk and Schneider work in Chicago schools. Bryk and
Schneider (2002) assert that trust is linked to academic achievement. Their work
identiﬁed four vital sigrs for identifying and assessing trust in schools. The four
components were respect, competence, personal regard and integity. They identiﬁed
that improving schools was closely connected with school educators and administrators
ability to build trust between parents and their children. They were able to explain that
the personal dynamics of educators, administrators, parents and students inﬂuenced
student behavior, attendance, and achievement. Schools that were characterized by high
levels of what they call, relational trust, resulted in advanced improvements in school
culture, marked gains in student learning, and geater parental involvement within
schools.

Victor adds an additional layer to the importance of truth, trust, and
transformation, as he expressed the point of view of an adult working with youth. He

explained that there is certain amount of pressure or adults to “do right” by young people.

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This self-check of adult interactions occurred in other places throughout the data. Adults
expressed that they wanted to be sure that they provided the necessary space for youth to
gow, be held accountable and responsible, while still providing support. The balance
was identiﬁed as being very delicate. However, the fact that adults were cogrizant of this
spoke volumes to their commitment to creating youth adult partnerships. Even though the
intent to “do right” by youth was present, there were incidents were the leadership team
and the organization needed to recalibrate their interactions. In the following statement,
Cody and Jackie explain an incident that took place around the desigr of an invitation for
a community wide fund raising dinner hosted by the organization. An adult in a
leadership role at the organization, but not directly involved with generating youth adult
partnerships at the organization, asked the leadership team to coordinate the invitation
desigr efforts. After numerous hours and several iterations, the leadership team
completed a ﬂyer that they felt accomplished the task and goals that they were given.
However, upon completion, they were presented with a new set of expectations and a
completed invitation that they should use as a template. The leadership team stated that
they felt that the adult did not truly believe that the leadership team composed of youth
and adults would facilitate the process in an effective and professional manner. In an
attempt to safe guard the outcome, the adult prepared a backup plan that consisted of
additional criteria and a separate invitation that was already completed. They expressed
that there was lack of conﬁdence in their abilities. They also shared that once they had
“proven” that they could handle things on their own, they were given more ﬂeedom to

move forward independently.

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The above scenario addressed the importance of all members involved in the
organization undergo youth adult partnership training activities. This was important
because it assured that individuals learned how to effectively interact and engage each
other in the work of the organization. Additionally, it highlighted the importance of
acknowledging the accomplishments and efforts of both youth and adult members rather
than focusing on the contributions of the adults only. The leadership teams expressed a
need for open support of partnerships between youth and adult. Additionally, the
leadership team identiﬁed moments that they felt undermined by individuals that had not
undergone or participated in the youth adult partnership leadership training activities. It
was clear that generating youth adult partnerships was a process that required carefully
orchestrated interactions supported by activities designed to assist individuals in the
transition.

Benton Harbor shared a contrasting view of the role played by the leadership of
the organization. The Benton Harbor leadership team felt that they did not have enough
support. They felt that they were in essence abandoned, or left on an island. Although
they gew to embrace the situation and reﬂarne it as having autonomy and creative rights
to ﬂame the work as they saw best, they ultimately expressed a need for the organization
to be cogrizant and supportive of the necessary work and processes connected to youth
adult partnerships. The leadership teams mentioned separate occasions when the
organization inadvertently undermined the youth adult partnership efforts by the
organizations lack of participation and lack of visibility in the community. These
unintentional actions were often subtle and unnoticed by the organization. However, it

was clear and openly expressed to the leadership team. The leadership team attributed

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the organizations behavior to their lack of participation in workshops, trainings, and
gatherings focused on developing individual and collective leadership skills to generate
youth adult partnerships. The leadership team expressed that it was not enough to have
youth adult partnerships present in isolated goups. Instead, the organization and its
members were better served when the partnerships permeated throughout the
organization.

Additionally, the leadership teams expressed that they were able to better serve
the needs of the community and better address community issues when the organization
provided reasonable levels of oversight and extended the organizational expertise and
historical tradition when interacting with community stakeholders.

Analytic Category 3: Importance of Co-constructing Purpose

The importance to cO-constructing purpose was a recurring theme addressed by
the leadership teams. The ﬁndings revealed that participants in this study revealed a need
to (a) develop a shared understanding of the role of youth adult partnerships within the
community based organizations, and (b) identify pressing community issues that the
youth adult partnerships would work to address.

There is broad scholarship on goup leadership, including the idea or concept of
geat goups as leaders in society. Great Groups or a collection of creative individuals
have traditionally and historically worked collectively to achieve results without
following a hierarchical approach. In these instances, the process of deﬁning vision,
setting direction, and exercising inﬂuence over other people and organizations, became a
leadership function that was shared by the goup and individuals within the goup.

Leadership for community change is based on the principle that a commitment to social

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advocacy, civic engagement, and community change issues is gounded in collective
actions and co-constructed purpose developed by goups of individuals working together.
Collaborative leadership development or co-constructing purpose for a shared
understanding of community change was explained as a process during many of the
interviews. The process included both individual and collective efforts to create a climate
for change through youth adult partnerships. The opportunity to co-construct a purpose
together encouraged members to develop a shared purpose for their work. The shared
purpose allowed for individual visions to shift to a collective vision. It also assisted
individuals in staying connected to and focused on the community change issues.

The process of co-constructing purpose happened on at least four levels, personal,
interpersonal, institutional and cultural community. On the personal level, there were
shifts in attitudes, values, and skills. The interpersonal level involved changes in
language, actions, and included relationship building. Each community-based
organization also experienced some type of institutional change characterized by shifts in
policies and practices. Finally, shifts in the cultural community, which included a shift in
social norms and focus on what is “right.” That is co- learning was conducted and ﬂamed
in a culturally responsible manner that intentionally, created opportunities to embrace the
epistemology of place. The epistemology of place explained the content of both implicit
and explicit knowledge of the community’s history, geogaphy, lineage and the struggles
that have deﬁned how the community addresses issues of politics, economics and
demographics. The leadership teams often referred back to the importance of building
trust and developing a shared vision. The examples in this study illuminate how diverse

community leadership worked across boundaries of age, gender, geogaphy, race, culture,

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class, and faith to mobilize collective action to improve local conditions and the quality
of life in their communities.

In the earlier passage about the “Big Bash,” members ﬂom the Benton Harbor
leadership team were described the event. The Big Bash was an event that included a
basketball game, a talent show, and culminated with a question and answer period with
city ofﬁcials. The leadership team was very strategic in how they planned the event.
Their focus was to draw ﬂom both youth and adult interest and to conclude the event
with the question and answer period between community members and city ofﬁcials. The
careful planning and attention to the cultural identity of the community paid off for the
leadership team. They were able to sustain large numbers of both youth and adults
throughout the entire day. Members worked to understand the importance of bringing
together a full representation of the community that was able to work together to move
past barriers that have separated people. They were able to do this by emphasizing
inclusion of individuals that were not typically seen as leaders and involving them in
decision making processes and planning of the event.

Members of the MiCasa leadership team were asked to explain what needed to
take place in order for the organization to better value the perspectives of youth adult
partnerships. The following statements further clarify the importance of co-constructing
purpose at the beginning stages of youth adult partnership work, but it was also
mentioned that the process be ongoing. As new members join in, they would beneﬁt
ﬂom the process as well. The leadership team expressed that the process be ongoing.

There were moments that they went back to the stage of building trust. They speciﬁcally

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identiﬁed moments when they used the peace making circles to reestablish a baseline, or
to get everyone on the same page.

The next sets of passages continue to build on the theme of co-constructing
purpose as a valuable component for community change. The theme also intersects with
building trust by establishing open communication. However, the concept of building
trust appears to move ﬂom the conﬁnes of the fellowship and the community based
organizations to a more community wide focus that incorporates members ﬂom the
community in learning the process as well.

The leadership teams spoke clearly on the importance of building trust and co-
constructing purpose as valuable components of youth adult partnerships for community
change. They also expressed the importance of acting together. The leadership teams
explained that as a result of working together various assumptions about leadership skills
and capacities were challenged and reconsidered. They learned that all members of the
fellowship beneﬁted ﬂom the same leadership skill training regardless of leadership
experience and indiscriminate of age. For example, initially, it was assumed that youth
would need leadership training and capacity building at all levels, but, adults were
expected to possess particular leadership skills. They found that both adults and youth
beneﬁted ﬂom safe places where they could to be open to learn as well. Such
opportunities reduced the pressure, risk, and expectations that adults already possessed
leadership skills and capacities.

Analytic Category 4: Importance of Working Together
Leadership team members spoke of the importance of building trust as a major

component of youth adult partnerships for community change. They also linked the

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ability to work together as paramount in the success of the partnerships. The ability to
work together allowed and even encouraged individuals to mature into leadership roles.
The maturation process provided space for individuals to understand their current
abilities and the patience to nurture that ability through supportive goup action.

Participants shared that in order to address community issues the goup had to
learn how to work together to build new relationships, share power, create alliances, and
assemble a critical mass of diverse leaders. They also expressed that new people should
be included as leaders. That is, individuals not typically viewed as leaders should also be
included in the leadership and decision making process.

One member of a leadership team shared, “part of learning to work together is to
understand how to engage in a respectful and critical process while still holding one
another accountable to the collective decisions of the goup was also important.” The
Executive director for Roca mentioned that, “with time the level of clarity and strength of
the youth adult partnership increased. As clarity and strength of the partnership increased
it provided opportunities for the partnerships to address larger and more complex issues.”
A youth member of the leadership team summarized the importance of community with
clarity and simplicity by stating, “They, City Hall, can’t do anything without community
anyways. If you can't deal with them and you can't talk to them and they're not willing to
understand, you have to talk to the community.” This quote came ﬂom a youth that
understood the importance of community members and community leaders coming
together and to working together. However, they also expressed an underlying
understanding that there are times when working together is challenged or even hindered.

In those instances, it is important that individuals seek alternate avenues to accomplish

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the goal at hand. Additionally, training youth and creating the space for them to take
calculated risk was at the core of community leadership development and youth adult
partnerships. Providing a space gounded in strong relationships and in the understanding
that young people have important and necessary ideas and knowledge that must be part of
the local educational and development process was important. Additionally, it was
important to understand that youth have power within communities and should be
instructed on how to connect with others that hold power within communities to establish
partnerships to create community change. This is critical to the development of
communities as they develop the next generation of leaders. Youth should be accepted as
young in chronological years but, nurtured and valued for their maturity in experiences.
Youth that are surrounded with positive roles models that are capable of
developing the skills and resiliency to navigate difﬁcult situations and important
decisions are better prepared to work with others. Setting those favorable conditions
requires negotiating and sharing power. Favorable conditions include mentoring youth
on how to engage in new experiences. This process is therefore a reciprocal pedagogical
process. As youth are mentored they are also providing insight and feedback to those
mentoring. As youth ask questions and collaboratively create criteria for their learning
experiences, they also create opportunities to share ideas, roles, and duties in the
developing relationship. As the relationship develops into a partnership, decisions
become shared. However, decisions are not accepted merely because they were
suggested by youth, but rather, because the decisions have validity and stand on their own

merit.

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A key element of acting and working together to make the work a reality was to
develop networks and partnerships across systems (schools, community organizations,
local and regional government agencies, and so on). This process involved the leadership
teams’ ability to build allies in the community for youth adult partnerships that were
willing to become part of the ongoing learning community. Additionally, the pathways
that connected the work of the leadership team to a broader community system were built
largely on the coat tails of the work and partnerships established by the host agency. That
is, organizations with a track record of successful partnerships in the community had
created and/or renewed pathways for youth adult partnerships in the community (e. g.,
ROCA and to a lesser degee Benton Harbor and MiCasa). In cases where the learning
process engaged the host organization and strengthened community partnerships or
alliances, desirable impacts were realized and further support continued as a result of the
youth adult partnerships. In cases where there was little to no participation ﬂom the host
organization in the learning and relationship building process, sustaining the work was
explained as being more difﬁcult. Developing and aligring a shared purpose between the
host organization and the leadership team aided in generating partnerships and networks
to both initiate and implement community change efforts, as well as, support the work of
youth adult partnerships for future work.

Youth adult partnerships generated new links and established new connections
with individuals within community based organizations as well as with community
members. Members of youth adult partnerships learned to act as effective bridges
between people and organizations. In addition, as bridges youth adult partners were able

to isolate a person or organization that isn’t connected and know how to work with them

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to increase the potential of contribution and decrease alienation that may lead to
detrimental behaviors. In this way youth adult partnerships can have enormous inﬂuence
in both an informal and formal way.

Analytic Category #5 : Importance of Deepening, Sustaining, and making work a way of
life

The leadership team indicated that it learned the importance of developing allies
and resources that make it possible to imbed the work of youth and adult partnerships
into the fabric of the community. Additionally, they expressed that they were able to
create a process that could support the ongoing work of youth adult partnerships. They
achieved this goal by inviting and nurturing new members into similar leadership
development opportunities. As a result they were able to identify how they would sustain
the work of youth adult partnerships. They were able to commit to ongoing development
of their leadership skills and capacities, continue to work with community partners, and
embraced the lessons learned as an emerging leader.

The leadership team shared that through their interactions with other leadership
teams, that they learned the importance of personal story. They expressed that it was
critically important to the work that they did. It was understood that if the personal story
was not adequately understood, ﬁrst by the individual, second to the goup, it would not
be interwoven into the story of the organization and community. Acknowledging the
personal story helped to focus community issues at a micro level, which later helped to
address community issues at a macro level. That is, individuals learned that they ﬁrst
must understand their own story before they were able to work on the community story.

The leadership team expressed that they needed to take time to go more in depth into the

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work they were doing, to explore the activities that were based on their local work, and
ﬂame concepts and activities based on a local context. The teams wanted to “go inward”
to understand how they could positively affect the larger community. Lastly, the
leadership teams expressed that they wanted to add power and currency to their local
stories by publishing them, using them to educate the community in an effort to address
community issues.

The leadership team expressed that leadership development work must be
gounded in a political and economic reality that youth and adults alike will see it as
worthwhile and engaging. Additionally, such leadership development should be about
the past, present, and future. However, it must also be gounded within a social and
cultural reality that is relevant to community members and the community based
organization.

Summary of Interpretation of Findings

This chapter described the experiences of three leadership teams ﬂom
community-based organizations that generated youth adult partnerships focused on
community change issues. The discussion highlighted the multifaceted and complex
nature of the leadership teams’ experience. The discussion also revealed various skills
and capacities identiﬁed as important for the generation of youth adult partnerships.
However the most salient point or underlying and supportive theme was the importance
of building trust. Lastly, this chapter offered an explanation as to the steps that the
leadership teams took to develop partnerships and identiﬁed the skills and capacities

required for youth adult partnerships to focus on community change issues.

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The purpose of analyzing the ﬁndings was to produce a multi tiered, holistic, and
integated synthesis. The challenge throughout data collection and data analysis, which
were not separate but rather interlocking phases of this research, was to make sense of
large amounts of data, reduce the volume of information, identify sigriﬁcant patterns,
and construct a ﬂamework for communicating the essence of what the data revealed
given the purpose of the study. In addition, I performed extensive within-and across-
case analyses and found considerable similarities between the leadership teams at the

three community based organizations.

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CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATONS

The conclusions and implications presented in this chapter are based on the ﬁve
ﬁndings that emerged ﬂom this research: (a) context and place matter, (b) building
mutual trust is paramount, (c) co-constructing purpose is important to move the work
forward, ((1) acting and working together move the work forward, and (e) sustainability is
linked to making the work a way of life. Following the conclusions is a discussion of the
major implications ﬂom this research and recommendations for future research. Finally,
this chapter concludes with ﬁnal reﬂections on this study.
Conclusions

The following discussion will address the usefulness or utility of the ﬁndings of
this research speciﬁcally for: (a) educators, (b) educational leadership administrators and
faculty, (c) community based organizations, and (d) current and perspective youth
development professionals and volunteers. What follows, are my interpretations of the
lived experiences of members of the leadership teams at three community-based
organizations that participated in the phenomena of youth adult partnerships. As such,
the content should not be viewed as a generalization nor should it be viewed as a marker
for replication of this study, but instead as an indication of possibilities and plausibility of
generating authentic youth adult partnerships that are speciﬁc to the needs of individual
communities, organizations, and systems. The intent of this research was to explore
speciﬁc capacities and skills of leadership teams ﬂom three community based
organizations that were engaged in youth adult partnerships with a focus on addressing

particular issues within their communities. As such, the organizations were selected

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based on their mission, vision and documented history and success of youth and adults
working together in various capacities. The organizations demonstrated a willingress to
shift ﬂom the historically successful models of positive youth development and youth
mentoring, and embrace the model of youth adult partnerships.

The Process of Generating Youth Adult Partnerships

This research was successful in answering the research questions and generating
ﬁndings that highlight and explain the skills and capacities necessary to generate youth
adult partnerships formed to address community issues. However, there was also a
serendipitous ﬁnding as well. Through serendipity, I learned that while capacities and
skills were important in generating youth adult partnerships, the leadership teams utilized
a process to generate these partnerships. The leadership teams were able to combine the
tangible components with the process of generating youth adult partnerships.

Early in the study I deﬁned speciﬁc terms to provide clarity for the remainder of
the study. In doing so, I deﬁned skills and capacities as the particular qualities, attributes
and dispositions of individuals. Additionally, I described skills and capacities as
including but not limited to critical thinking, decision-making, vocational awareness,
cultural competence, self-regulation, contending with diﬂiculties, conﬂict resolution,
self-efﬁcacy, goal setting, pro-social values, relationship skills, teamwork, connectedness
to organizations and Community, and civic engagement. While many of these particular
qualities, attributes, and dispositions were important in generating youth adult
partnerships, they also required that individuals participate in speciﬁc activities and
leadership development workshops. The activities and workshops helped the leadership

team better understand what youth adult partnerships were and were not, how to develop

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them, how to use them to address community change issues, and how to sustain the
partnerships beyond the conclusion of the projects they worked on. Additionally, each
leadership team generated youth adult partnerships that were both speciﬁc and authentic
to their community and organization. That is, each leadership team utilized the talents
and gifts of the individuals that were in the community and identiﬁed community issues
based on the expertise of the members of the youth adult partnerships.

The process of generating youth adult partnerships required that both youth and
adults identify and acknowledge particular biases about youth adult partnerships. Next, it
required that they identify what they expected to learn or accomplish ﬂom the youth adult
partnerships. Finally, it required that they be willing to share experiences and learn in
public. The process is both more difficult and more important than the outcomes or
solutions. The process is one of learning to enhance the current skills and capacities of
participants to create networks that are capable of supporting community change. This
was accomplished by: (a) engaging non traditional leaders in activities and training that
would assist them in playing integal roles that address community issues with a variety
of stakeholders within the community; (b) understand that communities have established
values of trust and reciprocity that include cultural nuances speciﬁc to their community.
Understanding these components of community values and trust aid in building strong
and lasting community partnerships; and (c) it is important that participants understand
that systems are ﬂagile, ﬂuid, ﬂexible and, at times ﬁxed. That is, in order to compensate
for this delicate balance, participants need to be prepared to share human resources,

utilize information generated ﬂom diverse knowledge systems, and implement other

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elements that aid in capacity building for community change. The passage below ﬂom a
member of the Roca leadership team illuminates the above point:
If you really want to get anything done, if the kind of stuff you want to do is real
change in the community, you can’t be aﬂaid of the hard stuff. You’re going to
keep encountering, whether it’s tensions within your own team or your own
organization or community or it’s tensions with others or barriers that come in the
way of everyone saying that you can’t do that and you can’t do that, you have to
stay at it because that’s where you can actually start getting the momentum going.
I think a lot of times it gets so hard that people just stop or get angy, and that
doesn’t really necessarily translate into energy that moves things. So it’s a
delicate balance, but you can’t be aﬂaid of it and it’s where a lot of things happen.
Generating youth adult partnerships required that the leadership teams operated
on three levels that appeared to be sequential. The ﬁrst level involved individual
transformation. The leadership teams worked to provide space for individual
transformation. They learned that individual transformation lead to a critical mass of
people capable of moving communities toward community change. This particular level
in the process was unique to the community and organizational context. However, these
three step were involved: (a) developing a safe place for learning and dialogue, (b)
developing the tangible components of skills and capacities, and (c) providing support for
action. There are several places in this research that this process is illmninated.
Additionally, at those points it is also clear when the leadership teams were successful at
completing or adhering to the above steps. The second level involved employing youth
adult partnerships within the organization and community. The ﬁndings indicate that
trust, reciprocity, conﬂict resolution, and sharing learning experiences were key to the
viability of the youth adult partnerships. For both youth and adults, perceptions of their

partnerships capacity and application of skills were directly linked to the four previously

mentioned concepts. A third and ﬁnal level involved the strength of the partnerships to

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build links in the community. The leadership teams explained that they perceived that
their skills to include and engage diverse individuals and organizations, problem solving,
and decision making was strengthened as a result of their participation in youth adult
partnerships. This conﬁdence reﬂects a level of both expressed and implied
empowerment generated as a result of youth adult partnerships.

Youth Adult Partnerships are Complex and Messy

At this point it is important to express the difﬁcult, complex, and messy nature of
generating youth adult partnerships. Generating youth adult partnerships were more
difﬁcult than many of the outcomes that they produced. Moreover, there were moments
when each leadership team struggled with enacting youth adult partnerships. Both youth
and adults often interacted with each other in a mentor to mentee relationship. While
such an interaction is appropriate in some instances, it could potentially hinder youth
ﬂom developing particular leadership competencies and the ability to ﬁrlly participate in
community change activities. Additionally, adults need to examine their assumptions
about youth and work toward creating a trusting and mutually respectful relationship with
youth.

The learning process required to generate youth adult partnerships enhanced the
leadership teams ability to create networks to support them in there work. Additionally,
they knew that if they were successful at generating youth adult partnerships they could
create system change and effectively address community issues. The stories or
experience shared by members of the leadership team emphasized the importance and
difﬁculty of generating and sustaining youth adult partnerships. Youth adult partnerships

did not occur in a vacuum nor were they necessarily easy. Generating youth adult

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partnerships required the commitment of individuals, organizations, and communities.
The leadership teams alluded to the complex and messy process. It required individuals
to complement his or her learning by building new relationships and strengthening old
relationships. Creating new and strengthening old relationships was important because it
provided pathways for youth and adults to engage in leadership activities, which resulted
in actions that lead to ability to address community issues. Youth and adults learned to
build mutually trusting relationships that lead to respect among both non-traditional and
traditional community leaders, community oﬂicials and policy makers that held the
authority to address community issues.

In summary, generating and sustaining youth adult partnerships is hard work, it is
somewhat of a messy process that often encounters tensions, potholes, pitfalls and
setbacks. Generating youth adult partnerships are time consuming and cumbersome for
most organizations. There is constant need to reset and revisit the training ﬂarnework.
Additionally, it is important that all members that are involved in the work of youth adult
partnerships participate in the training and commit to following the ﬂamework. This is
important even for individuals that are engaged in tangency relationship with youth adult
partnerships. Finally, it is important to understand that process requires time to develop.
It happens over time and is often insulated and operates contrary to timelines.
Implication I : The Epistemology of Place: Context, Place and Culture Matter

The epistemology of place explained the importance of acknowledging and
understanding the complexity of community context, place and culture. It is through the
elaborate mix of community context, place and culture that shape community values and

practices. Community values and practices are therefore directly linked to the formation

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of the epistemology of place. The epistemology of place is important because it frames
and deﬁnes various aspects of communities. For example, it ﬂames and deﬁnes how
community members interact with each other, the level of involvement with and within
organizations, with and within the community, and the levels of civic engagement to
which community members participate.

Throughout this study the leadership teams highlighted various skills and
capacities necessary to generate youth adult partnerships. They also explain the steps
they implemented to address community issues. They were deliberate in highlighting the
historical and cultural components connected to each issue. They also worked to include
as many community stakeholders as possible. On the surface it appears that each
leadership team embraced the same process. However, after closer consideration during
the cross-case analysis, I discovered that each leadership team approached and addressed
community issues differently. This ﬁnding did not come as a surprise.

The epistemology of place also helps to explain the complex, multiple, and often,
competing values that make up the community context, place and culture. As such, it is
important that individuals and organizations acknowledge and identify such competing
values and work to meet on common gound, identify a set of common goals and deﬁne a
shared vision. For example, Roca identiﬁed immigant rights as the community issue
they wished to address. MiCasa identiﬁed lack of participation of parents at a middle
school within the community. Benton Harbor focused on improving the dialogue
between youth and elected city ofﬁcials. After each leadership team identiﬁed the
community issue to address, they began developing the required capacities and skills

necessary to effectively address each issue. Each organization utilized the knowledge

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and expertise present within the community to address the community issue. Therefore,
the epistemology of place of each community required a speciﬁc skill set and the
development of particular capacities necessary for the leadership team to address the
community issue.

The executive director of Roca provides a good example of pinpointing the
epistemology of place within the Chelsea MA community. She acknowledged and
understood the complexities of the political landscape, the needs of citizens within the
community, and the capacities and skills associated with resources of the community and
organization. She explained:

“You can do a lot of capacity building of people, and that's okay, but when it's

connected to something and gounded in something and has meaning and has a

life to it and gows and is challenged on its own, I think it makes it easier to do.

Training leadership development, when young people are clear, their organizing

agenda is really powerful.”

Members of Roca identiﬁed immigant rights as an important community issue
that they were willing to address. As such, the leadership team of the organization
identiﬁed the political landscape and climate that was associated with the issue of
immigant rights. The leadership team then informed and educated the organization
members on the issue, and then prepared the members to actively engage community
members, corrrrnunity politicians, and other community stakeholders in a dialogue around
the issue. Finally, the organization utilized its networks and resources to assist the
citizens in the community. They provided seminars of immigant rights, provided contact
information for agencies desigred to assist immigants, and provided other services and

assistance as needed. The political landscape involved government agencies such as the

US. Irnmigant and Custom Enforcement ofﬁce, the govemor’s ofﬁce, Mayor of

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Chelsea, school district administrators, medical facilities, and religious organizations.
Members of the leadership team met with representatives ﬂom each agency and worked
to deveIOp a working relationship that began with dialogue and exchange of information.

Roca’s ability to acknowledge and understand the values and practices of the
community allowed them to identify many of the trigger points that surrounded the issue
of immigant rights. Many of the community stakeholders that the leadership team spoke
with shared similar values about immigant rights. However, they also found that there
were equal amounts of competing values, and thus would require interaction that was
beyond their resources. Upon this realization, the organization began to expand their
network to include organizations ﬂom across the country. This network increased the
amount of resources and expertise. Additionally, it provided the required amount of
exposure to continue the momentum the organization created within the community.

Roca was able to establish what Gold, Simon, and Brown (2005) refer to as social
trust. Social trust develops accountability in relationships through establishing a mutual
ageement. Developing accountability in relationships often requires that all parties
understand the obligations that community members have of one another, thus reducing
the perception that a single individual, institution, or organization wields unilateral power
(Gold, Simon, & Brown, 2005). Roca functioned as an intermediary or conduit for the
community and worked in shifting and redistributing the balance of power. Roca was
able to establish relationships that created and shared power within the community.

It is important to point out that creating such power shifts is not always seamless
and is certainly not without incident. On the contrary, at times, such power shifts result

in conﬂontation or conﬂict. As such, an evaluation or assessment of acceptable levels of

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conﬂontation and conﬂict should be considered prior to engaging in such interactions.
Roca had a history of political advocacy, by some accounts, they were even considered as
political agitators. Therefore they entered into their interactions with the community,
community leaders, and government agencies with the understanding that the
conﬂontation or conﬂict is not intentionally provoked, nor are they intentionally avoided.
Instead the goal was to create an environment capable of holding the possible
conﬂontation and conﬂict by engaging in conversations with involved parties prior to
taking action.

Guajardo (2002) explains the importance of implicitly and explicitly utilizing the
knowledge and resources present within the community as a key component to address
community issues. This deliberate consideration of community resources is a vital
component in understanding the epistemology of place. He explains that epistemology of
place includes both the implicit and explicit knowledge of the community’s history,
geogaphy, lineage and the struggles that have deﬁned how the community addresses
issues of politics, economics and demogaphics (2002). This knowledge is most
completely deﬁned by the diverse cultural epistemologies that make up any corrrrnunity,
including race/ethnicity, mi gation history and socioeconomic status. Additionally, such
knowledge is dynamic, because it has the capacity to be ﬂuid, ﬂexible and ﬁxed and thus
has the capacity to evolve over time, adjust to community needs, and provide structure
for the inclusion of new relationships and new understandings (Guajardo, 2002).
Implication 2: Building Mutual Trust is Paramount

Building mutual trust was possibly the most ﬂequently discussed component of

youth adult partnerships throughout this research. It follows epistemology of place in

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importance because individuals expressed and identiﬁed with their community as a
determining component of how and why they were involved in the work of community
change through their afﬁliation with the community based organization. After
individuals understood who was present, why they were interested in participating with
the organization and how they envisioned community change, they were then open to
sharing and learning together. One key component of building mutual trust involved
establishing respect for each other. Building mutual trust provided individuals with
opportunities to work, honor, and accept the other person as a human being capable of
connecting and learning with others.

The leadership team identiﬁed the importance of creating gound rules for their
involvement and interactions with each other. They expressed the importance of trust
and respect. They shared the importance of creating a safe space or environment that
made it possible for them to share ideas, learn together and even disagee with each other.
To accomplish the task, the leadership teams implement a concept described as gacious
space. Creating gacious space provided a container, space or environment capable of
holding tensions. It provided space to embrace tensions, with the objective, that tensions
were a necessary part of gowth, healing and change. Gracious space provided the
necessary space for each individual to see the world through the eyes of others and
ultimately learn ﬂom each other. Members of the leadership team worked to get to know
each other. They worked to understand the culture, history, strengths, challenges and
weakness of each goup member. This process also helped participants to understand and
acknowledge individual gifts, resources, skills and capacities present within the goup,

and learn together in the presence of their differences. The leadership teams expressed

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the importance of providing time, space, and encouragement for individuals to share their
stories. Individual stories helped to highlight the passions, hopes, and goals of the
members of the organization and aligred the goup for the work and the community
issues that they wished to address.
Implication 3 : Co-constructing Purpose is Important

It was important that leadership teams generated a youth adult partnership that
was non-hierarchical and collective in nature. The partnerships needed to work in a way
that both youth and adults could learn ﬂom each other. When this was accomplished, the
partnerships worked with a commitment to corporate activities. Additionally, the
partnerships consciously worked to create space for each person’s perspective and the
energy to move the work forward. Individuals inquired more often about what others
thought or felt about particular ideas. They were also less competitive during their
interactions and often worked towards clariﬁcation more often than working to
persuasion.

The leadership teams explain that the goal of co-constructing purpose was to
enable people to move forward or toward action that could make a substantial difference
in the well being of their communities. Creating forward movement required that
individuals translate their current understanding of community issues and began to view
them ﬂom the perspective of others. The shift in perspectives began when participants
expressed a willingness to share and express a sense of their own efﬁcacy as community
leaders. This complex and shared process of moving ﬂom an individual to a goup focus
was gounded on key building blocks of (a) trust and respect among goup members, (b)

skills that foster collective conﬁdence and cross-cultural competence, and (c) a structure

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that ensures both personal and goup gowth. Leadership teams expressed that they
experienced changes in the way that they think about community issues, how they learn
ﬂom members of the community, and how they engage adults and youth in a shared
leadership capacity.

Co-constructing purpose helped participants to understand the diverse ways
members deﬁned community. It encouraged members to develop a shared purpose for
their work. Ultimately, co-constructing purpose allowed members to create a bond that
kept them connected during challenging times. Leadership teams learned the importance
of moving ﬂom individual efforts to team efforts. When they worked as a team and
aligred their efforts they were able to work more efﬁciently with a commonality of
purpose and directed by a shared vision. The shared vision was actually a representation
and extension of the individual vision of each member.

Implication 4: Acting and Working together Make the Work a Reality

A key element of acting and working together to make the work a reality was to
develop networks and partnerships across systems (schools, community organizations,
local and regional government agencies, and so on). This process involved the leadership
teams’ ability to build allies in the community for youth adult partnerships that were
willing to become part of the ongoing learning community. The pathways that
connected the work of the leadership team to a broader community system were built
largely on the coat tails of the work and partnerships established by the host agency.

That is, organizations with a track record of successful partnerships in the community had
created and/or renewed pathways for youth adult partnerships in the community (e. g.,

ROCA and to a lesser degee Benton Harbor and MiCasa). In cases where the learning

170

process engaged the host organization and strengthened community partnerships or
alliances, desirable impacts were realized and further support continued as a result of the
youth adult partnerships. In cases where there was little to no participation ﬂom the host
organization in the learning and relationship building process, sustaining the work was
explained as being more difﬁcult. Developing and aligning a shared purpose between the
host organization and the leadership team aided in generating partnerships and networks
to both initiate and implement community change efforts, as well as, support the work of
youth adult partnerships for future work.

Youth adult partnerships generated new links and established new connections
with individuals within community-based organizations as well as with community
members. Members of youth adult partnerships learned to act as effective bridges
between peOple and organizations. In addition, as bridges youth adult partners were able
to isolate a person or organization that isn’t connected and know how to work with them
to increase the potential of contribution and decrease alienation that may lead to
detrimental behaviors. In this way youth adult partnerships can have enormous inﬂuence
in both an informal and formal way.

Implication 5 : Importance of Deepening and Sustaining the Work

To create sustainable change, the leadership teams needed to recogrize the
importance of engaging individuals and organizations throughout their community to
bring diverse skills and extended networks to their work. The leadership teams worked
to create a balanced mix of individuals capable of both strategic and operational planning.
Additionally, they worked to maintain an intergenerational balance within the

organization. They expressed a need to continue in developing a well articulated and

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shared vision within the community base organization as well. Each community-based
organization that engaged in youth adult partnerships was receptive and ready to engage
the community in the work of social transformation. As such, the organization
administrators that had the technical skills, logistical skills and resources to provide on
going coaching and direction to the members were more likely to continue the work of
youth adult partnerships. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the youth adult partnerships
increased as the leadership teams were able to create partnerships with external partners.
This occurred when the leadership teams were able to bring together a broad
representation of the community to work together to move past barriers that separated
people. They were able to do this by emphasizing inclusion of individuals that were not
typically seen as leaders and involved them in the decision making process. This allowed
for space for individuals to see and understand how they were co-dependent upon one
another. Finally, individuals learned how to work together to build new relationships,
create alliances, and inﬂuence change by developing a critical mass of diverse leaders to
address ongoing community change issues.
Recommendations

I offer recommendations based on the ﬁndings, analysis, and conclusions of
this study. The recommendations that follow are for: (a) educators, (b)
educational leadership administrators and faculty, (c) community based
organizations, (d) current and perspective positive youth development workers,
(e) recommendations for further research.

As I lay out my data, it becomes clear that effective teaching, learning,

knowledge creation, and leadership development occurs when the following

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processes and conditions are created by: (a) build strong relationships, this
relationship building occurred between youth and adults, youth and youth, and
adults and adults; (b) create safe spaces, this concept helped youth and adults
alike take calculated risks that allowed them to try new ideas that helped them in
their gowth process and leadership development; (c) share power, adults were
willing to practice sharing power that is relational and reciprocal; (d) go inward,
this process was about helping youth and adults alike understand themselves
better; and ﬁnally (e) have fun, this work must be fun. Teaching and learning
must be ﬂamed in a pedagogical strategy that is conguent with the learner and
that will be enjoyed and celebrated by all participants.

This work must be practiced and developed along the continuum of education. It
is not enough for youth adult partnerships to be only implemented by community based
organizations. Instead it should be embraced at public universities and colleges. It is
critically important that institutions of higher education begin to examine the way we
interact with youth. As such, youth adult partnerships could be implemented in
preparation of teachers and school leaders. Our systems of higher education must be
about preparing a new breed of teachers and school leaders. These new teachers and
school leaders must be prepared to be community leaders and community developers. I
propose that our schools of education challenge themselves to develop the new teacher
and school leaders of the future as community leaders and community developers.
Teachers and school leaders have the ability to affect multiple areas of society. As such,
the education profession is the most important in our society. However, there is a need to

expand the knowledge of our teachers and school leaders. This expanded knowledge

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would better prepare them to become the cornerstones in their communities. Considering
the adverse conditions and diverse issues affecting schools and communities, teachers
and administrators must understand and be prepared for the social, economic, and
dernogaphic changes communities face. In order to effectively improve and sustain
community change there is need for a shift in how we interact and engage communities
and families.
Returning Home

An emerging theme expressed by a few of the participants, was the idea of
returning home. They expressed that as a result of the fellowship/youth adult
partnerships they are now considering and looking forward to working within the
community. Where as, before they were looking forward to leaving their
community. Participants expressed that even those that elect to attend college or
pursue advancement in other parts of the country, they are still considering how
they can return to make contributions to their community. For those that do not
return on a permanent basis, many still return or plan to return during their breaks
and holidays. This research could also provide insight for communities in search
of methods to retain and attract talented individuals to their communities.
Speciﬁcally, this research could be helpful to community leaders seeking methods
to address gowing trends of “youth exodus” or “hallowing out,” as described by
Carr and Kefalas (2009). Carr and Kefalas explain that many young people leave
their communities in search of better opportunities, and geater challenges and
rewards in other cities (2009). The loss of an entire dernogaphic is difﬁcult

enough to adjust to for cities, but the problem is multiplied when the exiting

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dernogaphic is also the most talented and ambitious of that city. Additionally,
these individuals are also the individuals that cities have invested in for years,
through youth development progarns, extracurricular activities, and even
scholarships. Subsequently, such an exodus causes a talent vacuum for the
community. A talent vacuum can be disruptive to any community, but is
particularly distressful for rural communities and economically disadvantaged
communities.

Carr and Kefalas’ concept of “youth exodus” or “hallowing out,” is not a
new concept. The concept has also been explained through human capital
migation theory. Human capital migation theory, also referred to as human
capital ﬂight, or brain drain, is described as large migations of individuals with
speciﬁc technical, academic, or occupational skills or abilities, as the result of
conﬂict, lack of opportunity, political instability, or health risk (Taylor & Martin,
2001). McGuire (2007) attributes the term “brain drain” to the British Royal
Society’s description of the outﬂow of scientist and technologist to the United
States and Canada in the 19503 and early 19603.

These ideas assert that youth are usually more mobile than the old, as they
stand to reap higher returns as a result of their mi gation. Furthermore, youth
appear more willing to incur the initial cost or risk of migating in return for the
potential of increased returns. While youth adult partnerships hold extreme
potential for communities, their potential is threatened when youth with the most
readily available assets and talents are not available to serve in partnerships with

adults. Many communities across the US. currently struggle with sustaining their

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populations. The 2000 United States Census Bureau examined domestic worker
nrigation of individuals that were young, single, and college educated, and found
these individuals were moving away ﬂom the “Rust Belt” and northern Great
Plains region toward the West Coast and southeast (U .S. Census, 2000; McGuire,
Johnston, & Saevig, 2006). The rural areas of the US. have also experienced
widespread depopulation as residents move to urban and suburban areas.

Study Utility

This study has implications for community based organizations, community
members, students, and educational institutions. As such, this study makes a plausible
connection between leadership development progarns facilitated at community-based
organization, community centers and schools. Much of this study was based on the work
conducted by community-based organizations in partnership with local school districts.
Additionally, the leadership development activities and youth adult partnerships
purpose'ﬁrlly worked to strengthen connections with local school districts and local
educational leaders. This study could be especially useﬁrl in attempts to reconnect
schools and communities.

Students spend major portions of their days in schools. As such, schools are
expected to provide, safe and structured environments desigred to assist students in
focusing on outcomes and objectives that have geat potential for increasing their success
as youth and adults. There is strong support ﬂom the literature and the ﬁndings of this
study that community based organizations contribute and complement the instruction
students receive during school hours and thus contribute to the positive development of

youth that potentially lead to meaningful contributions to their communities. This link

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provides a pathway to existing progarns such as the 21St century community centers,
particularly those that provided out of school time progamming.

In 1994, President Clinton identiﬁed key areas critical for enhancing American
communities. He moved that schools should serve as focal points within communities.
President Clinton asserted that schools should be viewed as places were learning took
place both during school hours and after hours; that schools should function as
community centers, places for recreation and learning; places for young people and adults
alike (Parson, 2000). As a result of his commitment to communities, Federal resources
were made available as gants for local communities to establish central places youth and
adults could receive educational services and life long learning opportunities. In essence,
President Clinton was proposing a partnership between the community and its schools
through after-school progamrrring or out of school time progams. These partnerships
became known as 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21St CCLC).

President Bush continued the emphasis on after school progamming through NO
Child Left Behind (N CLB). However, while NCLB included provisions for after-school
funding, the focus, structure and funding of the 21St CCLC changed. Under NCLB the
21St CCLC progams shifted focus ﬂom providing opportunities for communities and
children, to providing educational services to after-school attendees. Rather than
providing community centers, the pro gams placed attention on providing academic
services to children. Children and their adult caregivers could enroll in the after-school
progams and participate in the progamming offered. Sacconaglri’s (2006) assessment
of student achievement in the areas of reading, writing and mathematics clearly supports

additional instruction. However, Sacconaghi also explains the importance for youth to

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learn skills such as communication, critical thinking and decision-making in an effort to
make a difference in the communities in which they live (2006). Participation in after-
school progarns provide students with instruction in the skills that geatly contribute to
positive youth development. After school progarns reduce the effects and exposure of
risk factors, such as, alcohol and drug use, vandalism, violent activities, and sexual
behavior, which often lead to unhealthy outcomes later in life (Caldwell & Baldwin,
2003). Additionally, 21St CCLC provide academic enrichment opportunities for children
attending low-performing schools, by providing tutorial services and academic
enrichment activities which are desigred to help students meet local and state standards
in core academic subjects with a particular emphasis on reading and mathematics. In
addition, 21 st CCLC progarns provide youth development activities, drug and violence
prevention progarns, technology education pro garns, art, music and recreation
progarns, counseling and character. Also, services such as family literacy may be
provided to families of students enrolled in the 213t CCLC. Momentum is gowing in
support of academically and socially enriched out-Of-school-time progams. Such
progarns provide powerful evidence that society can overcome gaps in opportunity and
close gaps in academic achievement (Wilson, 2006). A major factor that reduced
occurrence of delinquent behavior in youth centered around youth supervision.

Youth that were unsupervised for extended periods of time between the hours of
3pm and 6pm, the times when school lets out and when parents ﬁnish working, reported
increases in risk taking behaviors, increased juvenile crime rates, and the lack of positive
developmental experiences (Hahn, 2004). Out-of-school time plays an important part in a

child’s development. What children do in the time periods they are not in school can

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contribute geatly to their healthy development, or can expose them to risk factors (such
as alcohol and drug use, vandalism, violent activities, sexual behavior) which can lead to
unhealthy outcomes later in life (Caldwell & Baldwin, 2003). The above challenges were
expressed during focus goup interviews with the leadership teams. Several members of
the leadership teams spoke of violence, corruption and poverty in their neighborhoods.
Many of them attributed such environments to the lack of academic achievement and the
presence of community issues.

LAURA: I live in Chelsea, and the community is very corrupt. There's a lot of

violence and lots of kids dropping out of school, having kids at young ages.

There's a lot of drugs, and most of it comes ﬂom the streets. There's 14 year olds

selling drugs and having kids, and it's because they see everybody else doing it, so

that's why they do it. And I feel like if they come into ROCA most of them do
come to ROCA, and if they stay here a little bit more and actually get help we can
achieve something with change. (Y outh-Roca leadership team)

James explained that a positive environment was key to improving outcomes for
youth, by stating, “The main thing we can do is provide a positive place, for them to
come, so they can get away ﬂom say anything that was an oppressive force to them.”
Reisner, Vandell, Pechrnan, Pierce, Brown, and Bolt (2007) explain that quality after-
school progams play an important and effective role in giving all children access to
experiences, mentors, and the skills they need to contribute in today’s economy, to
gaduate from high school, and to go on to postsecondary education. In addition to
helping students take advantage of networks and community-based learning resources
like museums and libraries, after-school progarns help to ensure that all children are
exposed to enrichment activities and opportunities to practice essential communication,

thinking, and teamwork skills. Wilson (2006) adds that, “when compared to students

who spent ﬁve to nineteen hours per week in school-sponsored extracurricular activities,

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students who had not were six times more likely to have dropped out by senior year, three
times more likely to have been suspended in sophomore or senior year, and twice as
likely to have been arrested by senior year.”

Students who participate in out of school activities and out of school time/after
school progarns have positive outcomes, such as, increased academic achievement,
school attendance, completion of school work and homework, and participation in
voluntary and extracurricular activities. These positive outcomes are achieved by helping
young people build positive relationships with adults and caregivers, foster and model
positive work habits, and increase self-esteem through building self-efﬁcacy and higher
educational aspirations. Hi gh-quality out-of-school time progarns are supportive
contexts for youth development and offer excellent opportunities for youth to develop
skills in supervised, safe, and engaging environments. Furthermore, after school
progarns are most likely to positively impact young people’s interpersonal and
intrapersonal skills and reduce problem behaviors (Anderson-Butcher, Newsome, &
Ferrari, 2003; American Youth Policy Forum, 2003; Lauver, Little, & Weis, 2004).

In essence the 213t Century Community Learning Centers Progarn extended the
school day for students (Hahn, 2004). Hahn (2004) explained that extending the school
day helped to reduce the amount of time students were left unattended. OST has been
attributed to increasing youth civic and community engagement increased civic and
community engagement, increased school engagement and academic performance,
decreased risk taking behaviors, increased pro social factors (Anderson-Butcher,
Newsome, & Ferrari, 2003; Baker & Witt, 1996; Posner & Vandell, 1994; Flanagan &

Van Horn, 2003; Girls Report, 1998; Innovation Center for Community and Youth

180

Development, 2003; McLaughlin, 2000; National Institute on Out-of-school time, 2001;
US. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996; Younis, McClellan & Yates,
1997).
Reflections of T his Study

I have learned that generating youth adult partnerships is a shared
responsibility that involves building trust and it creates a place where each
participant feels safe and supported. The combination of building trust and a safe
place provide space for work to be done to reach common gound around key
themes and community issues important to goup members. In the end the work
is not easy because it requires simultaneous transformations at both the individual
and organizational levels. Much of the work, therefore, challenges individual and
organizational beliefs and values, processes, power structures, and life
experiences. The ﬁndings of this research indicate that community change work
begins with vision building and knowledge generation. To some participants this
seemed like a slow start. They wanted to begin with action right away. However,
in the end, each participant expressed that learning and understanding the shared
vision, knowledge, and skill building became the powerful base used to sustain
individual leadership gowth and community change activities in and across their
communities.

As I come to the close of this study, I want to pause for a moment and
reﬂect on the journey that I have undertaken. I hope I have served as a guidepost
that list and directs the reader to the possibilities of what could be in the areas of

educational and community leadership development and youth adult partnerships

l8l

within community based organizations, and within schools. This study was a
collaborative effort that included the leadership teams, the executive directors,
and the members of the evaluation team. It was geatly enhanced by the insight
and feedback of each research participant who gave their time and shared their
experiences. While I feel that this study has added to the ﬁeld of educational and
community leadership development, I feel it has also added another chapter to
what I have come to call as my story.
Recommendations for Future Study

I recommend further studies be conducted to develop a larger database of
information to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the necessary skills
and capacities and geater clarity into how to implement the process to generate
youth adult partnerships. In light of this recommendation the following should be
considered: (a) is there a need for a well articulated shared Visioning process that
provides the host organization and the leadership teams engaged in the work of
youth adult partnership an opportunity to deﬁne and better understand the
following two questions, (b) how similar and dissimilar are the approaches and
expectations of host organization and the leadership team in reaching the overall
mission and goal of the youth adult partnerships, and (c) what processes and
assistance should be provided early on to the leadership teams to capitalize on the
similarities and address the challenges that exist?

This study could aid in the following ways; ﬁrst, it could illuminate
pragnatic approaches for institutions of higher education to develop research for

citizen and community consumption. It could accomplish this goal by

182

. transforming knowledge, integating themes across disciplines and placing
knowledge in larger contexts. Second, it could provide insight for teaching that
goes beyond lecturing by moving to a variety of teaching modalities, particularly
through cooperative education, service, and by fostering professional learning
communities (Zeldin & Carnino, 1999; Mullen, 2009). Finally, this research could
inform practices aimed to decrease the isolation between youth and adults by
promoting the theory and research that suggest caring and supportive relationships
with non-familial adults contribute to the well-being and healthy development of

young people.

183

APPENDICES

184

Appendix A

Kellogg Leadership For Community Change Series

The Kellogg Leadership for Community Change Leadership Series was
launched in 2002 sigrifying the Kellogg Foundation’s continued commitment to
leadership development progamming by integating leadership development into
all progam areas, moving to a focus of building collective corrrrnunity leadership
to address issues, and advancing new learning about place-based leadership and
change through learning networks and dissemination of ﬁndings. The Kellogg
Foundation has long been associated with leadership development and has
become recogrized for its attention to the cultivation of leaders who work on
behalf of their communities. The Foundation has operated leadership pro gams
largely in two ways: one approach was a discrete progam dedicated to leadership
development, progarns such as the Kellogg National Leadership Progam and the
Kellogg International Leadership Progam; the other approach is leadership
progarns Operated in every progam area that address speciﬁc needs in the sectors
of health, youth and education, philanthropy and volunteerism, and food systems
and rural development. Leadership and fellowship progarns embedded in the
various progam areas are intended to prepare leaders to support the speciﬁc
progam goals of major initiatives. These initiative speciﬁc progarns continue to
be important components of each progam area’s strategy. The change has
occurred in the single leadership progam that is embraced by the entire
Foundation. Because the Foundation wanted leadership outcomes to be at the

community impact level, progarns have been shifted to focus on the leadership

185

approach to move ﬂom a discrete pro garn in the Foundation that focused on the
individual to a progam embraced y the entire organization and focused on the
community. This move is also consistent with strategies within each progam
area that target change at the community level.

Instead of having individual leadership fellows attend classes and
conferences held away ﬂom their communities, the real work of collective
leadership development and subsequent action would happen in communities
across the country. There, an initial goup-intentionally embracing marginalized
individuals and more traditional leaders-would tackle speciﬁc community based
issue as an entrée to developing the skills of collective leadership. The issue
would be a platform for learning and mobilizing a more effective form of
collective community leadership—leaving the kind of energy and imprint that
would equip the community to take on new issues and bring along new people—
long after the Kellogg leadership progam ends.

The Leadership Series is cogrizant that As communities nationwide
undergo dramatic shifts in demogaphics and require more diverse, leadership,
existing and emerging leaders need new skills to act collectively and
collaboratively across boundaries to address the difﬁcult and complex issues
facing communities.

Leadership in this view is not the purview of an individual leader. Rather, it
is what leaders and followers do together for the collective good. Joseph Rost
comments that “In today’s society, leaders operate in a shared-powered

environment with followers. No longer does a single leader have all the answers

186

and the power to make substantial changes. Instead, today we live in a world
where many people participate in leadership, some as leaders and others as
followers. Only when we work together can we bring about successful changes
for our mutual purposes.”

The Structure of the Kellogg Leadership for Community Change Series

The Kellogg Leadership for Community Change series represents an
evolutionary and innovative next step in the Foundation’s work with leadership
development because it emphasizes leadership development as a process for
creating community change through collective action among individual leaders
nurtured by the Leadership Series. The progam also places emphasis on the
participation of nontraditional leaders and focuses on their ability to work across
cultural and ethnic boundaries—and engages various communities simultaneously
in a common issue for which they create a vision, articulate designs for action,
and begin implementation.

The overall vision of the Leadership Series was to develop diverse
community leadership that could work across boundaries of age, gender,
geogaphy, race, culture, class, or faith, to mobilize collective action to improve
local conditions and the quality of life in their communities. The Leadership
Series will work to create environments in communities where people not
normally included in leadership can participate in the work of improving their
communities. Those who see themselves as leaders for the ﬁrst time and
established leaders learned to understand each other and fully use each other’s

knowledge, gifts, and wisdom in addressing community issues.

187

The Core Concepts of the Leadership Series
Place-Based Leadership: Understanding the power of place, culture, and
history along with commitment to making real advances on issues of local
concern.
Crossing Boundaries: Bringing together a full representation of the
community to work together to move past barriers that have separated
people by emphasizing inclusion of individuals not typically seen as leaders
or involved in decision making levels of the community.
Forming Collective Leadership: Helping the goup understand how they
need each other and seeing the power of continuing as a collective force for
sustaining change in the community.
Developing Individual Leadership: Within the context of collective
leadership, helping Fellows learn how to develop their individual leadership
that leads to collective action and decision making for the good of the
community.
Making Change Happen: Learning how to work together to build new
relationships, create alliances, and inﬂuence change by developing a critical
mass of diverse leaders to address ongoing community issues.

The long term goal was the creation of a critical mass 0 community-
based leaders who are prepared and committed to not only making progess
on one issue, but who become a core of community leadership goup ready
to and able to tackle new issues as they arise. The Kellogg Foundation is

known for funding and creating leadership progarns around the world. The

188

Kellogg Leadership for Community Change Leadership Series, with its
focus on collective action at the local level, is the latest innovation on this
path and keeps the Foundation true to its mission Of helping people to help
themselves. The Leadership Series continues the Foundation’s focus on
building local leadership that contributes to community-based pro garn
impact, success, and sustainability. With its emphasis on local
communities, the Leadership Series reﬂects the Foundation’s values and
beliefs that all communities have assets; leaders can be developed and
nurtured; diversity and inclusiveness are essential to successful community
change; and partnerships, collaboration, and civic participation are key to
successful communities. It also addresses the importance of sustainability
and the role of Impact Services in support of progamming to achieve
sustainability.

The Foundation implemented a particular Leadership Series that
focused on Valuing and Building Youth and Adult Partnerships to Advance
Just Communities. The focus of this series was to generate new community
leadership capacity in ﬁve selected communities by tapping into the power
of youth and adults to work together to build community. More
speciﬁcally, the session unleashed the potential of youth and adults to
collectively shape the common good by building new pathways for youth to
serve as social change agents. Each community identiﬁed a particular focus

for what they mean by advancing “just communities.”

189

Key Principles

0 It is vital to honor and understand the traditions, culture, history,
experiences, assets, and challenges of a particular community while
honoring their commitment to making real advances on issues of
local concern.

0 Bringing together a full representation of the community to work
together to move past barriers by crossing boundaries that have
traditionally separated people improves the likelihood of an effective
and sustainable solution.

0 In order to form effective collective leadership, 3 goup must
understand and embrace the importance of diverse perspectives and
see the power of including individuals not typically viewed as
leaders

0 With in the context of collective leadership, individual participants
must learn skills that lead to collective action and decision-making
for the good of the larger community.

By desigring and implementing a community-based action plan, developing a
diverse critical mass of leaders, building new relationships, and creating alliances,
communities can change their culture and continue to effect change long after the
Kellogg Leadership Series work in their community has ended.
The Goal of this Series Was to:

0 Break down barriers to youth involvement in communities by

demonstrating the value of authentically engaging youth as co-

190

creator with adults in articulating a community’s vision for its
future and in leading desired changes.

0 Support youth and organizations in identifying, developing, and
implementing practices that will raise the “youth voice” at the
community table.

0 Identify and institute system changes in communities that can
endure in encouraging youth involvement in community
decision making and gowth. These changes might be
organizational policies, practices, and standards such as the
pervasive expectation that young people will be involved in
nonproﬁt boards, city government, school boards, and in the
initiation of laws that lower the minimum legal age for board
members

0 Mobilize collective action that makes and observable difference
in the “youth friendliness” of a community and that leads to
sustained work with meaningful and measurable impact.
Examples might include supporting models in which youth and
adults partner on the creation of a new community center, a
progam to reduce street crime in a neighborhood, or a
citywide effort focused on homeless youth.

0 Provide a forum for communities across the United States that
are authentically engaging youth to share experiences, support,

and extend learning to others.

191

Demonstrate how communities can create new alliances and networks that can
form a nurturing net to maintaining youth involvement in improving the quality of

life in their community.

192

Appendix B
Focus Group Narrative and Interview Protocol

Purpose of the Focus Group Interview: The purpose of Focus Group Interviews is
to provide an opportunity for participants to share their feelings, attitudes, and
perceptions about the selected topic in a format that encourages interaction within
the goup (Morgan, 1990; Creswell, 1998).

Process: KLCC fellows will be invited to participate in this process at a fellows
meeting arranged by the host organization/project lead. During the fellows
meeting, at least two separate Focus Groups will be conducted, one focus goups
with youth fellows, the other with adult fellows. If time permits and youth and
adult fellows are available, a third Focus Group, with a combination of both youth
and adult fellows will be facilitated. Each fellow will receive a consent form with
their KLCC Participant code number and focus goup overarching questions.
Before the Focus Group each participant will be asked to provide their consent to
participate in the Focus Group and the use of audio and video recording. The
consent forms will be collected before the start of the Focus Group interview.
Participants will be reminded of their right not to answer any questions that they

may be uncomfortable with as well as their right to request that recording devices
be turned off.

Each participant will also have the opportunity to ask any questions before and
after the Focus Group interviews regarding the process.

OverarchingFocus Grorn) Exploratory Inguiryﬂuestion and Subiruestions:

How does “place” shape youth and adult partnerships that generate leadership
capacity and skill to lead community change?

a. What were the pivotal moments that propelled participants to engage in the
work of community based organizations?

b.Which cultural norms or values have an impact on the degee of youth and
adults to work collaboratively? What are the necessary skills and
capacities required for youth and adult partnerships to develop?

c. How have youth and adult partnerships served as catalyst for creating
community change?

During the interview, there will be several clarifying probes that will help to tease
out the details of participant responses:

Q1: How does “place” shape youth and adult partnerships that generate
leadership capacity and skill to lead community change?

193

Q2:

Q3:

Q5:

Q6:

What were the pivotal moments that propelled participants to engage in the
work of community based organizations?

Which cultural norms or values have an impact on the degee of youth and
adults to work collaboratively?

What are the necessary skills and capacities required for youth and adult
partnerships to develop?

How have youth and adult partnerships served as catalyst for creating
community change?

194

Appendix C
Youth and Adult Focus Group Interview Protocol
Interviewer’s Introduction:

Thank you for ageeing to participate in this focus goup interview. Let me
ﬁrst make sure that I have everyone’s consent form before we begin. (Check
forms: adult and youth/parent)

Before I get started, I want to begin by explaining the intent of Focus Group
Interviews. “Focus Group” interviews were often used by marketing companies
to understand consumer attitudes and perceptions about a particular product or
company concept. However, researchers and community organizations also
found them to be helpﬁrl in informing them of queries that related their areas of
interest. They found that participants felt more comfortable in sharing
information in the company of other participants that shared similar experiences.
Therefore, throughout this process, please feel ﬂee to treat this space as a type of
“discussion,” where you have the opportunity to speak to the topic without being
formally called upon.

The purpose of this interview is to learn more about your perceptions of
Youth and Adult Partnerships “in-place” and its affect on your collective work to
create community change. Speciﬁcally, we would like to learn: How does place
shape youth and adult partnerships that generate leadership capacity and skill to
lead community change?

As a reminder, this interview should take about 45-60 minutes. We will be
audio and video recording our conversation and taking notes. Our conversation
will be transcribed by our professional transcriptionist. The audio, video and notes
will allow me to go back and reﬂect on our conversation. Please know that at any
time you can request to have the recorder and video camera turned off. You also
have the right not to answer any particular question. The recordings will be kept
in a safe place-locked in a ﬁle cabinet. And, your identity (if you choose not to be
identiﬁed by name) will not be disclosed (we will use “Youth-Adult Partner” or
“Youth-Adult Fellow”).

Do you have any questions so far? (Pause)

Our interview will begin with a scenario that describes a particular situation
that may or may not represent your experience with youth-adult partnerships
within your community or host organization. The scenario is intended to provide
a ﬂamework for our conversations. I will ask several-follow up or clarifying
questions. Please keep in mind that the format of this focus goup encourages
conversation and open dialogue between everyone participating. You are not
required to necessarily wait until it is your “turn” to answer the question, or wait

195

 

for me to direct the question to you. At any point, if you would like to add to the
conversation, make a point, provide examples, or provide clariﬁcation, please feel
ﬂee to do so.

I want to start off this process by again thanking you for your participation
in this focus goup and your contributions to our work.

Do you have any questions for me before we get started? OK, shall we
begin?

Interviewer:

This is a warm up question. It will help to relax us a bit and help our
transcriptionist match your name with your voice. Would each of you begin by
stating your name and when you began your participation in KLCC (beginning in
2006, midway, recently in 2008, and so forth).

Interviewer Warm-up Question:

(Youth Participants) Again, can you please state your ﬁrst name, your gade level,
and brieﬂy describe the neighborhood/community you live in.

(Young Adult/Adult) Again, can you please state your ﬁrst name, your
occupation, and brieﬂy describe the neighborhood/community you live in.

Follow-up probes:

1. What racial/ethnic mix of families live in your community? Socioeconomic
levels? Many young families, older adults, single adults, and so on?

2. Are there any neighborhood/community events that you/your family
participate? If yes, describe.

3. Are you familiar with any neighborhood/community issues (identify and
describe) and how might you be involved in addressing these?

4. What businesses are active in your community (identify)? Are any working in
partnership with the community to address important issues (describe)?

OK, thank you very much.

Focus Question One:

OK, this particular probe will help me to understand the dispositions and
skills of both Youth and Adults to partner and to work collaboratively: What
skills or capacities—gained through the KLCC learning process--did you ﬁnd
were necessary for youth and adult partners to work collaboratively?

Interviewer: Thank you! The following scenario and the questions that follow will
help me to understand how particular skills and capacities affect how youth and

adults address community concerns.

Scenario #1

196

 

Several communities throughout the country have experienced public policies that
have affected adults and youth, both individually as well as collectively.
However, the responses to those policies have varied according to the age
demogaphics of the goup that is under consideration. For example, many
communities now have ordinances that restrict “baggy or saggy pants” that reveal
the wearers undergarments. While both youth and adults have voiced their
support and outrage over this ordinance, there is a clear distinction linked to age
that represents each age goups perspectives on what they deem acceptable or
unacceptable. Therefore, due to differences in perspectives, members of
communities may ﬁnd it difficult to effectively communicate and collaborate
across generations in substantive ways.

Scenario #1 Question:

So this “baggy or saggy pants” example is just a case that illuminates differences
in generational and cultural norms. Think about your own community and the
issues that reﬂect difference across generations. How did your KLCC fellowship
(host organization/cbo) use both youth and adult perspectives to effectively
address community issues in a manner that was inclusive across generations?

F ollow-up probes:

1. Were there speciﬁc activities that your host organization facilitated for youth
and adults to develop those skills and capacities (i.e break the ice desigred to
establish trust and respect), if so could you describe them?

2. How did youth and adults work to develop or establish trust and foster a level
of respect in their partnerships?

3. Could you describe any particular cultural norms or values that inform the
interactions of youth and adults within your community? Are those interactions
any different ﬂom the interactions that your youth and adult partnerships
experience?

4. Can you identify any connections between cultural norms and values with the
roles or duties that youth and adults often assume?

5. How are you working to get to the vision of your future place?

Interviewer: Thank you! Let’s go on to the second focus question and scenario.

Focus Question Two:

This next question will help me to learn about your community culture and
history: Please think of the pivotal moment that propelled you to engage in the
work of your community based organization?

Follow up probes:

1. What was the context of that pivotal moment? What were the conditions and
or the history of the community?

2. Who motivated your involvement? Who were the people involved and/or had
an impact on by your involvement?

3. What ideas functioned as motivation? What ideas were challenged?

197

 

4. What were the politics that surrounded that pivotal moment? (Consider the
people, organizations, the city, etc.)

5. How did you come to learn about that particular segnent of your community
history?

Note: Explore culture, history, individuals, organizational systems within the
connnunity and the host organization/cbo (this will help deﬁne place).

Interviewer:

Thank you! Now I’d like you to consider this scenario and answer several
questions that will help me to better understand how to engage (insert: youth,
young adults, adults) in a community-based leadership progam.

Scenario #2

As you know, debilitating economic conditions and increasing social issues have
affected many areas in the US. Communities that were once economically viable
and teeming with industry, are now experiencing high unemployment rates and
increasing poverty levels. As a result, many members of these communities now
experience personal and ﬁnancial challenges, which have been compounded by
numerous social conditions (e. g., lack of health care, lack of basic public services,
poor schools, and so on) that often require intervention at varying governmental
levels. While, some relief is offered by government agencies, clearly gassroots
agencies (host organization/cbo) also engage in varying levels of assistance
through training, dissemination of information, advocacy, and so on.

Scenario Question #2:

What recommendations might you share with a host organization who is
interested in your KLCC work that would help them to learn and engage in
collective leadership that would address economic development challenges in
their communities?

Follow-up Probes:

1. How would they include youth and adult partnerships in an authentic way?

2. What should they do to ensure that their work is culturally sensitive/relevant?

3. Who should participate in this activity? When? How? Why?

4. What types of conversations should youth and adult partners engage in prior to
their community change efforts?

4. How can the goup maintain momentum, energy to do the work of community
change?

5. What should they be cogrizant of that could potentially hinder authentic youth
and adult partnerships?

6. What type of resources would they ﬁnd necessary to facilitate community
change? What are the steps you would recommend they follow to acquire and
sustain those resource?

198

7. How could youth and adult partners work to facilitate the required dialogue and
actions necessary to generate and sustain the resources necessary to do the
work of community change?

Interviewer:

Okay, Thank You! We are nearly ﬁnished. I appreciate the insight that you have
shared thus far. The ﬁnal set of questions and accompanying scenario will help
me to learn about outcomes that are attributed to or associated with or is a result
of youth and adult partnerships.

Focus Question #3:

This Final question will help me to understand to what extent does the work of
youth and adult partnerships create community change. From your perspective,
how have youth and adult partnerships served as catalyst for creating community
change across your communities?

Follow up probes:

1. Can you name speciﬁc examples or outcomes of community change that you
feel were a result of youth and adult partnerships?

2. Why do you attribute particular community change outcomes to youth and
adult partnerships?

3. How are your communities different as a result of youth and adult
partnerships? How are you different?

4. Given your KLCC experience, what is the value of YA partnerships to create
community change?

Scenario #3

Some neighborhoods throughout the US, often occupied by lower-socio
economic families, are located on land that contains toxins both environmental
and social. Many of the areas were affected by the residuals of industries that
once occupied the land, while other areas have declined due to deteriorated social
conditions. While there are concerned community members they often feel ill-
equipped to change the current conditions.

To address one community’s situation, a KLCC Adult fellow who is a high
school history and government teacher, developed lessons centered on local issues
that the newly elected president of the United States should address. The students
were required to write reports and prepare oral presentations that would outline
the possible causes of community toxins and propose plausible solutions. The
reports were very thoughtﬁrl and quite impressive. The teacher was so impressed
with the quality of the reports that he worked with the students to locate venues
for them to share their work. The youth worked with their teacher and other
community leaders to share their work with city government ofﬁcials. Currently,
youth, young adults, and adults are working together to inform both community
members and local government on other pressing issues.

199

Scenario #3 Question: Given your KLCC experiences, can you share a story of
YA partnership that you believe has created a sigriﬁcant change in your
community?

F ollow-up probes:

1. What new pathways have been created for YA to partner on important issues?
2. What pathways are yet to be created?

3. Would you recommend that other community-based organizations adopt youth
and adult partnerships to approach community change? Why? Why not?

Final questions (if not yet answered):

1. Looking back at your experiences with youth and adult partnerships, what
would you change, and why? What would you keep, and why?

2. What was difﬁcult about youth and adult partnerships? What was easy?

3. Is there anything that you would like to add, or is there anything additional that
you would like to share about a question we covered earlier?

4. Do you have any questions for me?

Thank you again for your time.

200

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201

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