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YOUTH EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: A CASE
STUDY IN GUYANA

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KAREN P. BROOK

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6/01 cleIRC/DatoDIanS-p. 15

YOUTH EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: A CASE STUDY IN GUYANA
By

Karen P. Brook

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE
Department of Resource Development

2003

ABSTRACT
YOUTH EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: A CASE STUDY IN GUYANA
By

Karen P. Brook

Nonfonnal educational programs can promote youth development and encourage youth
to create positive social change. This exploratory case study investigates one such
program, Youth Can Move the World, in the South American nation of Guyana. This
research looks at Youth Can Move the World's ability to promote the active participation
of learners, their investigation of the deeper causes of social problems, and learners’
engagement in action and reﬂection. Qualitative methods including participant and staff
interviews and document analysis were used to investigate both the design and
implementation of the program. The ﬁndings indicate that Youth Can Move the World
can result in the active participation of youth, their investigation of social problems, and
their engagement in group action. The research also suggests that a number of factors
inﬂuence the program’s implementation and outcomes, including parental support,
differences in participation by gender, comfort with the program’s theoretical and moral
components, the teaching and organizational ability of youth facilitators, and barriers to
participation after the ofﬁcial program year. The issues and outcomes identiﬁed in this
study can be used to focus further research on Youth Can Move the World, and may

suggest promising areas of research for the wider ﬁeld of nonformal youth education.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the many individuals who helped me in the research and
writing of this thesis. Without their generous assistance I could not have undertaken, let
alone ﬁnished this project! First, I would like to thank my graduate committee, Drs. John
Kerr, Kimberly Chung and Shari Dann for their patience, ﬂexibility and hard work and
for helping me pursue research that was meaningful to me.

I would also like to recognize my ﬁ'iends in Guyana, both new and old, who made
this research possible. In particular I would like to thank the Varqa foundation and
especially Dr. Brian O’Toole for allowing me to research Youth Can Move the World,
helping me make contacts, and answering my many questions. I also thank my ‘second
family’, the Seegopauls, and Deomattie and Mahmud Shaw and their family for their
generous hospitality. Finally, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the
staff, volunteers, and most of all the participants in Youth Can Move the World, for
participating in my study with such enthusiasm and kindness!

On the home front I would like to thank my parents, Richard ad Sonja Brook and
grandmother, Jane Schnackenberg, for their love and reminders to ﬁnish my thesis. I also
thank Xij in Yan for his tireless assistance with printing and formatting. Finally, I would
like to recognize my great aunt and uncle, Doretta and Louis Breetz, whose generosity

made this research ﬁnancially possible.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ vii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1
1 .1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Research Goals and Questions ............................................................................. 2
1.3. Research Setting ................................................................................................... 3
1.3.1. Guyana ........................................................................................................ 3
1.3.2. Youth Can Move the World ........................................................................ 5
1.4. Research Strategy ............................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .............................. 11
2.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1
2.2. Problem-Focused Literature Review ................................................................. 12
2.2.1. Youth Participation ................................................................................... 12
2.2.1.1. Why is genuine youth participation important? ......................... 13
2.2.1.2. What is genuine youth participation? ......................................... 18
2.2.1.3. How can genuine youth participation be promoted? ................. 19
2.2.2. Conscientization: Understanding the Deeper Causes of Societal
Problems .................................................................................................. 23
2.2.2.1. The Baha’i Faith ......................................................................... 23
2.2.2.2. Paulo Freire ................................................................................ 25
2.2.2.3. Baha’i and F reirean perspectives on Conscientization .............. 27
2.2.3. Praxis: Action and Reﬂection ................................................................... 31
2.3. Conceptual Framework ...................................................................................... 34
2.3.1. Conceptual Framework for this Study ...................................................... 35
2.3.1.1. Barriers to Participation ............................................................. 36
2.3.1.2. Factors that Inﬂuence Conscientization and Praxis ................... 38
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 40
3.1 Research Approach ............................................................................................. 40
3.2 Research Design .................................................................................................. 41
3.2.2. Sampling ................................................................................................... 43
3.3. Research Methods .............................................................................................. 46
3.3.1. Key Informant Interviews ......................................................................... 46
3.3.2. Group Timeline ......................................................................................... 47
3.3.3. In-Depth Interviews of Individual 2001-02 Facilitators,
Participants and Former Facilitators ....................................................... 48
3.3.4. Analysis of Youth Can Move the World Manuals
and Other Historic Documents ................................................................ 49

iv

3.3.5. Analysis of Youth Can Move the World Participation Statistics .............. 49

3.4. Data Analysis and Presentation .......................................................................... 50
3.5. Limitations ......................................................................................................... 52
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS ....................................................................................................................... 56
4.1. How was YCMTW designed to encourage youth to genuinely
participate and to engage in conscientization and praxis? .................................. 56
4.1.1. Was YCMTW designed to encourage high levels of
youth participation? ................................................................................. 56
4.1.1.1. Levels of Youth Participation .................................................... 57
4.1.2.2. Overcoming Barriers to Participation ........................................ 59
4.1.2. Was YCMTW designed to encourage youth to engage
in conscientization? ................................................................................. 63
4.1.2.1. Conscientization and factual education ...................................... 63
4.1.2.2. Manual Emphasis on Reﬂection and Dialogue .......................... 64
4.1.3. Was YCMTW designed to help youth engage in Praxis? ......................... 68
4.1.3.1. Action/Reﬂection Opportunities ................................................ 68
4.1.3.2. Development of Action Skills .................................................... 70
4.1.3.3. Creation of a Supportive Peer Environment .............................. 73
4.1.3.4. Provision of Useful Information ................................................ 74
4.2. How was YCMTW implemented in terms of participation,
conscientization and praxis, and what factors affected implementation? ........... 75
4.2.1 Was there genuine youth participation? ..................................................... 75
4.2.1.1. Levels of Participation ............................................................... 75
4.2.1.2. Factors That Affected Participation ........................................... 82
4.2.2. Did youth engage in conscientization? ..................................................... 88
4.2.2.1. Dialogue in YCMTW Groups .................................................... 89
4.2.2.2. Consciousness Raising and Theoretical Topics ......................... 92
4.2.2.3. Moral/Spiritual Content in the Manual ...................................... 96
4.2.3. Did youth engage in praxis? ...................................................................... 98
4.2.3.1. Facilitator/Group Action and Reﬂection .................................... 98
4.2.3.2. Development of Action Skills .................................................. 101
4.2.3.3. Barriers to Action After Year 1 ................................................ 104
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................... 107
5.1. Summary of Findings and Possible Implications ............................................. 107
5.2. Future Research ................................................................................................ 110
5.3. Research Limitations ........................................................................................ 112

APPENDICES .............................................................................................................. 1 14

Appendix A: Interview Guides ............................................................................... 115
Appendix B: Consent Forms ................................................................................... 122
Appendix C: Code Deﬁnition Table ....................................................................... 127
Appendix D: Youth Can Move the World Advertisements .................................... 130
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 126

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Four Stages of the YCMTW Program ............................................................... 8
Figure 2: Hart's Ladder of Participation adapted from Hart, 1997 ................................. 20

Figure 3: Conceptual framework for this study illustrating the design of educational
programs that promote social change and the factors that inﬂuence their

implementation .................................................................................................... 34
Figure 4: Two Stages of Data Collection ........................................................................ 42
Figure 5: Code Deﬁnition Table Part 1 ......................................................................... 128
Figure 6: Code Deﬁnition Table Part 2 ......................................................................... 129
Figure 7: YCMTW 2001 Advertisement #1 ................................................................. 131
Figure 8: YCMTW 2001 Advertisement #2 ................................................................. 132

vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Introduction

Approximately 30 percent of the world’s people are under the age of 15 and half
are younger than 27 (UNPOP, 2002; US Census Bureau, 1999). These statistics illustrate
the fact that the future of the world depends greatly on the effective development of its
youth. Today’s youth (people ranging in age from early teens to mid twenties) face not
only the traditional challenges of coming of age, but also new threats like AIDS and
global warming. These problems will not be overcome unless youth grow into healthy
and productive adults, and become actively engaged in ﬁnding and implementing
solutions. This cannot happen without practices and programs (governmental,
community or otherwise) that meet the needs of the worlds’ youth. It is thus vital that
tremendous effort should be put into the design and implementation of effective programs
for youth.

Nonformal educational programs can promote youth development and encourage
youth to create positive social change needed to solve the world’s problems. Adult
education theory and practice holds that social change can be promoted by educational
programs that emphasize the active participation of learners, their investigation of the
deeper causes of social problems, and learners’ engagement in action and reﬂection
(F reire, 2003). Research has also found that a number of factors inﬂuence the successful
implementation of such programs. However, much remains to be learned about

international nonformal youth education programs. Youth development programs

designed to encourage social change do exist around the world, but little research has
focused on the lessons that can be learned from their implementation.

This case study investigates one such program, Youth Can Move the World, in
the South American nation of Guyana. Youth Can Move the World (YCMTW) was
created in the mid-19905 to help youth educate themselves about important issues, and to
take action in their communities. Since its creation, this voluntary program has spread
throughout the nation and has involved thousands of youth. YCMTW can thus serve as
an excellent case study of the real life implementation of youth education for social

change.

1.2. Research Goals and Questions
The goals of this research are to describe the design of YCMTW, its
implementation, and the factors that affected its implementation. The following research

questions guided the research process.

Research Questions

1) How was Y CM T W designed to encourage youth to genuinely participate,
investigate the deeper causes of social problems, and engage in action and

reﬂection ?

2) How was Y CM T W implemented in terms of encouraging youth to genuinely
participate, investigate the deeper causes of social problems, and engage in

action and reﬂection, and what factors affected its implementation ?

The ﬁrst research question is an important ﬁrst step because it explains what the
designers were trying to achieve and provides a reference point to which the
implementation of the program can be compared. The second research question is
intended to elicit valuable information about how the YCMTW program is actually
implemented from the national to the village level based on the experience of program
participants, volunteers and staff. The second research question is important because it
demonstrates the potential opportunities and problems that face organizers and

participants in this type of educational program.

1.3. Research Setting
1.3.1. Guyana

Guyana is a small South American country roughly the size of Great Britain
located on the Atlantic Coast between Venezuela and Suriname. Though South
American in geography, the former British colony is culturally Caribbean with a
population descended from native people (Amerindians), African slaves, indentured
servants from Portugal, China and India, and European colonialists. The population was
estimated at 698,209 in July 2002. Currently the population is approximately forty-nine
percent Indo-Guyanese, thirty-two percent Afro-Guyanese, six percent Amerindian,
twelve percent mixed-race and one percent Chinese and “white” (CIA, 2001 #52). The
population is ﬁfty percent Christian, thirty-ﬁve percent Hindu, ten percent Muslim, and
ﬁve percent ‘other’ religions including the Baha’i Faith (CIA, 2001). English is the

ofﬁcial language of Guyana, and standard British English and/or a dialect called Creolese

is spoken by most Guyanese. Amerindian dialects, Hindi and Urdu are also spoken, but
are less common (CIA, 2001).

This research setting was chosen for a number of reasons. First, Guyana is a
country in need of sustainable development. Though rich in culture and natural
resources, Guyana is one of the least-developed nations in the Western Hemisphere, with
the second lowest Human Development Index (HDI) in South America and the seventh
lowest in the hemisphere (UNDP, 2002). The HDI is a standard of living index based on
access to resources, functional literacy, life expectancy and school enrollment. Despite
some economic growth in the 1990s, Guyana’s economy has again slowed, and many of
its less than 1 million residents continue to emigrate (CIA, 2001). Add to this a growing
AIDS epidemic, racial and political tensions, increased violent crime, the presence of
international logging and mining companies, and it is easy to understand why Guyana has

been called a “microcosm of sustainable development challenges” (Munslow, 1998).

Second, while Guyana has immense socio-economic problems, it also has hope
for a brighter future. The current government and citizens have committed themselves on
paper and in action to work towards sustainable development. The country is currently
implementing a National Development Strategy (NDS) that was created in the late 19905
through the collaborative efforts of civil society, the Guyanese Ministry of Finance, and
the Carter Foundation (NDS). One of the NDS’ most visible outcomes was the creation
of Guyana’s ﬁrst Environmental Protection Agency (NDS, 1997). Guyana has also
demonstrated its commitment to sustainable rainforest management through the creation
of the Iwokrama rainforest reserve in 1996 with the assistance of the Commonwealth.

This 3,700 square kilometer reserve of pristine forest is dedicated to research on

sustainable forest use, including biodiversity, ethno-botanical, and human ecology studies
in cooperation with local Amerindian communities (NDS, 1997 #56) (Iwokrama, 2002).
On a more local level, numerous Guyanese and international non-govemmental
organizations (N GOS) have developed active programs in areas such as health education,

domestic violence prevention and literacy (SNDP, 2001).

Third, as described above, Guyana is a small country with great ethnic diversity.
This is a beneﬁt because it makes an investigation of the program’s impacts in diverse
contexts possible with limited time and resources. While Guyanese culture is unique and
the results of this study are not directly applicable to other diverse societies, valuable
lessons may be learned about promoting social change through education across ethnic

and cultural lines.

1.3.2. Youth Can Move the World

As mentioned above, Youth Can Move the World was developed in the late 1990s
by the Varqa Foundation, a Guyanese NGO, in collaboration with the University of
Guyana Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE) and with assistance from
a number of national and international NGOs. The cooperating NGOs include Help and
Shelter (a Guyanese domestic violence prevention organization), the Ministry of Health:
Health and Family Life Task Force, Conservation International, Nancy Campbell
Collegiate Institute (Canada), Iwokrama, National Commission of the Rights of the
Child, On the Wings of Words Literacy Project, and the Canadian International

Development Agency Gender Equity Program. The Varqa Foundation is a Guyanese

NGO that promotes the nation’s social and economic development. The Varqa
Foundation utilizes the principles of the Baha’i Faith in its work, but it is not an ofﬁcial
body of the Baha’i Faith. The Foundation has worked in the areas of community health
promotion and literacy training in addition to YCMTW. Currently, the Foundation’s
efforts focus mainly on its nation-wide literacy program, On the Wings of Words, and on
YCMTW. The Varqa Foundation’s development beliefs and goals are summarized in the

following paragraphs from the Foundation’s web-site (Varqa Foundation, 2002b).

The purpose of development is the well being of people. Well being is understood
to refer to material, intellectual, social and spiritual fulﬁllment. The belief of the
Foundation is that man 's true wealth lies in the development of the spiritual
qualities which represent the foundation of social and cultural progress.

All aspects of human well-being are interrelated. Material well-being will be of
limited value to people as long as man 's baser qualities, such as self
centeredness, are allowed to dominate his actions. However it is very diﬂicult for
people to develop their ﬁner qualities unless due consideration is also given to the
material welfare of society.

Man 's individual development cannot be fostered in isolation from the institutions
and structures of the society. Indeed, it is through commitment to the progress of
society that an individual can achieve personal deveIOpment. Eﬂective social and
individual progress requires a unified vision of the individual and the society.
Such a vision can begin to set in motion social processes that address the material
and spiritual aspects of life in a unified way. Together such processes impel
development.

Development, therefore can never be a product that is created outside of a region
or a people and then delivered to them. T o be effective development can only be
envisioned in the context of the participation of people and their institutions, who
must consciously tread their own path of individual and social progress.

The Foundation believes that every individual possesses inﬁnite potentialities.
The challenge is to see how to translate this potential into reality and provide
opportunities for people to meaningfully participate in the process of
development. Only an appropriate educational process, which integrates the
intellectual, spiritual and social aspects of human culture, can develop and
promote man ’s potentialities for service to the society. As these potentialities are

liberated, institutions and instruments must be perfected or created to carry
forward an ever-advancing civilization.

In light of these considerations, it becomes clear that development cannot be a
process of imitating the so-called ‘developed countries '. The very emphasis on
the material aspects of those cultures has contributed towards the disintegration

of the moral fabric of those societies. Such ‘development' is unworthy of
emulation.

YCMTW is designed as a ‘training of trainers’ program in which volunteer youth
are trained to become youth education facilitators. The program focuses on a number of
topics related to important social issues in Guyana. Topics include domestic violence,
reproductive health and AIDS, protection of the environment, drugs and alcohol,
promotion of the arts (developing the arts as a means for positive social change), global
prosperity (issues of economic justice and wellbeing), literacy, human rights, gender
equity, prejudice and discrimination, and suicide (Varqa Foundation, 2001). According
to the facilitator manual, YCMTW’s program goals include, (1) to provide relevant facts
about important issues facing youth today, (2) to help young persons understand these
issues, (3) to help young persons understand that people have different views on these
issues and to explain what these views are, and (4) to enable young persons to begin to
understand, develop and express their own views on these issues” (Varqa Foundation,
2001:3)

The entire YCMTW program can be described in four stages (Figure 1). In the
ﬁrst stage, potential youth facilitators are invited to participate in a 70-hour training
program through nationwide advertisement via radio, TV and newspapers. During the
second stage, training, the youth listen to presentations on the different topics, become

familiar with the course materials, are given a set of books and supplies, practice

facilitating discussions, and practice the artistic skills they may use with their groups at
home. The training sessions take place on weekends or school holidays. Training
usually begins in late summer or autumn and is usually ﬁnished by early December. The
training is free of charge, and low cost meals and accommodation are available at the
training site. Participants who cannot afford transportation, meals and accommodation
may receive scholarships when funding is available.

An optional training on “personal and community transformation” is also
available for facilitators. This training looks speciﬁcally at the spiritual aspects of
personal and community transformation, using the sacred texts of different religions. The
exact percentage of facilitators who go through this training is not known, but is
estimated by Varqa staff at about 50 percent in 2001-2002. In previous years this section

was incorporated with the other training.

 

 

1. Advertisement (TV, radio, newspaper)

 

 

9
YCMTW 2. Youth go to G-town for facilitator training Guyana 3
Ofﬁce 9
Georgetown
Regions

3. Facilitators return to communities to start groups

L

 

4. YCMTW groups go to G-town for graduation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Four Stages of the YCMTW Program

In the third stage the facilitators are expected to implement a similar course in
schools, churches, existing youth clubs, or newly formed youth clubs in their home
communities. Groups are expected to meet for at least 70 hours over the year, to learn
about the majority of topics in the manual, and to create a variety of artistic presentations
(e. g., skits, banners, puppet shows) related to the themes of the program. The groups are
encouraged to share some of these presentations with their communities, and to perform
other types of community service such as a community clean up or literacy classes. If
they successfully meet all of the requirements, facilitators receive a certiﬁcate of
completion from the University of Guyana Institute of Distance and Continuing
Education. Participants receive a participation certiﬁcate from the Varqa Foundation.

Graduation ceremonies, the fourth stage, take place in Georgetown and are
preceded by an arts festival and competition in which groups present their artistic
creations. In 2000-2001 there were about 30 active groups throughout the country,
including 4 groups in the country’s interior (YCMTW, 2000).

The program was inaugurated in the summer 1999, and graduated its ﬁrst class of
facilitators in July, 2000. According to a 2002 Varqa Foundation report, 286 youth were
trained in the 1999 training session, and then shared the YCMTW materials with 28
youth groups. In 2000, 195 youth were trained and 48 groups held YCMTW sessions. In
2001, 110 facilitators were trained, and 34 youth groups held YCMTW sessions. It
should be noted that multiple youth from a community are often trained as facilitators,
and they may co-facilitate a single group. In total, 591 youth facilitators have been

trained and 110 groups have used the YCMTW materials. The same report estimates that

about 4000 youth attended training sessions given by the facilitators over the last three
years (Varqa Foundation, 2002a). The number of participants is especially striking when
one considers that the total population of youth in Guyana is less than 200,000 according
to UN statistics (United Nations, 2001). Approximately 40% of the youth who took part
in the program as facilitators or youth group members were 13-15 years old and 60%
were 16-20 years old (Varqa Foundation, 2002a). According to Varqa staff, the size of
the youth groups varied dramatically, from 5 or 6 individuals in some areas to 75 in

others.

1.4. Research Strategy

In conducting the research for this thesis, I primarily utilized qualitative methods to
gather data about the experiences of program staff, volunteers and participants. The
program’s design was ascertained through interviews with program staff, and through the
review of documents such as the YCMTW facilitator’s manual. I investigated
YCMTW’S implementation through interviews with YCMTW facilitators, youth group
participants and program staff and volunteers. Qualitative techniques were chosen for
this study because the experiences of the youth participants during program
implementation were expected to be highly variable and thus difﬁcult to capture in a pre-
set survey or questionnaire. The ﬂexible nature of qualitative data gathering also allowed

me to look for unanticipated difﬁculties and successes in YCMTW’s implementation.

10

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

2.1. Introduction

Educational programs have long been used as tools to bring about social change
among children, youth and adults. While no single theory found in the literature fully
explains how education can lead to individual and social change (Kollmuss, 2002), many
sources agree that change is more likely to occur when people become active participants
in the educational process. The literature review and theoretical framework presented in
this paper describe active participation in education as a process of learning, action and
reﬂection. In this process youth must 1) genuinely participate in the learning process, 2)
engage in conscientization, and 3) engage in praxis. Brieﬂy deﬁned, conscientization is
the process of developing a deeper understanding of the forces that shape society and
one’s place in it. Praxis is action informed by reﬂection. The literature review and
conceptual ﬁamework are organized around participation, conscientization and praxis,
and these terms will be used throughout this thesis. These three components are
inﬂuenced by a number of other factors ranging from societal norms to the design of the
educational program.

This chapter begins with a literature review that describes each of the three
components and discusses factors that inﬂuence their successful implementation. The
literature review is followed by the conceptual framework used for this research. This
framework is also organized around participation, conscientization and praxis, and the

factors identiﬁed in the literature that inﬂuence them.

11

Commentary on participation, conscientization and praxis can be can be found in
different sources, including adult education, spiritual, and the development literatures.
This literature review draws primarily on literature from three sources: literature on
young people’s participation, the writings of the Baha’i Faith and the writings of Paulo
Freire. Literature on child and youth participation is included because young people’s
participation has special qualities and requirements that set it apart from adult
participation. The Baha’i perspective is included for two reasons. First, the case study
program (Youth Can Move the World) is based largely on Baha’i principles. Second, the
Baha’i perspective presents possible roles that spirituality can play in development. The
role of spirituality has largely been unaddressed in past development literature, even
though spirituality plays an important role in the lives of many of the earth’s people and
has inspired numerous development movements. Finally, Freire’s perspective is
important because he remains one of the most inﬂuential thinkers in adult education, and
his theories of education for empowerment form the basis for many non-formal

educational programs around the world.

2.2. Problem-Focused Literature Review
2.2.1. Youth Participation

Perhaps the most fundamental component of bringing about social change through
youth education is involving youth as participants in the educational process. Genuine
youth participation means more than the mere presence of young people, and developing
it can be a challenge. This raises some important questions. Why is genuine youth

participation important? What is it? How can it be promoted? The following sections

12

draw upon literature related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which
was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989 and subsequently ratiﬁed
by most nations by the mid 19903 (OHCHR, 2003). The CRC recognizes children’s
(people under 18) right to participation in articles that guarantee freedom of expression,
thought, conscience and religion, and assembly; access to information; special support for
disabled children; and education for personal fulﬁllment and responsible citizenship
(Hart, 1997: 12-13). A number of cases also come from the peer education literature
since YCMTW uses peer education and because peer education has been one of the most

common forms of youth participation.

2.2.1.1. Why is genuine youth participation important?

Progress in the promotion of youth’s participation in the development of
themselves and their communities has lagged behind efforts to increase adult
participation (Johnson, 1996). One reason for this is that the importance of youth
participation is often not well understood. Edwards (1996), states that much of this
misunderstanding is based on society’s view of children and childhood. These views
may include the belief that all children are “immature and irrational”, “non-productive”,
“passive and dependent” (Edwards, 1996: 47-8). Also, western economic measurements
of productivity often miss the productive role of children, so their real contributions to
their families and communities are not appreciated by development planners (Edwards,
1996). Another important factor is the difﬁculty associated with promoting children’s
participation. While children cannot be thought of as incompetent and unproductive,

their abilities do vary with age and they have Special needs. Children’s participation

13

therefore needs to be developmentally appropriate, and extra care must be taken to ensure
that they are not exploited or mistreated in any way (Edwards, 1996).

Programs involving youth should consider the cognitive development of their
child and young adult participants. Cognitive development can be simply deﬁned as,
“the change in thinking patterns as one grows older” (Merriam, 1999: 166). While there
is no single deﬁnitive theory of cognitive development, researchers and theorists agree
that thinking and learning take different forms throughout one’s life and that more
complex forms of thinking and learning take time to develop (Meniam, 1999; Wavering,
1995). Considering the cognitive development of youth is important part of program
design because young people’s thinking patterns may inﬂuence their ability to
successfully undertake tasks that require higher-level, complex thinking (Wavering,
1995). According to some theories, educational programs may also help youth to
develop higher levels of cognitive development (Crain, 2000b).

One of the most inﬂuential, though by no means universally accepted, theories of
cognitive development is Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory (Crain, 2000a).
According to this theory, cognitive development occurs in sequential stages beginning in
infancy and potentially culminating in adulthood with “formal operational” thought,
which allows one to move beyond concrete thinking to hypothetical and abstract thought
(Crain, 2000a). Piaget believed the highest levels of formal operations could be reached
by normal individuals between the ages of 15 and 20 (Merriam, 1999). According to
Piaget, cognitive development is a spontaneous process, and while education can
stimulate young people’s thinking, they cannot move to the stage until they are

developmentally ready.

14

Other theorists such as Vygotsky disagreed with Piaget on the importance of
education in cognitive development. Vygotsky believed that education could in fact help
students reach higher levels of cognitive development by introducing new and
challenging problems and then helping students to solve those problems (Crain, 2000b).
However, Vygotsky believed that developmental progress would not be made if the gap
between the student’s current level of development and the level required by the new
problem was too large (Crain, 2000b). Thus, educators (and program designers) still
need to have a basic understanding of the current level of cognitive development of the
youth with whom they intend to work. Determining this level, however, is not
straightforward since it is argued that culture (including race, class and gender) can
inﬂuence development, and that cognitive development includes more than just logical
thinking (as was commonly assumed in Western academia) (Merriam, 1999; Wavering,
1995). J

In addition to cognitive development, the emotional and social development of
youth should be considered when designing a participatory youth development program.
Erik Erikson and other child development theorists have described adolescence as a time
when individuals are striving to form their own identity (Hughes, 2001; Shaffer, 1985).
How adolescence is deﬁned and how youth experience it seems to be inﬂuenced
signiﬁcantly by culture (including differences such as gender within a culture) because of
the differing attitudes and expectations societies have for those transitioning between
childhood and adulthood (Hughes, 2001). According to Erikson’s stages of development,

the participants in YCMTW can be classiﬁed into two approximate age categories.

Youth aged 12 to 20 can be considered adolescents (between childhood and adulthood)

15

and are focused on the establishment of their identity (Shaffer, 1985). Youth aged
twenty-one to twenty-ﬁve are classiﬁed as young adults (a category that includes 20-40
year olds). The young adults are focused primarily on the building of strong friendships
and love relationships (Shaffer, 1985).

The emotional and social needs of adolescents differ from those of earlier
childhood as young people attempt to become more independent of parents and face the
challenges of entering adult life. As individuals move further into the wider world
beyond their family, the importance of peer relationships increases (Hughes, 2001).
Positive peer relationships are very important because they can help support adolescents
through the challenges they face in their lives and can help prepare them for healthy adult
relationships (Hughes, 2001). While parental involvement and guidance remains
extremely important in adolescence, peer inﬂuence greatly increases during early
adolescence and fades somewhat as a youth develops a stronger individual identity
(Hughes, 2001). The building of healthy peer relationships and the positive inﬂuence of
peers on one another can be an important outcome of youth development programs that
are able to attract youth and provide a space for the development of positive ﬁ-iendships.
Special consideration should be given to making the program appealing to the youth,
since a program that is perceived to be ‘un-cool’ may be avoided by youth who do not
wish to be thought of us ‘un-cool’ by their peers.

The development of morals and values is an important aspect of identity-building.
Adolescents are well-positioned to investigate issues of values and morality because most
are developing the higher—level cognitive ability to think about abstract concepts like

values and ideals, and have not yet been frustrated by real-life challenges to their ideals

l6

(Hughes, 2001). Lawrence Kohlberg, one of the most well-known moral development
theorists, believes that moral reasoning ability develops in six progressive stages
(Thomas, 1985). Thomas summarizes these stages, saying that they “represent a
movement from lower levels of moral decision, where moral decisions are entangled with
other value judgments and the rules are changed as the facts in the case change, to higher
levels that separate moral values (justice and reciprocity) from other sorts and that utilize
universal principles that apply to anyone in any situation” (Thomas, 1985: 357) .
Development in moral reasoning begins in childhood and continues through adolescence,
but individuals do not advance through the stages at the same rate. It should be noted that
although moral reasoning develops with age, individuals do not always make moral
judgments at the highest level of which they are capable (Thomas, 1985).

Kohlberg theorizes that moral development is encouraged by children’s
opportunities to interact and empathize with others. He believes that the most beneﬁcial
interaction takes place in social settings characterized by the principles of equality and
reciprocity (Thomas, 1985). A young person’s moral standards are also inﬂuenced by a
number of factors including the youth’s family relationships (especially with parents),
education, and culture (Hughes, 2001). According to Hughes, “As adolescents develop,
sort through and evaluate their experience of morality, they build sets of beliefs. What
constitutes right and wrong, appropriate or inappropriate behavior?” (Hughes, 2001:
515). Deﬁning one’s own value system can be difﬁcult, however, when the values
presented by family, schooling and society conﬂict.

Youth development programs can potentially play an important role in meeting

the emotional and social needs of adolescents, including opportunities to advance their

17

moral development. According to the youth development theories presented in the
previous paragraphs, these programs will be most successful if they appeal to youth who
may be very concerned about the opinions of their peers; if they promote positive,
supportive peer relationships; and if they provide an atmosphere of equity and reciprocity
in which youths can learn to consider the needs of others and practice the application of
moral principles (Hughes, 2001; Thomas, 1985).

Although involving children and youth meaningﬁrlly in the development of
themselves and their societies may require attitude changes and extra effort, it is
important for a number of reasons. First, the CRC states the children have rights to
participate in their own development and the development of their communities,
including freedom of assembly, expression and thought, conscience and religion (Hart,
1997: 12-13). Second, children make up a signiﬁcant percent of the world’s population
and represent the ﬁrture of the human race, but their needs may not be met if their
concerns are not heard. This could lead to serious long-term societal consequences
(Edwards, 1996). Third, participation gives children important experience with decision-
making and community involvement. This experience can prepare them for adulthood as
actively involved community members. Finally, young people often posses the qualities
of ﬂexibility and energy, which makes them ideal agents of change. In some societies,
youth may also have more time than adults to devote to community activities if they are

not yet responsible for families or full-time jobs.

18

2.2.1.2. What is genuine youth participation?

As mentioned above, the mere presence of youth in a program does not
necessarily mean they are genuine participants. In a 1992 essay Hart introduced “the
ladder of participation” for children (Figure 2) (Hart, 1992). Using a ladder as a
metaphor for rising levels of participation (a concept borrowed from a 1969 Sherry
Amstein essay), Hart describes 8 levels of participation from lowest to highest: (1)
manipulation, (2) decoration, (3) tokenism, (4) assigned but informed, (5) consulted and
informed, (6) adult-initiated, shared decisions with children, (7) child-initiated and
directed, and (8) child-initiated, shared decisions with adults (Hart, 1992: 9).

The ﬁrst three levels are considered non-participation because children have no
real decision-making power. This includes projects or programs where youth are
physically present and may take part by marching with placards, giving speeches or some
similar activity, but they have no real say in how or why they are participating. The next
ﬁve levels are considered to be degrees of participation because children do have some
decision-making power in these activities. Activities at these levels include situations
where children freely volunteer to participate in pre-planned activities that they
understand, where children create and execute their own activities and where children
and adults work together to plan and carry out activities (Hart, 1992). Hart’s diagram
makes clear that participation runs along a continuum, and that decision-making power

and responsibility are key components of genuine participation.

19

2.2.1.3. How can genuine youth participation be promoted?

Youth participation can be promoted to a certain extent by well-designed
programs that create space for youth to actively participate. According to Hart’s ladder
of children’s participation, decision-making power is the key factor that separates
participatory from non-participatory programs. Ideally, youth should be involved from
the point of program creation, either as the initiators or early partners in the process.
Youth participation in the identiﬁcation of program themes not only gets those youth

involved, it can make the program more appealing to youth because they can relate to the

program’s themes.

8. Youth-initiated, shared decisions with adults

  
    
   
 

7. Youth initiated and directed

6. Adult-initiated, shared decisions with youth

 

5. Consulted and informed

 

 

uonedtonred jo seerﬁoq

4. Assigned but informed

 

 

 

 

3. Tokenism

 

-uo N

 

2. Decoration

 

 

uonedtonmd

l. Manipulation

 

Figure 2. Hart's Ladder of Participation adapted from Hart, 1997

F reire (2003), though not speciﬁcally referring to youth, stresses the importance
of involving educational participants in the identiﬁcation of themes. People (including

youth) are experts about their own experience and interests, and will know much more

20

about the relevancy of themes than outsiders (Freire, 2003). Youth participation at the
inception of a program can also give youth some control over other program aspects,
such as the program’s design and culture (Hart, 1997). Even if youth are not involved in
the creation of the program, it should be designed in a way that gives youth decision-
making power in its implementation and day to day operations.

Although participation is paramount, successful youth participation often requires
some level of support. Chawla and Kjorholt (1996: 45) point out that the challenge to
adult collaborators is to “ﬁnd the right balance between giving too much and too little
assistance”. This assistance may come in the form of encouragement, advice, money,
transportation, credibility when dealing with government agencies, or numerous other
forms (Wallerstein, 1997). The level of assistance needed by older youth (late teens and
early twenties) may different from help and support needed by younger youth. So, while
youth should not be made to feel inadequate by smothering assistance, they should also
not be left to fail if expectations are too high (Chawla, 1996).

Youth peer education programs can also encourage genuine youth participation by
incorporating creative ways for youth to express themselves. The arts, including song,
dance, poetry, puppetry and visual arts, can be used by youth to express ideas and
emotions that may be difﬁcult to share within the group (van der Wijk, 1997), and often
build group camaraderie (Hart, 1997). Use of traditional arts can help youth feel
connected to their communities. Incorporating the arts into an educational program gives
youth a chance to demonstrate their abilities in areas other than traditional reading,
writing and speaking, and allows them to learn and practice new skills. These artistic

skills can then become effective means of communicating messages to the community

21

(Hart, 1997). Hart and others give a number of examples of effective use of the arts
around the world (Gordon, 1997; Hart, 1997; Mbowa, 1997).

When designing a program, planners (including youth) must consider the factors
that might discourage or prohibit youth from taking part. While no program will reach
every youth, special consideration should be given to those youth who may be excluded
from such activities. A youth’s ability to participate can be inﬂuenced by their gender,
social class, religion, literacy, and other factors (Hart, 1997). Planners should identify
potential barriers and work with youth to design the program to minimize these barriers.
However, some barriers may not become apparent until after the program has begun, so
evaluation and program modiﬁcation can be used to address them if possible.

Clearly, factors outside of the program can have a large impact on children’s
participation. Parents’ demands for youth to spend free time working in the house or for
wages, a culture’s perspective on appropriate activities for young men and women, or the
clergy’s fear of interfaith youth activities could all diminish youth participation in an
educational program. It is clear that a program’s success depends in part on the support
and example of the surrounding community. If a community supports and encourages the
activities of the youth and models positive social change, then youth will be more likely
to participate and the youths’ efforts for social change will be taken more seriously.
Campbell and MacPhail (2002) give an example of the opposite kind of community. In
this case, a peer HIV/AIDS program was carried out in a community which consistently
modeled dangerous sexual behavior and a disinterested attitude towards HIV/AIDS. The
community’s attitude made it difﬁcult for youth to act on the knowledge they’d gained in

their class about how to protect themselves and others from HIV infection. While some

22

community factors may be difﬁcult or impossible to change, education programs may be
able to soften resistance and gain support by talking with parents and other community
members about the program and addressing their concerns.

Finally, it is clear that promoting youth participation is not a simple or
straightforward task. It requires serious time and effort, and therefore youth participation
must have the strong support of program headquarters or funding agencies. If strong
backing is not present at the center, decision-makers may not choose to put the required
funding and human resources into the development of participatory youth programs

(Edwards, 1996).

2.2.2. Conscientization: Understanding the Deeper Causes of Societal Problems

Paulo Freire coined the term conscientization, and made it famous.
Conscientization has since come to mean different things to different people, but
essentially it means becoming conscious of the forces in society that shape one’s life.
Becoming conscious of negative forces such as oppression is believed to be an important
early step in the process of social change. It is analogous to the concept in medicine of
identifying (and eventually treating) the root cause of an illness instead of merely
addressing the symptoms. Thus, a crucial step in bringing about lasting social change is
to accurately identify the causes of social ills. While F reire’s concept of conscientization
is perhaps the most well-known in the world, YCMTW has been shaped in part by similar
(and older) Baha’i concepts. Conscientization is discussed in a variety of literatures, but

the analysis in this section will refer primarily to the Baha’i and Freirean perspectives.

23

First, some background information on the Baha’i Faith and Paulo F reire will be

introduced. Then their perspectives on conscientization will be presented.

2.2.2. 1. The Baha’i Faith

The YCMTW program is based on vision of and approach to education and
development inspired by the Baha’i Faith. The Baha’i Faith is an independent world
religion that was founded in Iran in the mid 18005 and can now be found in nearly every
country in the world(BIC, 2001). The Faith emerged from Shiite Islam, but many of its
teaching differed signiﬁcantly from Shiite Islam as it was practiced at that time. The
Faith’s Prophet-Founder, Baha’u’llah, taught that all people are members of one human
family and are equal regardless of race, gender or religion. Baha’u’llah also taught that
there is only one God and that all of the world’s major religions have come from God and
share the same fundamental spiritual teachings(BIC, 2001). A Baha’i community has
been present in Guyana since the 19508. Baha’is in Guyana come from diverse ethnic
and religious backgrounds, and can be found in villages and towns throughout the
country (NSA Guyana, 2002).

Since the Faith’s beginnings, Baha’is have actively promoted the development of
their communities through educational, health and agricultural programs, and endeavor to
promote unity and equality across racial, gender, religious and political lines. The
teachings of the Baha’i Faith describe development as spiritual as well as material
progress (for a more in—depth look at the Baha’i concept of development, see (Whitmore,
1998). The need for both kinds of progress is described by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, the son of the

Faith’s founder, Baha’u’llah.

24

No matter how far the material world advances, it cannot establish the happiness
of mankind. Only when material and spiritual civilization are linked and c0-
ordinated will happiness be assured... Although material advancement furthers
good purposes in life, at the same time it serves evil ends. The divine civilization
is good because it cultivates morals. If the moral precepts and foundations of
divine civilization become united with the material advancement of man, there is
no doubt that the happiness of the human world will be attained and that from
every direction the glad tidings of peace upon earth will be announced. Then
humankind will achieve extraordinary progress... ”

In the Baha’i Faith, education is seen as the primary means for development.
Education is not seen as merely ﬁlling an empty vessel with knowledge, but as a means
of unlocking a person’s potential. Baha’u’llah explains, “Regard man as a mine rich in
gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and
enable mankind to beneﬁt therefrom” (Research Department, 1998: l). The desired
outcomes for education include personal and community transformation. This means that
through education people should develop the knowledge, skills and volition needed for
positive personal and social change (Anello, 1993). Education thus needs to be both
material and spiritual, and it needs to promote the interaction of individuals and their
communities. Education should lead to action that builds unity among all people while
embracing their diversity. Unity is of utmost importance to Baha’is, because as
Baha’u’llah teaches, “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable
unless and until its unity is ﬁrmly established” (Baha'u'llah, 1993: 286). No speciﬁc
methods are prescribed for Baha’i educational programs, but methods must be based
upon Baha’i principles (only some of which were presented in this introduction).

While the Baha’i teachings are socially revolutionary (e.g., declaring the equality

of women and men and calling for an end to extreme wealth and poverty in the nineteenth

25

century), the teachings prohibit political revolution. In fact, Baha’is are forbidden from

participating in partisan politics and from breaking the law of the land (Effendi, 1938).

2.2.2.2. Paulo Freire

Paulo F reire was perhaps the most inﬂuential thinker in recent nonformal
education today. He was born in Northeast Brazil in 1921 and died in 1997. After a
short stint as a lawyer he became an educator, and developed his distinctive educational
methods while working with a team of educators, anthropologists and other social
scientists on literacy programs in early 1960s Brazil. In 1964, the government considered
his methods too threatening to their power, and he was exiled. He then worked with
groups around the world to develop further and promote his educational methods (F reire,
1995)

In his most famous book (at least in the US), Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire
presents the major themes of his educational approach. His primary social concern is the
widespread oppression of the people in the lower classes, and he believes that oppression
must be overthrown by the oppressed themselves (Freire, 2003). The oppressed,
however, often lack the insight into the source of their oppression and the skills to ﬁght
against it because they have been denied critical education. In order to address this,
educators must work with the oppressed to help them develop “critical consciousness” of
the forces of oppression and develop strategies to ﬁght against them. The educators must
recognize that they are co-leamers with the oppressed; they have skills and insights to

offer, but the students also have a wealth of knowledge from their lived experience.

26

Freire proposes an educational method of ‘problem posing’ in which the themes
used in literacy education come from the daily life of students. These themes (usually
social problems), presented in skits, stories or pictures, serve as starting points for
dialogue through which students and educators practice literacy skills and develop action
plans to begin to solve social problems. The students are thus able to use their critical
thinking, organizational, and literacy skills to improve the conditions of their lives.

Freire’s methods are openly political and at least in his early works he did not
oppose armed revolution. In fact, in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire states that a
violent revolution could be considered an act of love because “as the oppressed, ﬁghting
to be human, take away the oppressor’s power to dominate and suppress, they restore to
the oppressors the humanity they had lost in the exercise of oppression” (F reire, 2003:
56). He warns, though, that the revolutionaries must carefully guard against themselves
becoming oppressors. Freire’s methods do not necessarily imply the necessity of
political revolution, however, and have been used in less politically radical ways to
“promote individual and community change” and to help people “mov[e] beyond feelings

of powerlessness and assum[e] control in their lives” (Wallerstein, : 197).

2.2.2.3. Baha’i and F reirean perspectives on Conscientization

Both the Baha’i and Freirean perspectives on education see the need for
conscientization. They agree that human beings are capable of bringing about positive
social change, and that this requires a clear analysis of the cause of social problems.
Although these two perspectives share many similarities, they also differ in some

important ways. This section will look at the Baha’i and Freirean perspectives on the

27

focus of conscientization, the methods used to achieve conscientization, and speciﬁcally
the role of dialogue in conscientization.

Freire’s major objective in conscientization is to discover the sources of
oppression and domination. Although Oppression and domination are also themes in the
Baha’i writings, they are Freire’s primary focus. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire
writes, “I consider the fundamental theme of our epoch to be that of domination- which
implies its opposite, the theme of liberation, as the objective to be achieved” (2003:103)
and “in order to achieve humanization, which presupposes the elimination of
dehumanizing oppression, it is absolutely necessary to surmount the limit-situations in
which people are reduced to things” (2003: 103).

Understanding the root of social ills thus requires oppressed individuals to look
critically at their own situation to determine who (or what) is oppressing them and why.
Individuals can be oppressed not only by individual oppressors, but also the oppressive
systems they create. This investigation can only be carried out by the oppressed and their
genuine allies, because Freire believes that oppressors cannot or choose not to see the
truth of their oppressive actions because they simply have too much to lose. “It is only
the oppressed who, by freeing themselves, can free their oppressors. The latter, as an
oppressive class, can free neither others nor themselves” (Freire, 2003: 56).

The term conscientization is not used in the Baha’i scripture, but a similar concept
exists. The Baha’i writings teach that the problems facing the world cannot be solved
until their underlying causes are understood and addressed (Lample, 1996). The Baha’i
teachings hold that social problems are primarily caused by a violation of one or more

spiritual principles, even though the problem may also have concrete causes. For

28

example, famine may appear at ﬁrst glance to be the result of drought or crop disease,
and these factors may explain why crOps failed. Yet crop failure does not explain why
people starve in one location while excess food is available in another. Moral failings
such as greed, corruption and self-interest are in fact usually at the center of the problem.
Thus, in order to bring about positive social change, people must not only understand the
material aspects of social problems, they must also be able to accurately diagnose the
underlying spiritual causes.

The source of spiritual truth, according to the Baha’i writings, is God, the
Omniscient and Unknowable Creator. This truth is given to man through the world’s
great religions. The most fundamental principles remain the same across religions (e.g.,
the importance of truthfulness, justice and love), but social laws (e. g., dietary and
marriage laws) change from age to age as society’s needs change. Baha’is believe that
these principles should serve as the guideposts for human behavior, and can be
recognized by anyone who sincerely seeks the truth. Although the Baha’i perspective is
clearly religious, Baha’is believe that these spiritual truths (also sometimes called moral
values or human virtues) will have a positive effect wherever and by whomever they are
sincerely applied (Ayman, 1993).

F reire, along with his colleagues developed a pedagogy or educational method to
help oppressed peoples develop a critical consciousness of the forces that oppress them
and create strategies to work against those forces (Freire, 2003: 54). This pedagogy
involves a number of steps that can be summarized as (1) gaining the trust and eliciting
the support of the community, (2) leaming about the culture and daily life of a

community and identifying the themes that are most important to the people, (3)

29

presenting these themes (as images, skits or stories) back to the people to start dialogue,
and link the dialogue to wider themes if necessary (i.e. make connections between themes
that people had not previously thought of), (4) work with people to develop plans of
action to address the problems of their choosing, and (5) reﬂect on the action and
continue with dialogue and the creation of new action plans (F reire, 2003: 110-124).
The Baha’i teachings do not promote any speciﬁc method of investigating the
deeper causes of social problems, but they do suggest a number of principles to follow.
Three of these important ideas are, 1) the on-going process of understanding and
application of spiritual principles, 2) teaching others, and 3) the importance of
consultation in group investigation and decision-making (Anello, 1993). Since spiritual
principles are the foundation for the investigation of social problems, individuals must
continually learn about these principles. Learning about the principles is not simply a
matter of memorizing a list of virtues. Instead, one must try to understand the true
meaning of the principle and its application in daily life, and to put that understanding
into practice. This process is not easy, and requires active learning rather than a passive

acceptance of information.

The role of dialogue in conscientization

Both the Baha’i and F reirean concepts of investigating the deeper causes of social
problems have a place for dialogue and consultative decision-making. Ideally, dialogue
helps people to analyze issues at a deeper level than simple conversation. Through
questioning and open sharing, those engaged in dialogue can get a clearer picture of the

causes and potential solutions to problems. Both viewpoints accept that no one has full

30

insight, so bringing together many perspectives yields a clearer and more complete
picture of reality than any single viewpoint. However, this will only occur if those
participating have the right attitudes (especially humility) and are willing to honestly
listen to others and give consideration to their points of view. Both frameworks value
contribution of all, not just the learned or powerful, and recognize that people’s lived
experiences are a valuable contribution. While everyone can make a contribution, both
frameworks also agree that the dialogue process can be assisted by a skilled,
knowledgeable and humble facilitator. This individual can help to keep the process
ﬂowing smoothly, and may be able to offer some important insights from their
experience and training. For instance, a facilitator who is aware of some connections
between gender equality and domestic violence may be able to encourage the group to
explore those connections-- something they might not have thought of on their own.
Both frameworks value solidarity among those involved in dialogue, but the
Baha’i framework puts extra emphasis on the value of unity of vision and action. While
it is inevitable that people have differing points of View, this does not necessarily lead to
division within a group if members’ aims are not to prove they are right or to force their
ideas on others. This requires that participants possess “the virtues of humility, courtesy,
compassion and truthfulness,” which are “essential to this process and for the

achievement of a broader and deeper understanding of reality” (Anello, 1993: 31).

2.2.3. Praxis: Action and Reﬂection

As the previous paragraphs imply, action is a necessary outcome of the

investigation of reality. The Baha’i teachings say that “the betterment of the world can

31

be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly
conduct” (Lample, 1996: 54). Both frameworks also believe that action must always be
informed- it cannot simply be action for the sake of action. Freire calls this informed
action “praxis”, and says that “human activity consists of action and reﬂection: it is
praxis; it is transformation of the world” (Freire, 2003: 125).

Group action is very important in both frameworks and is determined through the
process of consultation or dialogue. Thus, dialogue and consultation (and learning in
general) should always have action in mind, and should not just be talk for the sake of
talk; “whatever a man’s tongue speaketh, that let him prove by his deeds” ('Abdu'l-Baha,
1997). Reﬂection on the purpose and methods of action does not end once action begins.
Action should be continually reﬂected upon to determine how it is succeeding and how it
can be improved. According to Freire, there is “no dichotomy by which praxis could be
divided into a prior stage of reﬂection and a subsequent stage of action. Action and
reﬂection occur simultaneously” (Freire, 2003: 128).

Action can take on any number of forms, depending on the requirements of the
situation. The Freirean and Baha’i frameworks do differ, however, in the appropriateness
of political and/or violent action. As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, F reire
believes that ending oppression requires the direct political action of the oppressed,
including political revolution. While the Baha’i teachings do allow Baha’is to seek
justice through existing political structures ('Abdu'l-Baha, 1975), this is conditional on
their non-involvement in partisan politics and the strict obedience to law (Khan, 1984).
The Freirean approach focuses on readying people to ﬁght the forces of oppression and

other forms of evil, while the focus of Baha’i action is on building forces of good. The

32

Universal House of Justice writes that, “their [the Baha’is’] whole energy is directed
towards the building of the good, a good which has such a positive strength that in the
face of it the multitude of evils - which are in essence negative - will fade away”(Khan,
1984). The difference in approaches (i.e. focus on political struggle versus focus on
building spiritual good) is based on differences in assumptions about the cause of
society’s problems. According to the Baha’i teachings, political struggles will not bring
about the necessary spiritual changes in the world and will lead to disunity since
individuals will not agree on exactly which political party or ideas should be in power
(Khan, 1984).

Regardless of the type of action chosen, the effectiveness of action depends in
part on the skills of those carrying out the action. Youth education programs may be able
to tap into the existing skills of youth, but they may also want to include a component of
skill development. The types of skills taught can range widely, depending on the chosen
action and ability and time of participants. Some examples include artistic performance
skills, communication skills (oral and written), action research skills, small business
management skills and craft skills (Hart, 1997). Certain skills are also needed for youth
to be able to decide on and carry out actions, including facilitating, critical thinking and
group decision-making skills (Anello, 1993; Spano, 2001; Wallerstein).

Continued action and participation in an on—going learning process are also
effected by day-to-day realities of life, such as ﬁ'ustration, fatigue, other responsibilities
and burnout. These factors need to be recognized in the design and operation of youth
education programs. Researchers investigating programs on the ground have found that

although participatory programs may be launched with much excitement, over time

33

enthusiasm can fade as peOple become exhausted, frustrated by low tum-out, or when the
newness of the program wears off (Hawes, 1988; Magendzo, 1990). If programs are to
be successful in the long run, program organizers must consider ways to listen to
participants’ concerns and problems, appreciate their efforts, avoid over-burdening them
(e. g., lowering demands or increasing support), rejuvenate tired participants, and/or bring
in new participants to replace those who leave (Hawes, 1988; Magendzo, 1990;

Pridmore, 2000).

2.3. Conceptual Framework

The research for this thesis is based upon the conceptual framework shown in

 

Figure 3.
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: 3 Factors Influencing Praxis
. Praxis : and Conscientization .
e . I Program desrgn: including
‘ooooeooee artsandculture,

promoting dialogue
I Program support
I Group cohesion

  
      

 

 

.0 O O O O O O O O O
Genuine
Youth
Participation

 

 

Conscientization
Barriers to Participation

Restrictions and costs
Lack of awareness

Lack of parental support
Cultural expectations

 

 

 

Figure 3. Conceptual framework for this study illustrating the design of educational
programs that promote social change and the factors that inﬂuence their
implementation.

34

2.3.1. Conceptual Framework for this Study

I used empirical research in this thesis to examine not only if YCMTW was able
to encourage participation, conscientization, and praxis, but also how these elements were
implemented and what factors inﬂuenced their implementation. To guide the empirical
research for this thesis, I created a conceptual framework. This conceptual framework is
based upon the theories and research summarized in the literature review. It illustrates
the connections between the three main components of education for social change,
participation, conscientization, and praxis, and factors that have been found to inﬂuence
these components.

The conceptual framework is based on the assumption that genuine participation,
conscientization and praxis can lead to social change, and are inﬂuenced by one another.
Youth must be active participants in the learning process if conscientization and praxis
are to occur. Praxis and conscientization are also closely linked because youth can take
more appropriate action once they have gained a better understanding of the deeper
causes of social problems. Conscientization and praxis can also lead to deeper levels of
youth participation because they give youth an opportunity to make decisions and take an
active role in the group. For this research, genuine participation in a program is deﬁned
as the active and willing involvement of individuals who have some decision-making
power and responsibility. Conscientization is loosely deﬁned in this research as the

raising of one’s consciousness about the deeper causes of societal problems and how

35

one’s particular condition is inﬂuenced by societal forces. Although coined by Freire,
conscientization is a term that has been used many different ways by different thinkers
and may have markedly different meanings for readers. Conscientization, as it is used in
this research, does not imply the use of one particular consciousness-raising method, or a
particular set of assumptions about the true causes of social problems. Praxis is deﬁned
as action informed by reﬂection.

As mentioned above, an important aspect of this thesis research is to describe how
YCMTW did or did not encourage participation, conscientization and praxis. The
empirical research literature provides many examples of the factors that can inﬂuence a
program’s ability to achieve these goals, and these factors have been included in the
conceptual framework. In order to simplify the framework, these factors were grouped
into two categories: 1) barriers to participation and 2) factors that inﬂuence
conscientization and praxis. Although these factors have been divided into these
categories, complex relationships exist among them and a single factor may inﬂuence

participation, conscientization and praxis.

2.3.1.1. Barriers to Participation

Numerous barriers to participation have been identiﬁed in research on
participatory education programs. Some of these barriers can be at least partially
mitigated by program designers and organizers. The most fundamental barrier to
participation is lack of awareness of a program. If organizers want youth to participate in
a program, youth must be aware that the program is open to them and is something they

could beneﬁt from. Some other obvious barriers are those put in place by the program

36

itself. While it may be necessary to limit participation to youth of a certain age or who
come from a particular background, excessive barriers could make the program seem
exclusive and cause resentment. More subtle barriers may also exist such as program
cost, education level requirements, and the ability to participate in the program’s format
(e.g., the ability to make the time commitment or to meet in mixed-gender groups).
Again, some of these barriers will be unavoidable, but they must be considered and
addressed if participation from a broad range of youth is desired. Finally a lack of
program support for youth can hinder active participation by youth if program
participation is overly burdensome and youth cannot obtain needed resources.

The wider society also has an inﬂuence on young people’s participation in youth
education. Parental support is an especially important inﬂuence on youth participation,
since younger youth usually live at home and must abide by their parents’ wishes. If
parents think that a youth education program is a waste of time or will have a negative
inﬂuence on their children, they will discourage or forbid them to attend. Parents’
attitudes may be shaped by their society’s perception of the role of youth (e.g., as workers
or learners), and by other social norms such as restricting the movement of girls outside
the home. On the other hand, if parents believe the program is worthwhile, they may
encourage their children to attend and may be receptive to the ideas and experiences their
children bring home from the group. Youths’ own willingness to join an educational
program, discuss certain topics and take part in certain activities is also largely inﬂuenced
by the wider society. If a program or its topics are considered ‘un-cool’ or irrelevant,
then many youth will not join or will require extra convincing before they join. To make

matters more complicated, what is appealing to one part of the youth population (women,

37

or a particular ethnic group) may be unappealing to other youth. For instance, groups that
emphasize sports, women’s empowerment, or rap music may appeal to some youth, but

not to others.

2.3.1.2. Factors that Inﬂuence Conscientization and Praxis

How a youth education program is designed and carried out on the ground can
have a major inﬂuence on youths’ conscientization and praxis. At least ﬁve inﬂuential
factors have been identiﬁed in the literature: 1) program support for youth, 2) good
design and materials, 3) use of the arts and arts skill development, 4) dialogue, and 5)
group cohesion. Some of these factors can be most inﬂuenced by the program itself,
while others are more strongly inﬂuenced by the youth groups or by the wider society.
Program support in the form of training and feedback can improve the conscientization
process, and ﬁnancial resources and inter-personal connections can make actions more
effective. Program support is important for participants at any age, but it can be
especially important for youth, who generally have less experience and resources than
adults. Chawla and Kjorholt (1996) stress the importance of striking a balance between
smothering youth and leaving them to fend for themselves. The second factor, good
design and materials, can give youth real decision-making power, help youth to ask
questions and make connections between their lives and greater social forces, and make
actions more successful. Design determines the structure of the program, including who
has authority, and how the program operates. Materials could include program manuals

with useful information and/or thought-provoking exercises and activities. Materials

38

could also be physical resources like art supplies, sporting goods, or other useful items
that youth may not have access to otherwise.

Program organizers can also incorporate the arts and art skill development into
programs. The type of art used will necessarily vary depending on the culture and ability
of participants, but the use of the arts has been found to have many beneﬁts. First, having
an artistic component can attract youth to a program if it is culturally appropriate.
Having an arts component can also help youth build bonds of friendship and camaraderie
and can improve the dialogue process since it helps people to express and feel emotions.
Finally the arts can be used in various forms of action such as dramas that express
youths’ thoughts and needs to the rest of the community, or skits and posters that raise
community awareness about health or environmental issues that affect the development
of their communities.

Program design is important, but much of a youth education program’s success
depends on the efforts of the youth themselves. Group cohesion is an important
prerequisite for conscientization and action, since both are cooperative and require a
willingness to communicate openly. As mentioned above, group cohesion can be
promoted by incorporating the arts. Groups can also improve cohesion by encouraging
an atmosphere of trust and caring, making sure that members are not excluded, and
supporting one another. A cohesive group is more likely to have meaningful dialogue
because its members will feel comfortable opening up to one another and trusting each
other. Honest dialogue that goes deeper than the surface of issues is an essential
component of conscientization. Achieving this is something that only the youth

themselves can do, though good facilitator training can be an important form of support.

39

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS AND DATA

3.1. Research Approach

The research approach for this study was primarily qualitative. I used qualitative
research methods in this research because they allowed me to take an open-ended and
less structured approach to data gathering. Unlike pre-set survey or other more rigid
research instruments, open-ended methods allow the researcher to change questions if she
discovers her assumptions are inaccurate and/or if she ﬁnds unexpected factors that have
some bearing on the research question. An open-ended qualitative approach was
especially appropriate for this study because it is exploratory. The researcher seeks to
know how YCMTW was designed and implemented, and to discover the factors that
inﬂuenced its implementation. Before this research was conducted, little was known
about the design and implementation this program, and research about the lives of
Guyanese youth was nearly non-existent. Therefore, it was logical to assume that rigid
methods based on my assumptions would likely miss important aspects of the program.

In order to answer the research questions, a large amount of information on the
experiences and thoughts of YCMTW facilitators and participants who completed the
program was needed. The research began at the end of the 2001-2002 program year, so
information came primarily from youth (both facilitators and participants) who completed
the program in July 2002, along with facilitators who graduated in previous years, and
program staff and volunteers. The research methods used in this study were approved by
the Michigan State University internal review board, the University Committee on

Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS).

4O

3.2. Research Design

Data gathering occurred in two main stages (Figure 4). While they did not always
occur sequentially, the work of stage one generally preceded that of stage two. The
purpose of stage one was to clarify assumptions about the program, gather participation
statistics, and pilot interview guides (see Appendix A for interview guides). Stage one
was designed to clarify my initial assumptions about the program, such as YCMTW’S
goals, how the program was organized, how long the program had been in existence, and
how many youth participated in the program. In addition, it assessed the applicability of
the research questions to the situation on the ground, and determined the cultural
appropriateness of the interview questions and timeline activity. Key informant
interviews took place at the beginning of the research process, but document analysis
continued throughout the process as documents became available

The second stage focused on gathering perspectives of youth participants on
YCMTW’s implementation. This was accomplished through interviews with participants
(facilitators and other youth group members) from the 2001-2002 program and interviews
with past facilitators. Participants were asked about how the program was implemented
in their corrnnunities, and how they felt about different aspects of the program. A timeline
exercise was also conducted with the three 2001-2002 groups in an effort to help group

members remember the activities of the previous year.

41

 

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42

3.2.2. Sampling

I had two major goals for the selection of interview subjects. First, I wanted to
interview youth from groups that had met the minimum graduation requirements (i.e. had
completed a 70-hour course in their home communities and had completed a majority of
the topics in the manual). While important lessons could be learned from groups who did
not complete the course, I chose to focus on the experiences of those youth who
completed the entire program since only they would understand the time, energy, and
cooperation needed to implement YCMTW. Second, I wanted to interview youth with
diverse perspectives in order to get a broader view of the program. Diversity comes in
many forms however, including geography, age, ethnicity, religion, group size and group
functioning. Thus, choosing cases that reﬂected the full variability of the groups was not
possible within the scope of this study. Therefore, the goal of sampling in this case was
to maximize the diversity of the groups within the sample, while also ensuring that
groups in the chosen communities had met the basic graduation criteria.

Once I arrived in Guyana, I determined the ﬁnal sampling protocol based on the
above goals and my time and travel constraints. I had 90 days to complete data
collection, and my travel was limited to a portion of the coastal zone due to travel cost,
time and safety. Data collection could take place only during daylight hours (before 6:00
pm) due to transportation and safety issues, and only on weekends once school was in
session. After consulting with YCMTW staff, I decided that three groups would be the
primary focus of the study. These groups would be selected at the graduation, which
took place shortly after my arrival in Guyana. At the graduation, I announced the

upcoming research project, and asked the youths to discuss their willingness to

43

participate as a group. The graduation was not well-attended due to travel costs and
violence in the eastern region of the coastal plain, and only three groups were well-
represented (i.e. had more than just the facilitator and one or two members in attendance).
All three groups had successfully completed the program and were somewhat diverse in
terms of geography, group size and participant age. These three groups were chosen, and
all agreed to participate.

Group interviews and timeline activities were restricted to members of the groups
who were 18 years old or older, and those under 18 whose parents had signed consent
forms (Appendix B). Individual interviews were carried out with each group’s
facilitator(s) and with three other participants from each group. The goal in sampling
was once again to ensure some diversity in the experiences of those interviewed.
Individual interviewees were selected from those who took part in the group interview
since they already had consent to participate or were over 18, and because arrangements
for the individual interviews could be made on the spot, thus saving valuable time.

In one case, the number of youth participating in the group interview was so small
that all youth who attended and were willing to be interviewed were chosen. In the case
of the smallest group, only two members were able to attend the group interview. Both
seemed comfortable talking with me, so this interview was lengthened to include the
individual interview questions. A third individual from that group was later interviewed
on her own. Finally, in the largest group, I attempted to maximize the diversity of
individual interviewees. Before interviewees were chosen, I asked the facilitator to
describe the different members of her group in terms of activity level and religion, two

invisible characteristics. After the group interview, I selected one young man (young

44

men were the minority in this group), one Indo-Guyanese, one very active member of the
group, and one moderately active member of the group. When the young man did not
show up for his individual interview, he was replaced by another young man.

Interviews were also carried out with ﬁve former facilitators and one 2001-02
facilitator from an interior region of the country. Once again, I attempted to maximize
the diversity of interviewees. The facilitator from the interior was on the coast for the
graduation, and I chose to interview her because she could give perspective on running
YCMTW in a remote location. Logistics played a large role in determining which former
facilitators were interviewed. Using information from past participation lists, I attempted
to contact a number of facilitators who differed by gender, ethnicity, and region.
However, many former facilitators had relocated and were difﬁcult or impossible to
locate. The ﬁve interviewed lived in various regions of the coastal plain, though their
communities ranged from urban to remote rural locations. Three were female and two
were male; all were either Afro-Guyanese or mixed race.

By interviewing multiple members of the same 2001-02 YCMTW groups and
using group interviews I hoped to improve the validity of the study since the content of
these interviews could be cross-checked to get a more accurate and complete picture of
the group’s experience. By interviewing past facilitators and the facilitator from the
interior region in addition to the three 2001-02 YCMTW groups I hoped to increase the
generalizability of the study. The findings of the study cannot be generalized to the entire
YCMTW program because quantitative statistical methods such as random sampling and
identical questioning procedures were not used. However, by widening my investigation

beyond the three 2001-02 groups, my ﬁndings can shed some light on which experiences

45

and viewpoints are speciﬁc to a group or individual and which may be more commonly

found throughout the program.

3.3. Research Methods
3.3.1. Key Informant Interviews

Throughout the process, the research was aided by key informant interviews. Near
the beginning of the research, I conducted informal interviews with YCMTW organizers
in order to determine the most efﬁcient way to carry out the interview process. YCMTW
staff members were also able to provide contact information for past and present
facilitators.

I also conducted preliminary informal interviews with two Guyanese youth in
order to determine the cultural appropriateness of the research questions and methods in
general. Both youth were native Guyanese and I knew both well. They were chosen
because they understood Guyanese youth culture and speech, but could also understand
my American English. As the research proceeded, I also asked these key informant youth
about the more subtle meanings of the responses from the YCMTW participants (e. g., the
meaning of local phrases or slang, or tones of voice). Finally, the facilitator(s) of the
groups that were interviewed also served as key informants about their groups. I asked to
help me contact other group members in order to initiate the research process, and to
supply information about the characteristics of their group members that helped me to

select members for individual interviews.

46

3.3.2. Group Timeline

This method is based on the methods described by Rachel Slocum and Dieuwke
Klaver in “Time Line Variations”, a chapter in Power, Process and Participation- Tools
For Change (Slocum, 1995). The group timeline exercise was used primarily to get a
clearer picture of the ways YCMTW has been implemented, but it may also provide some
conversation starters about the participants’ experiences in the group.

In order to ﬁnd out what different groups do in a year, members of three recently
graduated YCMTW groups were individually assembled to create group timelines and to
participate in group interviews. All the groups were asked to include a uniform baseline
of information, such as when their group formed, what kind of projects they did and
when they were carried out, and when their group covered the topics in the manual.
During and after timeline construction, I asked questions and took notes clarifying what

the timeline meant.

After the timelines were constructed, I asked group members were to reﬂect on
their year in YMCTW in a focus group style discussion. I asked participants to share
their answers to a number of program implementation questions such as “How did your
group form” or “How did you make decisions as a group?” The content and wording of
interview questions (Appendix A) was determined after consulting with key informants
about the cultural appropriateness of the questions. I facilitated the discussion, and used
additional probes to stimulate conversation. This activity was audio taped and
transcribed. Participants’ names were changed to protect their conﬁdentiality, and tapes

were stored in a locked box.

47

Timeline construction and discussion was a good way to learn about the different
ways YCMTW has been implemented. Because it involved multiple group members, it
was able to capture the group’s activities more fully and quickly than individual
interviews would. Participants were able to share multiple perspectives on the experience
and will also be able to correct each other’s factual mistakes, adding to the validity of the
group’s account. The method’s success varied, however, depending on the number of
youth who participated and their willingness to share their thoughts with me in front of

the group.

3.3.3. In-Depth Interviews of Individual 2001-02 Facilitators, Participants and Former
Facilitators

This method was intended primarily to ﬁnd out what youth experienced in
YCMTW and what it meant to them. These interviews were semi-formal and open-
ended, and were audio-taped and transcribed with the interviewee’s permission. Most
interviews lasted about one hour. I asked similar questions of all interviewees (Appendix
A) to allow for comparisons among individuals and groups, but interview questions were
not identical. Questions were also ﬂexible enough to pursue themes that arose from
earlier interviews. The exact content and wording of interview questions was determined
after consulting with key informants about the cultural appropriateness of the questions.
Most interviews were audio-taped and transcribed with the interviewee’s permission.
Two interviews were not audio-taped, but I took extensive notes during the interviews

and expanded those notes after the interviews had ﬁnished. I then shared the expanded

48

notes with the interviewees who made corrections and veriﬁed that the notes accurately
described the interviews.

This method was effective way of ﬁnding out the more personal meaning of
YCMTW participation because it was more private than the group interview, and gave
participants a chance to speak in-depth about their experiences, thoughts and feelings.
Since these interviews usually followed the group activity, the interviewee and I had
usually already met and felt reasonably comfortable talking together.

Interviews with former facilitators were conducted very much like the interviews
of 2001-2002 facilitators, except that the interviewees were asked more questions about
the long-term meaning of YCMTW in their lives. Because they had at least one more
year of hindsight, the past graduates had a longer-term perspective on which aspects of

the program were important to them.

3.3.4. Analysis of Youth Can Move the World Manuals and Other Historic Documents
In order to provide a brief historical description of the program, I analyzed
program manuals, evaluation documents and newspaper articles. This analysis resulted
in a brief summary of how the program has developed over time. These materials, along
with key informant interviews, also serve as the main source of information about the

program’s goals.
3.3.5. Analysis of Youth Can Move the World Participation Statistics

Existing YCMTW participation statistics were analyzed in order to provide a

quantitative context for the study’s qualitative ﬁndings. Although exact participation

49

statistics were not available for each year, estimates of the total number of youth who
have been trained as facilitators, facilitator who graduated from the program, and
participants in the youth groups were available. I also analyzed statistics from the 2002-
2003 program year training to estimate the demographics of the program in terms of
gender and religion. Statistics from 2002-2003 were used because 2001-2002 statistics

were not available.

3.4. Data Analysis and Presentation

Data analysis began in the early stages of data collection, and continued to the end
of the study. Once I began collecting data, I read over her expanded notes and transcripts
and looked for concepts that had some bearing on the research questions. Some general
concepts, such as “program implementation” and “program goals”, came directly from
the research questions. I broadly classiﬁed the interview or document data I had gathered
under these general concepts. Within those general concepts, more speciﬁc themes such
as gender differences in participation and the inﬂuence of parental support emerged early
on in the interview process and were pursued in later interviews. The information that
came from the early interviews shaped the direction the study took as it became clearer
which of my assumptions were incorrect and which new questions need to be asked. The
themes, questions and my evolving thoughts about how they may ﬁt together to answer
the research questions were recorded as memos. Throughout this process I consulted
with key informants about my thoughts, and was open to feedback or suggestions they

may provide.

50

After data collection was complete, I developed a uniform coding system with
clearly deﬁned deﬁnitions and examples based on a sample of interviews (see Appendix
C for a code deﬁnition table). I then applied that coding system to all of the interview
data using Atlas.ti software. Once the data were coded, text was sorted according to the
codes. Codes that appeared in interviews from the majority of the eight groups
(including the 2001-02 groups and all past groups) were included in the ﬁndings. For
example, interviewees from the majority of groups talked about their experiences with
parental support for their YCMTW groups, so the role of parental support was included
in the research ﬁndings. By including only those themes that appeared in the interviews
from a majority of groups I hoped to ensure that the results were a valid representation of
the groups’ experiences. However, just because text from various interviews is classiﬁed
under the same code does not necessarily mean that all interviewees shared the same
viewpoint or had the same experience. Using the parental support code as an example,
although a majority of groups commented on its importance, some had experienced high
levels of parental support while others experienced low levels of support or even
opposition. These differences in viewpoint and experience are described in the ﬁndings.
The ﬁndings were organized to answer the research questions. The ﬁndings are inter-
related and could be presented in many ways, so I chose to present them in a way that
seemed most logical to me and that paralleled the structure of the literature review.

The ﬁnal analysis was summarized in various forms for the research’s different
audiences. A short evaluative report was written for the Varqa Foundation. The analysis
of the data that addresses the research questions was written up as a master’s degree

thesis for the Resource Development department. A copy of this will be shared with the

51

YCMTW organizers and participants who requested copies. Finally information that may
be of interest to the participants of YCMTW will be presented in short articles that may

be published in the YCMTW newsletter.

3.5. Limitations

Before describing the speciﬁc limitations of this study, I think it is important to
reiterate that the purpose of this study is not to draw statistically signiﬁcant conclusions
about the entire YCMTW program, but to identify experiences, issues and viewpoints
that may play an important role in the program’s implementation and outcomes. I
speciﬁcally chose to work with groups who had successfully completed the program
because I believed that at this early stage in YCMTW research it would be valuable to
investigate the experiences of youth who had experienced the program in its entirety.

It can therefore not be assumed that the data gathered in this study accurately
represents the experiences of most youth in YCMTW. There are at least two possible
reasons for this, sampling bias and the validity of interview data. First, because only a
small number of intentionally selected youth were interviewed for this study, their
experiences and opinions can not possibly represent the full range of experiences youth
have had in YCMTW. To mitigate this potential problem somewhat, youth were selected
from multiple locations and multiple years. One speciﬁc limitation of this research is that
the experiences and opinions of youth interviewed in this study may also be more
positive than the ‘average’ participant’s because groups and interviewees were selected
from a pool of youth who 1) had successfully completed the program, and 2) were willing

to take part in an interview. It is reasonable to assume that program drop-outs and those

52

who were not willing to be interviewed may have had a less positive experience in
YCMTW. Another speciﬁc limitation is that only one of the facilitators interviewed for
this research used the YCMTW in a school setting, and in that case it was an optional
extra-curricular activity. All other interviewees had experienced the YCMTW as a non-
formal educational program that was not afﬁliated with any school. In the wider
YCMTW program, a number (exact numbers are not known) of YCMTW groups have
been held in schools as extra-curricular activities and in some cases the YCMTW
materials have been incorporated into the school curriculum. There was no speciﬁc
intention to avoid school-based groups. They were simply not well-represented at the
graduation when 2001-02 groups were selected, and none of the former facilitators had
worked with a school-afﬁliated group. It could reasonably be expected that the
experience of youth participating in YCMTW in a school setting could vary signiﬁcantly
from those participating in independent youth groups. For instance, there may be
differences in the relationships between facilitators and participants if the facilitators are
also teachers in the school and school—afﬁliated groups may also receive better support
than independent groups. A third speciﬁc limitation is that time and ﬁnancial
considerations prevented me from interviewing youth from the interior of Guyana.
Interior communities vary in signiﬁcant ways from communities on the coast, including
greater isolation and stronger inﬂuence from Amerindian cultures. The experience of
youth in these groups could therefore differ signiﬁcantly from the experience of youth in
groups on the coastal plain.

Second, some interviewees may not have represented their experiences or

opinions accurately. Interviewees may have given answers that they believed I ‘wanted’

53

to hear, or that reﬂected well on their own performance in the program. My identity as a
white American woman may have affected participants’ willingness to share their
thoughts honestly and openly with her. It is impossible to know exactly what the impact
(either positive or negative) has been. In group interviews, participants’ answers may
have been inﬂuenced by the presence of their fellow group members. In order to mitigate
these potential problems and increase the study’s validity, one-on-one interviews were
conducted as well as group interviews and interviewees were assured of the
conﬁdentiality of one-on-one interviews. Interviewees were also informed that the
purpose of the research was to improve the program, so honesty in answering was very
important and interviewees would not be judged on their responses. Finally, the
interviewer was not a member of the YCMTW staff, so interviewees may have felt more
comfortable openly criticizing the program or admitting their own shortcomings. In
general, interviewees were willing to talk about the negative as well as positive aspects of
YCMTW, but youth were more comfortable speaking openly in one—on-one interviews
than in group interviews.

The ﬁnal threat to the study’s validity comes from misunderstandings between the
research participants and me. Despite my experience living in Guyana, I do not have a
complete knowledge of “Creolese” (The Guyanese dialect of English) nor of Guyanese
mannerisms. Interviewees may have misunderstood some of my language (due to
language differences or poorly worded questions) and given answers without truly
understanding the questions. I may also have misinterpreted interviewees’ responses to
questions, or drawn conclusions that were not accurate. In order to mitigate these

potential problems, I consulted with key informants on the cultural appropriateness of

54

interview questions and on the meaning of unclear interview text. Since audio tapes were
made of most interviews, I was able to listen to the exact words of the interviewees
instead of having to rely on memory. Finally, if interviewee responses were too unclear,

they were not included in the data for analysis.

55

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS

The ﬁndings in this chapter are organized in the order of the research questions
they answer. The chapter begins with ﬁndings related to the ﬁrst research question, “Was
YCMTW designed to encourage youth to genuinely participate, and to engage in
conscientization and praxis?” The ﬁndings for this question have been divided into three
parts: was YCMTW designed to promote 1) participation 2) conscientization and 3)
praxis? The ﬁndings related to the second research question, “How was YCMTW
implemented in terms of participation, conscientization and praxis?” follow. These
ﬁndings have also been divided into three sections: 1) Was there genuine youth
participation? 2) Did youth engage in conscientization? and 3) Did youth engage in

praxis?

4.1. How was YCMTW designed to encourage youth to genuinely participate and to
engage in conscientization and praxis?
4.1.1. Was YCMTW designed to encourage high levels of youth participation?

The ﬁndings in this section draw heavily upon YCMTW documents, including the
facilitator’s manual(Varqa Foundation, 2001), a program evaluation (Guy, 2000) and a
program report (V arqa Foundation, 2002a), and on key informant interviews with
program staff. In general it was found that YCMTW was designed to have a high level of
youth participation, and had involved youth from the ﬁrst planning stages of the program.
The ﬁndings have been broken down into two sections, “levels of youth participation”

and “overcoming barriers to participation”.

56

4.1.1.1. Levels of Youth Participation

YCMTW has been designed to encourage the active participation of youth in all
aspects and stages of the program. To begin this section, the participation of youth in
program creation is described. Then the program’s design to involve youth in the
running the program at the national level, is described. Finally the designs of the
facilitator and youth group participant roles are discussed. In each of these sections, the
designs of the youth roles are compared to Hart’s ladder of children’s participation,
which was introduced in the literature review (chapter 2).

Youth have been actively involved in YCMTW from the earliest stages of the
program. Although the idea of YCMTW was conceived of by the Varqa Foundation in
the late 19903, the issues included in the program were largely determined by youth in
communities throughout Guyana. John, a Varqa board member, describes this
participatory process of needs identiﬁcation,

About three to four years ago Guyana was thrown into a lot of diﬂiculties, a lot of

racial polarization. And within Varqa we were looking to see what we could do to

try to respond to some of those challenges. We [Varqa board members] had a

series of meetings with youth throughout the country, in part coming out of two

other development projects we ’re involved in. One was the Baha' ’1' Community

Health Partnership in the Rupununi, and we had a series of meetings with youth

in the community. And then we also had a series of meetings with youth coming

out of On the Wings of Words, a literacy program, to try to see what were the kind
of issues that they were concerned about. And I think probably the kind of issues
they came up with were probably very similar to concerns of youth all over the
world: drugs, alcohol, suicide, domestic violence... ”

The program is probably best characterized as adult initiated, shared decisions
with youth, according to Hart’s ladder of participation (Hart, 1997). Hart describes this

level of youth participation as an adult initiated activity that “pay particular attention to

involving the young”, and “foster a sense of competence and the conﬁdence to

57

participate” in the young (Hart, 1997: 44). Hart warns that participation in the planning
stage alone is not sufﬁcient; “To achieve real shared-decision projects, children need to
be involved in some degree in the entire process” (Hart, 1997).

The Varqa foundation planned for older youth (i.e. late teens and early twenties)
to oversee the day to day operations of YCMTW, including coordination of training,
advertising, newsletter and webpage design and general ofﬁce management. In this role,
youth would have some responsibility and decision-making power, but would still be
overseen by the Varqa Foundation. The program was also designed to have youth play a
major role in facilitator training. Youth serve as trainers, activities coordinators and
chaperones. The program was also designed to create a network of volunteer youth who
would visit groups around the country to encourage groups, give suggestions and answer
questions. Again, this level of participation could be considered adult initiated, shared
decisions with youth (Hart, 1997).

Youth facilitators were designed to be the backbone of YCMTW. These
facilitators were expected to lead groups of youth in their own communities through a
similar training course to the facilitator training course they went through. Youth groups
are required to cover the majority of topics in the YCMTW manuals and must create
corresponding artistic creations that convey important messages about the topics. The
groups are not required to share these creations with the wider community, but they are
encouraged to do so. While YCMT W provides this general framework to facilitators, the
youth groups are given a large amount of ﬂexibility in how the groups are run and how

they meet the requirements. The youth facilitators are supposed to be supported in their

58

work by visits from YCMTW youth volunteers (and sometimes adults), newsletters and
follow-up trainings.

The level of participation of the YCMTW facilitator lies somewhere between
adult initiated, shared decisions with children and child-initiated, shared decisions with
adults (Hart, 1997). Although the YCMTW program was initiated by adults and the role
of the facilitator is somewhat predetermined, the youth facilitators have a high level of
autonomy. The facilitators take the initiative to join the program and organize YCMTW

activities with youth groups in their communities.

The ﬁnal role for youth in YCMTW is the role of youth group participant. These
are the youth that belong to the groups that are lead by the facilitators. These youth have
less individual responsibility than the facilitators; they do not have to initiate the program
or make sure that program requirements are met. Although youth group participants
aren’t assigned responsibility in the program, facilitators are encouraged to share
decision-making power with other group members. However, the extent of training and
emphasis on this area is unclear. However, even if facilitators limit the decision-making
power of group members, the program manual is designed to encourage participation of
all youth in dialogue and the arts. The participation of youth group members could thus
range from assigned but informed to child-initiated, shared decisions with adults (Hart,

1997).

4.1.1.2. Overcoming Barriers to Participation
In order for youth to be involved in YCMTW, they must be aware of the program

and believe that it’s something accessible to them and worth joining. Who feels welcome,

59

interested, and able to join program is inﬂuenced by a number of factors, including
participation restrictions (age, time requirements, gender, educational level), program
advertisement, and cultural appropriateness (Hart, 1997). While it is not realistic to
expect every youth to be interested in and able to participate in an education program, it
is important to make a program as available and appealing as possible to the target
population. YCMTW has attempted to reduce participation barriers by setting few
participation restrictions, making the program affordable, and advertising the program
widely to attract diverse youth. While the program’s explicit participation barriers are
low, some wider cultural factors may restrict the participation of some youth.

The only explicit restriction on participation is an age limit; only 16-25 year olds
can be trained as facilitators. In reality the age limits were more ﬂexible, and people from
about 15 to 30 were trained as facilitators. Other youth group participants were supposed
to be at least 12 or 13 years old, but in some cases younger children joined groups. No
speciﬁc group of youth was targeted for participation in YCMTW. The program was
made available for youth of all backgrounds: racial, religious, geographic, political, class,
and education level. Since the program was created in part as a response to racial
disunity and instability, an emphasis was put on unity among youth. This is very much in
keeping with Baha’i principle of the paramount importance of unity for development.
The program was not speciﬁcally aimed at “oppressed” youth, whom the F reirean
pedagogy suggests should be the primary participants of an educational program for
social change. Even if the program wanted to target oppressed youth, it would be

difﬁcult to determine which youth would qualify as “oppressed” and which would not.

60

For instance, a youth who is ﬁnancially well to do may be strongly oppressed in an
abusive home while a very poor youth may have a loving and supportive family.
Participation at the facilitator level was implicitly lirrrited by literacy. While there
were no restrictions based on educational levels, those who could not read or write would
have trouble applying for the program and using the written manual. While Guyana’s
literacy rate has traditionally been very high, (it is still reported at 98% (CIA, 2001)),
functional literacy is much lower among the young (CIA, 2001; Jennings, 2000). Time
was another potential restriction on participation. The time necessary to facilitate a
YCMTW group could prohibit some youth who are working or going to school full time
from becoming facilitators. Completing a 70-hour training course in about seven months
(assuming that groups start in December and end in July) requires working at least two to
three hours per week with their groups and more time outside the group to prepare.
Secondary school in Guyana usually ends between 2:00 and 3:00 in the aﬁemoon and for
many youth is followed by private tutorial ‘lessons’. Some students may attend private
lessons on Saturday mornings as well. Most youth groups are not able to meet after dark
in the evening (aﬁer 6:00 pm) because traveling after dark can be difﬁcult due to lack of
transportation and is not considered to be safe. Students may ﬁnish secondary school at a
relatively young age (around 16), but others continue past the ofﬁcial end of secondary
school to study for the British A-Level or O-Level exams. People working full time face
similar time restrictions to ﬁill-time students. Therefore, for full-time students and
workers, ﬁnding the time to run a YCMTW group can be very difﬁcult if not impossible.
The YCMTW program was designed to be low-cost to participants. There was no

charge for the training sessions, food was inexpensive, and housing was available at low

61

cost to participants who could not travel home at night during the training. Basic art
supplies were given to all facilitators to create banners, puppets and other artistic works.
In years when funding was sufﬁcient, scholarships were available for those who had
ﬁnancial need and applied for them. In the 2001-2002 program year, YCMTW received
funding from UNICEF to provide scholarships for youth (mainly Amerindians) from the
more remote communities of Guyana. One hinterland participant reported that she was
unaware of the program until she was sent to the YCMTW training by the school where
she taught. ’

Program advertising and publicity were designed to reach and appeal to as broad a
range of applicants as possible. The program was advertised through paid newspaper and
television advertisements, press releases carried on television and radio, and distribution
of ﬂiers to schools, churches, and health clinics. The advertisements described YCMTW
as a youth development program and listed some of the topics included. It mentioned the
use of the arts, used an appealing logo, stated that there were no fees for the course, and
explicitly encouraged youths of all backgrounds to apply to the program (see Appendix D
for copies of advertisements). The advertisement also stated that youth could earn a
certiﬁcate from the University of Guyana Institute of Distance and Continuing Education.
Press releases about upcoming trainings were carried by several national television
stations and newspapers and were mentioned in national radio broadcasts. Word of
mouth was also used through existing Varqa programs, especially the literacy program,

On the Wings of Words.

62

4.1.2. Was YCMTW designed to encourage youth to engage in conscientization?
Conscientization is the process through which people become critically aware of
their place in the world and the way the forces of the world affect their lives. It is thought
to be an important component of social change because it gives people a clearer
understanding of the causes of social problems, and thus makes them better able to
develop viable solutions. This section describes the design of YCMTW in terms of its
ability to help youth engage in conscientization. This section begins by looking at
YCMTW’s general approach to conscientization. Then the manual’s ability to encourage
conscientization is discussed, with a focus on the inclusion of reﬂection thoughts and

questions, theoretical topics and moral/spiritual content.

4.1.2.1. Conscientization and Factual Education

When considering the role of dialogue and reﬂection in YCMTW, it is important
to recognize that the program focuses on both consciousness raising and factual education
about social issues. The program included factual information because the Varqa board
members believed that youth did not have sufﬁcient information about issues like
HIV /AIDS to make informed decisions. According to one Varqa board member, after
talking with youth involved in other Varqa projects to ﬁnd out which issues were most
important to them, Varqa “tried to see if we could develop a program that would at least
provide information to youth on those issues, which they could then take back to their
own communities to try to at least begin to explore what some of those challenges were.”
On the other hand, Varqa did not believe that merely conveying factual information

would bring about needed social change. So, while the program includes factual

63

information, it also encourages dialogue and reﬂection on the deeper causes of social

problems.

4.1.2.2. Manual Emphasis on Reﬂection and Dialogue

The YCMTW manual is designed to encourage thinking and dialogue that goes
deeper than the surface of topics by including reﬂection thoughts and questions,
‘theoretical’ social topics, and quotes on the topics from different religions. The preface
to the manual states that YCMTW’s goals include helping young people to understand
issues, understand that there are different views on the issues, and be able to “develop
and express their own views on these issues” (V arqa Foundation, 2001: 5). The preface
encourages youth to reﬂect on their views and the reasons behind those views. A strong
emphasis is placed on the role of moral values in decision-making and the societal factors
that inﬂuence one’s personal values. The preface also promotes the idea that people are
essentially spiritual beings, and that spiritual grth can result in a changed person and
eventually in a changed world (Varqa Foundation, 2001: 5-8).

The inclusion of moral/spiritual content reﬂects the Baha'i belief in the
importance of morality and spirituality for development. The importance of reﬂection
ﬁts in well with Freire’s pedagogy, which also emphasized reﬂection. The direct
inclusion of spiritual material, however, is probably not consistent with Freire’s

pedagogy, since he may have feared it would be forced on youth.

64

Reﬂection Thoughts and Questions in the Manual

Most chapters include questions or statements for reﬂection. These are intended to
start group dialogue about a social problem and how it is linked to the wider society. For
example, in the section on drug and alcohol abuse, youth are asked to reﬂect on the quote
“without alcohol our society would go to pieces” (Varqa Foundation, 2001: 59). This
question is especially complicated in Guyana because it is a rum exporter and alcohol
consumption is a major social activity for some groups. In the chapter on gender equity,
young women and men are asked to discuss the improvements they would like to see in
the lives of men and women (V arqa Foundation, 2001: 77). These types of discussions
may help youth to see that problems like alcohol abuse and gender inequality are not just
isolated personal problems, but are inﬂuenced greatly by the wider society. However, the
number and quality of reﬂections varies from chapter to chapter. Some reﬂections ask
participants to think more broadly or deeply about an issue in society, while other
reﬂection questions simply ask students to recall what they learned in the chapter. It
should also be remembered that youth facilitators do not have to stick directly to the
manual. They may skip questions they don’t ﬁnd useﬁil, use questions of their own, or

ignore the reﬂection questions all together.

Inclusion of Theoretical Topics

The YCMTW manual included a number of more ‘theoretical’ topics in addition
to very concrete problems like drug abuse and HIV/AIDS. The more theoretical topics
include prejudice and discrimination, gender equity, human rights, and global prosperity.

These topics look more closely at the larger societal issues that may be less obvious, or

65

seem less relevant to youth, but have an important inﬂuence on the concrete, day to day
problems they face. Ideally, an introduction to these concepts would help participants
think more critically about society (local to global) and how it might be changed to solve
social problems.

The theoretical topic chapters give a basic overview of these topics, some of
which may be new to many participants. Currently, however, most of these topics are not
clearly linked to the more concrete problems that most youth can easily relate to, and are
conveyed in language and examples that youth may ﬁnd difﬁcult to understand. For
example, term$ like globalization, labor and capital, and debt relief are all used without
deﬁnition in the chapter on global prosperity (Varqa Foundation, 2001). Based on her
experience as a secondary school teacher in Guyana, I do not believe that most
participants will have a clear understanding of what these terms mean. Research in
cognitive development also indicates that many adolescents are still developing the
ability to use abstract reasoning (Hughes, 2001). It is therefore reasonable to assume that
some youth, especially younger youth (ages 12-15) may have trouble thinking about the

connections between abstract concepts and concrete social problems.

Moral/Spiritual Content in the Manual

As mentioned earlier, YCMTW has a strong emphasis on the spiritual and moral
dimensions of social problems. Each chapter includes a list of quotations from various
world religions that relate to the chapter’s topic. For example, the chapter on prejudice
and discrimination includes the quote, “Hold fast, all together unto God’s rope, and be

not divided amongst yourselves” (Varqa Foundation, 2001: 82) from the Qur’an,‘ and the

66

chapter on literacy includes the quote, “Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable
value. Education can, alone cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to beneﬁt
there from” (Varqa Foundation, 2001: 69) from the Baha’i writings. These quotes are
intended to offer the perspective that social problems fundamentally as spiritual problems
that have spiritual solutions. For example, the writings on gender equality state that the
unequal treatment of women and men is not only harmful to society; it is morally wrong
and must be rectiﬁed through spiritual as well as social change. Changes in laws and
practices (especially education) must be changed to bring about gender equality, and the
impetus for these changes comes ﬁ'om the belief that “divine justice demands that the
rights of both the sexes should be equally respected since neither is superior to the other
in the eyes of heaven” (V arqa Foundation, 2001: 78).

Religion is practiced widely in Guyana, and despite its religious diversity
religious fanaticism and hatred are not major problems in Guyana. For these reasons, the
designers of YCMTW believed that quotations from a variety of religions would be
acceptable and relevant to most YCMTW participants. The quotes are consistently
placed in each chapter and do include quotes from all of Guyana’s major religions
(Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and the Baha’i Faith). The quotes are not evenly divided
by religion, however. Of eighty-seven total quotes, ﬁfty-ﬁve (about sixty-three percent)
come from the Baha’i writings. One former YCMTW staff member and manual co-
writer reported that they tried to make the quotes as balanced as possible and used
resources such as the intemet to ﬁnd quotes. She did not explain why the imbalance
remained, but it may be due to her lack of familiarity with the writings of other religions

(she is a Baha’i) and the ease of ﬁnding Baha’i quotations on the different topics.

67

4.1 .3. Was YCMTW designed to help youth engage in Praxis?

Praxis is deﬁned as a process of action and reﬂection that can lead to social
change. It implies that social change requires action, since obviously little change will
occur if no action takes place. It also implies that actions may not have the desired
effects if they are not based on some thinking about the nature of the problem and the
appropriateness of solutions. Educational research and experience has found that praxis
can be stimulated and supported by a number of program elements, including action
opportunities, skills training, and the creation of a supportive environment. This section
of the paper looks at the design of YCMTW in terms of its ability to help youth engage in
praxis. It describes YCMTW’s opportunities for action and reﬂection, action skills
development, creation of a supportive peer environment and provision of useful

information.

4.1.3.1 . Action/Reﬂection Opportunities

The YCMTW program requires youth action by design. The model of training
trainers means that in order to complete the program, youth facilitators must conduct the
YCMTW program in their communities for about one year. This in itself is a tremendous
action on the part of the facilitators, but it can also lead to further group action. Youth
groups that take part in YCMTW are encouraged to take action in their communities. The
major form of action encouraged by YCMTW is sharing messages about the issues
covered in the YCMTW manual with their communities through the arts. The exact

messages and artistic media are determined by the youth groups, and are not dictated by

68

YCMTW. However, artistic activities are suggested in each chapter and groups are
required to create a range of artistic creations, but groups are not required to share these
with their communities. Another form of action encouraged by the program is
community service, which again is determined by the group. Finally, youth are
encouraged to take action in their own personal lives based on what they’ve learned and
what they believe about the different issues.

In some manual chapters, youth are encouraged to take action related to the topic
they’ve been learning about and reﬂecting on. For example, the chapter on
environmental protection (V arqa Foundation, 2001) encourages youth to assess
environmental practices (e. g. waste management and canal maintenance) in their
neighborhood and create plans to educate their neighbors about improved practices. The
manual does not speciﬁcally suggest reﬂecting on actions. Some obvious opportunities
for reﬂection do exist at follow-up trainings where facilitators can discuss what has and
has not worked in their groups, during visits to the groups by YCMTW youth volunteers,
and in the YCMTW newsletter to which groups can contribute. The frequency and
quality of these reﬂection opportunities depends on YCMTW’s funding and human
resource levels, which have varied from year to year.

The Freirean concept of action stresses the importance of engaging in long-term
learning, action and reﬂection in a community. In the Freirean method, people in a
community identify important problems or opportunities in their communities and then
create strategies to address these problems an opportunities. These strategies may

involve action over a multiple years.

69

YCMTW does not focus on preparing youth to investigate and act upon issues in
their community in a long-term manner. While it is hoped that youth will remain
involved in YCMTW after the ﬁrst year, there is no “year two” plan for groups after
they’ve completed the materials in the manual. Facilitators may begin working with a
new batch of youth, and former participants can become trained as facilitators to do the
same thing. Youth groups can also continue on and choose their own activities, but there

is no outline for groups to follow.

4.1.3.2. Development of Action Skills

The section focuses on the opportunity for youth to develop skills in two areas,
group organization and artistic communication. While these are not the only skills youth

can develop in YCMTW, they receive the greatest emphasis in the program’s design.

Since YCMTW groups are run entirely by youth, young people can gain
experience working together in a group, making decisions, and carrying out plans.
Facilitators practice leadership skills, including getting a group organized, presenting
factual information, and facilitating dialogue and group decision-making. Other youth
involved in the program can gain skills as organizers, listeners, and participants in
dialogue and group decision-making. The group as a whole can experience the
difﬁculties and rewards of organizing and sustaining a group to achieve their goals.
Since the program lasts about a year, the youth have a chance to try different approaches

and learn from their successes and mistakes. The length of the program also means that

70

youth experience the ongoing effort and commitment needed to make a long-term project

a SUCCESS.

One of the goals of YCMTW is to empower youth to share their knowledge and
ideas with others through the arts. The Varqa foundation recognizes that communication
through the arts gives youth a valuable way to express themselves, and can serve as a
powerful form of education for the wider community (Varqa Foundation, 2001: 12). In
order to achieve this, the program’s design includes a heavy emphasis on artistic skill
development and practice communicating messages through the arts. In addition to these
goals research also indicates that arts training and practice can promote group learning,
build conﬁdence, and can build group cohesion (Cornwall, 1997; Hart, 1997; van der
Wijk, 1997).

While Guyana has a long tradition of calypso singing, poetry, drama, painting and
other arts, arts education has very low priority in the nation’s schools and many youth get
very little chance to develop creativity and performance skills in or out of school.
YCMTW begins arts training during facilitator training. At this time volunteer youth
teach facilitators the basics about making banners, foam puppets, pamphlets, and board
games. They also lead facilitators in basic song and poetry writing, drama, dance and
singing. The quality of this training depends on the skill of the volunteer trainers and the
amount of time available for learning and practicing.

Creation of artistic works is a requirement for facilitator graduation, so facilitators
must work with their groups to create the different types of artistic communication.
Facilitators are expected to draw upon the skills they learned at the training and to tap

into the existing talents of their groups. While performance and display of these works

71

is not required outside of the youth group, it is encouraged. It is hoped that in this way
the youth would actively share their knowledge and views with the community, which
could lead to wider social change. Public displays and performances of the arts are fairly
rare in many Guyanese communities, and in my experience they can easily draw an
audience.

The arts are also used within the youth groups to aid in dialogue and learning.
Role playing, either by traditional acting or using puppets, song writing, poetry and
drawing are suggested in some of the chapters as a way to explore different viewpoints
and experiences. Research indicates that using the arts within a group can have very
positive beneﬁts including the ability to build trust and share personal experience (van
der Wijk, 1997), and the building of group cooperation and camaraderie (Hart, 1997).
Drama and other art forms that actively involve the audience (i.e. participatory drama)
can also be very effective in engaging community members in a discussion about social
issues. Some sources suggest that participatory drama can be more effective than
traditional drama that simply delivers a message (Harding, 1997; Ogolla, 1997). So far,
participatory drama techniques have not been emphasized in YCMTW, but could be
introduced in the future.

The YCMTW graduation includes a festival of the arts, in which groups display
and perform their creations in front of their peers from around the country. The creations
are judged and trophies are awarded to the ﬁrst place winners, some of which are selected
to perform during the graduation ceremony in front of national dignitaries. Government

ministers, the First Lady and UN ofﬁcials have attended in the past.

72

4.1.3.3. Creation of a Supportive Peer Environment

Research in health education has shown that individual behavioral change is not
simply a rational individual choice; it is greatly inﬂuenced by the norms and behaviors of
the social groups individuals belong to (Campbell, 2002). By creating YCTMW as a peer
education program, Varqa hoped to create space for an informed dialogue among young
people in which they would feel free to share their views, decide on actions to pursue,
and provide support for one another. Peer education is also supposed to create a learning
environment where all members have equal standing, as opposed to traditional education
where the teacher has total authority and students participate along expected social lines
(Campbell, 2002). YCMTW explicitly promotes the equality of all human beings, and
gender, racial and religious equality, and it hopes that youth will strive to achieve these
ideals in their own groups. YCMTW’s concept of the role of the facilitator ﬁts well with
the idea of group equality. Facilitators are supposed to act as co-learners, who share their
knowledge and guide the group, but are also ready to learn from others and allow the
group as a whole to make many decisions.

Ideally the supportive peer environment could spread beyond the individual group
to include other YCMTW groups around the country. In this way, members in a single
group could feel less isolated in their activities because they are supported by their peers
around the country. The YCMTW program itself is designed to support groups by
providing materials, visits, follow-up trainings and newsletters that can help connect
groups around the country. This reﬂects Chawla and Kjarholt’s (1996) assertion that

while young people are capable of high levels of participation, they do need support. The

73

same has also been found to be true of adults; volunteers without enough support can

become overwhelmed and burned out (Magendzo, 1990).

4.1.3.4. Provision of Useful Information

Many of the actions youth could take though YCMTW require accurate and
useful information. For example, since YCMTW is primarily an educational program,
youth might undertake public education programs on issues like HIV/AIDS or protection
of the environment. Without good information, these actions could be ineffective, or
worse, they could spread misinformation with potentially devastating consequences. In
recognition of youths’ need for good information, One of YCMTW’s major objectives is
to “provide some relevant facts about some of the important issues facing human beings
today” (Varqa Foundation, 2001: 5). Each chapter provides factual information about the
topic. The quality of presentation and relevancy of this information varies from chapter to
chapter, however. This is probably due to a number of factors, including the availability
of relevant information (statistics and information on Guyana are hard to ﬁnd), the skill
of the author, and the nature of the topic. Different chapters of the manual were written
by individuals from cooperating agencies, or by YCMTW staff using information
provided by cooperating agencies and additional research.

The chapters about the most immediate and obvious problems facing Guyanese
youth (especially reproductive health, drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence)
present detailed information in relatively simple language. These chapters provide
factual information about the different issues, present different points of view and give

ideas about how youth can work for positive change. Youth learn critical information

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like how HIV/AIDS is spread, what is considered domestic violence and why people stay
in violent situations, and how different drugs damage the body. As mentioned above, the
chapters on the more theoretical topics (especially global prosperity, gender equity, and
prejudice and discrimination) are written with more complex language, and the main

points are less clearly organized.

4.2. How was YCMTW implemented in terms of participation, conscientization and
praxis, and what factors affected implementation?
4.2.1 Was there genuine youth participation?

The ﬁndings in this section describe the level of youth participation in YCMTW
and the factors that affect participation. In general youth participated in all aspects of
YCMTW and this participation was at a high level, meaning that youth had real
responsibility and decision-making power. However, participation was inﬂuenced by a

number of factors and was not even across different demographic groups.

4.2.1.1 . Levels of Participation

Youth participate in YCMTW at many different levels, from youth group member
to nation-wide program organization. Although the program is not completely youth
directed, youth have been involved in decision—making since the program’s creation and
they provide nearly all program support. The program’s design is built upon youths’
leadership of groups in their own communities, and these groups are intended to be
participatory. The quality of participation at the youth group level varies from group to

group and is inﬂuenced by a number of factors. While the high level of participation

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gives youth real control in YCMTW, it has also lead to burnout. This burnout, combined
with a lack of clarity in how to proceed after the ﬁrst year has lead in a number of cases

to a slow-down or ceasing of youth group activity after graduation.

Participation of youth in support positions

The YCMTW program has been run as designed, with youth participation at all
levels. There are a few paid positions as of 2001-2002, so most youth have worked as
volunteers. Volunteers include former YCMTW facilitators and youth from the Baha’i
Community, including some international volunteers. In 2001-2002, the number of youth
providing support for YCMTW was very low, due to a shortage of available volunteers

and funding.

Youth Facilitators & Group Members

As mentioned above, hundreds of youth have been trained as youth facilitators.
Although the program supplies a manual and sets certain graduation requirements,
facilitators and their groups have a large amount of autonomy. Facilitators and their
groups can determine who belongs, their group structure, how they operate, and what
activities they engage in. Not surprisingly, groups vary in membership, organization,
ability to cover course material and level of member participation. The following
paragraphs describe three important aspects of participation in YCMTW as a facilitator or
youth group member: 1) the process of group formation, 2) group organization and

facilitator dominance, and 3) frustration and accomplishment.

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After facilitator training, forming a YCMTW group is a new facilitator’s ﬁrst
responsibility. Finding other youth who are willing to participate in the program can be
one of the most challenging parts of YCMTW participation. Facilitators have complete
freedom to choose who they will work with. Some facilitators used the YCMTW
materials with existing religious youth groups, while others attracted members from
existing religious and sporting groups, schools, friends, neighbors and family to new
groups. Facilitators with strong school connections (mainly teachers) created YCMTW
groups as school clubs, and some integrated the YCMTW program into the curriculum.
The percent of youth who work with these different types of groups is not known. This
research did not investigate the use of the program in school curricula and included only
one interview with the facilitator of a school afﬁliated club. Thus this analysis will focus
on out of school groups.

Facilitators differed in their ability to quickly recruit members and begin the
program. Not surprisingly, facilitators with existing groups were able to begin
functioning almost immediately, and were able to cover more topics before graduation.
Those who used connections with existing groups to recruit members were also able to
get moving fairly quickly. Facilitators who had to start groups from scratch had a more
difﬁcult time getting started and making it through the materials. One such facilitator,
Michelle, expressed her frustration with creating a completely new group.

We were supposed to have a group for a year but I didn ’t have the members. I

didn ’t have them for a couple of months, then they had to go to school and we

didn ’t have much session then. Until we get serious was when they have to
graduate and they have to do some things.

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Even the most well organized groups did not have enough time to complete all the
topics in the manual, which suggests that perhaps the number of topics should be
decreased or that an optional second year (or some other type of extension) should be
added to the program.

The leadership style of the facilitator and the internal organization of youth
groups varied greatly in YCMTW. Some groups shared decision-making power and
responsibilities among the facilitator and other group members, while others were more
facilitator-dominated. For instance, one small group of peers was led by the facilitator
while other group members chose titles and duties for themselves such as “head
designer” and “lyricist”. Other larger groups were run more like traditional classrooms,
where the facilitator assumed the teacher’s role and was addressed as ‘Miss’ or ‘Sir’.
Surayyeh, a former volunteer who visited many groups, attributed differences in
leadership style to the age difference between the facilitator and the other group
members. She observed that a facilitator who is older than the other participants tends to

...run it sort of like a school, where he 'd say something and have the group

understand it his way or whatever. But, if the class and the facilitator were

around the same age, it would be more of a discussion.
Personality factors most likely play a role as well, with dominating personalities
becoming dominating facilitators. In some cases the dominance of a facilitator may also
reﬂect unwillingness by other group members to take on responsibilities. In one group,
some very active members complained that they and the facilitator had shouldered much
of the work in their group because others had been unwilling to help out. One of the
members, Zena, expressed her ﬁ'ustration with the less-helpful members of her group.

When you ’re coming down to the end for graduation- boy the work was hard!
...coming down to graduation we had to go like every day. And then, we had to do

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banners, and then again not everybody you would get cooperation from, so it was

like a workload on one person, which was kind of hard.

Group member participation in teaching and learning factual information also
varied from group to group. Part of every facilitator’s duty was the share the factual
information in his or her manual with the other group members, who had less detailed
manuals (printing costs prohibited printing detailed manuals for all participants). In all
three 2001-2002 groups interviewed for this study, the facilitators did play a ‘teacher’
role in some situations, sharing the factual information from their manuals with the other
youth and helping them to understand new concepts. However, they all reported
changing their style from lecturer to facilitator when leading discussions about the topics.
Even in the most classroom-like group, the facilitator reported making an effort to enter
into dialogue with the other members of her group as a peer and to share her experiences
frankly and openly with them.

Both the Baha’i and Freirean concepts of education agree that a dominating
facilitator is a hindrance to participatory learning, since the facilitator will likely prevent
group members, especially the shyer ones, from expressing their ideas and opinions.
While a dominating facilitator will not improve learning, he/she might have some related
qualities and abilities that can be very positive for the group. Many youth in Guyana
have experienced “chalk and talk” education based on the colonial British system of
education. Most information is conveyed through lectures, and students are rarely asked
to initiate activities in class. These youth may feel little self motivation to take an active
role in the group. Facilitators who are more forceful in their leadership may be able to

push these youth to work harder: to participate in activities, learn the factual information

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more thoroughly and create artistic presentations of higher quality than thy ever thought
possible. However, it is unclear if these youth will be inspired to push themselves to
participate actively once the facilitator is no longer there. At this point, the relationship
between dominating facilitators and participants' willingness to be active learners is
speculative and should be investigated further in the future.

Older facilitators may be more likely to dominate their groups, but they also have
some special abilities. Facilitators in their twenties have more life experience than their
teenage counterparts, and thus are better able to provide younger youths with some
perspective on life as an adult (e. g., having a job, being married, having children). In
fact, Hughes cites the building of positive relationships between non-parents adults and
youth as a major beneﬁt of community youth programs (Hughes, 2001). Older facilitators
also had the knowledge, connections and means to organize additional group activities
like service projects, ﬁeld trips to the zoo to learn about animals, and ﬁm trips to lakes or
creeks. Facilitators who were able to organize these activities and trips felt that it
encouraged youth to join and stick with the group, but organizing trips or other activities
was beyond the ability or comfort level of younger facilitators. In the groups
interviewed, only the facilitators over 20 organized trips.

Frustration was another common theme facilitator interviews. While many
participants were interested in being part of the YCMTW groups, facilitators felt like they
often had to work very hard to get the participants’ cooperation. Completing the
YCMTW one-year program was not an easy task. The majority of facilitators reported
having to work hard to maintain the interest of youth amidst the competing time demands

of school, home and other activities. In at least four of the groups, facilitators and

80

members said that some participants did not come regularly so there was a different mix
of kids each week. One former facilitator was very disappointed when the youth in her
group began dropping out and eventually her group dissolved. Graduation time, which is
the culmination of the program, is an especially hectic time for groups preparing to
compete in the arts festival. Members and the facilitator of one group in particular
complained about the amount of work canied by a few people while the other
participants did not do their share.

Even when participants were eager to cooperate, facilitating the groups could be
hard work. For some it was their ﬁrst time teaching factual information and facilitating
discussions. When asked what the hardest part of being a facilitator was, Kevin (a former
facilitator in a rural village) replied that being the teacher was the most difﬁcult because:

You have to read over something twice, triple, you know... tell them what you

understand. And when you tell them this- they forget. You ask them what you just

read and what you just explained to them- they can ’t remember. So that ’s why the
children give us a headache- you must do it over and over. But after a time you
get into it, you know how to teach them.

Michelle (a facilitator in an urban area) had a similar response.

Trying to get them to understand you know? I mean like just trying for them to

understand like what is this, and sometimes they ’11 have a spot that they don ’t

understand and they don ’t want to try. Like that ’s the challenging part...what if

you ’re... not making the point clear and they can ’t understand?

Frustration is not unique to YCMTW. In his study of popular education programs
in Chile, Magendzo found that educators “admitted to a high degree of physical burnout,
which usually led to lower levels of efﬁciency”, and that they “indicated their

disappointment with the small number of people who were willing to commit themselves

to community wor ” (1990: 58). Highly participatory programs like YCMTW require a

81

lot of time and energy, are likely to lead to some amount of frustration and burnout.
However, encouraging facilitators to work in pairs and providing additional facilitator
support and encouragement might help to alleviate burnout. Frustration with teaching
and facilitating may be at least partially prevented if facilitators received more in-depth
training in how to teach, facilitate, and generally lead in ways that are developmentally
appropriate for the youth in their group.

While nearly all of the facilitators felt frustrated at times, they were also proud of
their accomplishments and felt positively about the program. All of the facilitators had
positive things to say about their experience with YCMTW. The majority speciﬁcally
mentioned that they enjoyed the opportunity to work with you and to share the
information in the program with them. Michelle was proud of her participation in
YCMTW and satisﬁed with her experience.

You feel like you did something, you know? Maybe other people will think like,

‘why are you doing something that ’s dumb or boring? ', but then when you can sit

down and realize that you meet other people, you meet a lot of youths, you did this

study, you know what is what. It ’s kind of self-satisfaction I think. And there were
always rewarding parts, everybody enjoyed it, plus they get a certiﬁcate that they
can show their parents and everybody.

4.2.1.2. Factors That Affected Participation

The Varqa Foundation values diversity and has tried to make YCMTW accessible
to the broad spectrum of youth in Guyana by minimizing participation restrictions and
advertising widely. YCMTW drew a diverse group of facilitators from many of
Guyana’s regions and various walks of life. Facilitators included teachers, students,

employed and unemployed youth, and mothers. They came from a variety of religious

and ethnic backgrounds, and from a range of economic circumstances. A 2002 Varqa

82

report estimates that since the program began in 1999, 591 youth facilitators have been
trained and 110 youth groups (about 4000 youth) have gone through the YCMTW
materials (V arqa Foundation, 2002 #86). The total estimate of 4000 youth appears high,
but may be accurate if it includes large school-based groups. In 2002, over 300 youth
were trained as facilitators, and as of December 2002, 51 groups had been formed (Varqa
Foundation, 2003). It is difﬁcult to draw any deﬁnite conclusions about the relative
participation of different demographic groups since there are no recorded statistics on the
demographics of facilitators beyond gender and region, and virtually no statistics on
participants at the local level. However, certain trends in participation were identiﬁed by
YCMTW participants and staff, and can be estimated from participation lists. The
following section ﬁrst presents demographic differences in participation, and the social

factors that might explain these differences. Finally, the importance of parental support

is highlighted.

Gender diﬂ'erences in Participation

One clear trend is that young women participated at higher rates than young men.

Preliminary group membership information from 2002-2003 (Varqa Foundation, 2003)

indicates that females outnumber males approximately two to one (133 to 67), and many
facilitators commented on the difﬁculty of getting young men to join and stay in their
groups.

Participants gave different explanations when asked why the participation of
women was greater than the participation of men. While some youth said they did not

know why there was a difference, two reasons were most commonly given. One

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explanation was that a program like YCMTW appeals more to girls because it includes
artistic activities and lots of discussion about issues. These activities are thought of as
being more “female” activities, while males prefer sporting activities like cricket or
football or hanging out with their ﬁiends.
I think girls are more willing to come out to things and like give their opinion.
Unlike the boys- they prefer to go like play cricket or something with their ﬁiends.
(Diane, former Y CMTW facilitator)
If you have games like cricket and basketball... the boys are going to be there,
right? But If you only have a drama, then the girls are only going to want to do it.
And the [only] guy who was there, he was into drama and singing and so on.
(Jesette, former Y CM TW facilitator)
Adding a sports component to YCMTW could increase its appeal to boys. Of the three
youth groups that were the focus of the study, only the semi-urban group had an
organized and regular sports component. This group also had the highest percentage of
male participation (over ﬁfty percent), and its facilitators stated that sporting activities
were clearly a draw for the young men. Other facilitators agreed that adding a sporting
component would draw more boys, and one group even tried to get sporting equipment
from the Ministry of Youth Culture and Sports but was not successful.
The second and possibly related reason given was that in many communities it is
usually women who get involved in community or self-improvement activities.
Anywhere you go, any country, any village, you often see that the girls are more...
want to study, you know, to develop theyself The boys now, say they... don 't
want to study... and this is how each and every man think- myself and all. (Kevin,
former Y CM T W facilitator)
Because anything or any function that you go to you '1] always see the women out
there- they 're always there. ’Cause to me women are more strong—headed than

men... they think when they put their mind to something- they ’re working towards
it. You have some men who do work... to achieve things, yes, but to me like

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women- you always ﬁnd them coming out and participating more in the social
aspect of the community. (Kim, Y CMT W group member)

The observed predominance of women and girls in social and educational activities may
be linked to a general trend of male underachievement that has been noted in Guyanese
schools and in other parts of the Caribbean (Hunte, 2002; La Rose, 2002). The reasons
for this underachievement are not well understood (La Rose, 2002), and it differs from
the norm in many parts of the world where boys dominate in school and face fewer
barriers to participation in programs outside of school (Hart, 1997).

The different levels of male and female participation are especially concerning
since many of the most crucial topics have important gendered dimensions. Domestic
violence and reproductive health (including HIV/AIDS) are two of the most pressing
issues in Guyanese society, and are clearly linked to the roles of women and men in
society. Youth in the program are very eager to learn more about these topics and to
discuss how they affect their lives. However, if few young men are learning about these
issues and taking part dialogue, unequal and unhealthy male/female relations are less

likely to change.

Religious Diﬁ’erences in Participation

Although exact statistics are not available, Christians appear to be the majority of
YCMTW facilitators. YCMTW does not keep statistics on the religion of participants, so
I used participants’ ﬁrst and last names as indicators of religion. In Guyana, most Afro-
Guyanese are Christian and have “European” or other “non-Indian” ﬁrst and last names.
Most Hindus and Muslims are of Indian ancestry and have “Indian” last names. Baha’is

come from all ethnic backgrounds, but I am very familiar with the Baha’i community in

85

Guyana and knows many of its members by name. Using ﬁrst names as an indicator of
religion, (Christian= ﬁrst name not traditional Hindu or Muslim name and I do not known
that they are a Baha’i) Christians outnumber non-Christians about four to one (eighty
percent to twenty percent) in the 2002-2003 program year facilitator training. Christians
make up about ﬁfty percent of the population nationally. Using last names as an
indicator (Christian= last name not traditional Hindu or Muslim name and I do not know
that they are a Baha’i) Christians outnumber non-Christians seventy-seven percent to
twenty-three percent in the 2002 facilitator training. Obviously these estimates are not
exact and may not be entirely accurate. They do, however, strongly suggest that
Christians take part in YCMTW more often than their Hindu and Muslim counterparts
The reasons for the prevalence of Christian participation are not known, and
should be investigated ﬁirther. The high level of Christian participation may have to do
with the frequent use of YCMTW by existing church youth groups and the creation of
new YCMTW groups using existing church group networks. However, Guyana also has
active Hindu and Muslim youth groups, but they rarely participate in YCMTW as a
group. Theories about why this is the case are only speculative without information from
these groups. One possible reason is that the Christian groups may be more comfortable
with the open information and discussions on topics like sexual health included in the
program than Muslim or Hindu groups are. It may also be the case that similar programs
already exist for other religious youth groups. Another possible cause may be linked to
gender and participation. The, program might appeal to young Hindu and Muslim
women, but their access to the program might be restricted by more traditional “Indian”

family norms that limit their activities outside the home (Seenarine, 1996). Finally, the

86

interfaith moral aspects of the program might be more acceptable to Christian groups

than Hindu or Muslim groups.

Importance of Parental Support

Many of the youth in YCMTW live at home with their parent(s), and facilitators
and participants in six of the eight groups reported that parental support was an important
inﬂuence on youth participation. In the best cases, youth described their parent’s
enthusiasm for the program and interest in the subject matter. A few parents even
required their children to attend the program. In other cases, parents did not think their
child’s participation in the program was very important, and they sometimes kept them
home to study or work in the home or business. In the following quotes, two group
members, Alec and Lisa, contrast the attitudes of different parents in their group. They
start by describing the mother of one group member who required her daughter (and her

siblings) to work in the family business during group meeting times.

Lisa: [the mother would say] ‘JYou have to do this, you know, you have to do that ’.
She wouldn ’t understand. She would think this is something where you just come
and have fun. She won ’t think you ’re learning something because maybe she

don ’t ask them. They just go and do whatever she asks them to, she don ’t ask
them back anything about the group you know.

Then they describe the support they receive from Alec’s father

Alec: I live with my father... and he would like, he would keep telling me, “Boy,
you ain ’t going to your group? What happened today? What you guys did? "

Lisa: Yeh, and he 'd call and ask how was our banner.

Alec: Right, he was so interested that he actually want to become a part- a
member of the group!

87

In one extreme case, a young woman was very distraught because her mother
would soon leave the country to work and had told her that she could no longer attend
YCMTW, but must stay home to care for her brothers and sisters instead. Lisa, Alec and
some other youth believed that some parents were not supportive because they did not
understand what the program was about or appreciate its importance. Selona, a former

facilitator and YCMTW staff member, agreed and added religious leaders with parents.

Well, the thing is that I want to see in the program is the parents ’ contribution, or
the religious leaders, their contribution to the program. Because it 's just that,
they send the youth to the program, the youth come, but when they come and they
do the training and they go back into their community, you know a lo of them cut
out from it because Mommy have a problem with it or Daddy have a problem with
it, religious leader has a problem with it, you know, and I don ’t think that the
adults in the situation have really looked at the program and see that this could
really help my child, help my child, or help young people. They haven 't done that
and I think I would like to see them do that- encourage the young people to
participate.
Currently YCMTW has no formal parental outreach mechanism. Parental support
might be increased if parents had a clearer picture of what YCMTW is and what it can do

for their child.

4.2.2. Did youth engage in conscientization?

YCMTW provides youth with opportunities to engage in learning that can raise
youths’ consciousness about the causes of the problems in their society and help them
develop effective solutions. YCMTW was designed to help youth think more deeply
about issues by encouraging group dialogue, including theoretical topics such as gender
equity, and including some moral/spiritual perspectives on the different issues. The

following sections describe how these three aspects of the program were implemented.

88

In general, dialogue was an important part of nearly all YCMTW groups, but fewer
groups felt that the theoretical topics and moral/spiritual materials were useful, at least in

their current form.

4.2.2.1. Dialogue in YCMTW Groups
Dialogue was an important part of the learning process even in the more
facilitator-dominated groups interviewed for this study. The majority of facilitators and
participants alike said that youth were encouraged to share their experiences and what
they believed about the different topics. The youth discussed multiple aspects of the
problems, such as how they’ve experienced it in their lives, ethical dimensions of a
problem, and gendered perspectives on the problem. The youth were especially
interested in talking about the topics that had immediate impacts on their lives or that
they saw as problems prevalent in their society, such as reproductive health, domestic
violence and drug and alcohol abuse. According to facilitators in two groups,
participants often did not want to stop talking about these topics and facilitators did not
want to rush them, so extra time was given to these topics. Facilitators and participants in
three groups said that some youth felt comfortable enough share personal, sometimes
painful experiences with problems like domestic violence. J esette, a former facilitator,
shared the following experience.
You ﬁnd that each one of these children, some way or the other- maybe directly or
indirectly- they are attached to some part of domestic violence. There '3 been
violence within their home sometime or the other. So they are aﬂected by it
one of the girls, her stepfather broke both of her mother ’s hands. So we talk
about domestic violence, so she had a lot of input in this thing- that she knew
what is it about and all. And you ﬁnd that we did domestic violence so often, you

ﬁnd that that is one of the topics that we did- it lasted for like 4 or 5 sessions!
they [the youth] had a lotto say and we didn ’t like try to cut them of}? We didn ’t

89

cut them oﬂf we just like encouraged them, encouraged them to say what they had
to say. And it was very interesting, the things that children would say to you.

Besides talking about issues, at least two facilitators also used role-playing to help youth
see a problem from multiple points of view. Chucky, an assistant facilitator, used role-
playing to help youth explore the question of how much freedom parents should give
their children. At the beginning, most of the youth were of the opinion that kids could
take care of themselves and should be given more freedom, but after the role-play they
could understand the parents’ point of view. Zena, a member of another youth group,
describes the beneﬁts of role playing situations of domestic violence and drug abuse,

The information is good, but when you actually put yourself and feel the work of

it, it 's better. It ’s like you ’re actually putting yourself in someone else ’3 position

for feel what happens.
According to Kohlberg’s moral development theories, having opportunities to consider
the needs and feelings of others can help youth reach higher levels of moral reasoning
(Thomas, 1985).

At least two YCMTW groups reported that members also came to groups seeking
information and ideas for how to deal with the problems they currently face. This can be
an important aspect of the program because youth may not have access to accurate
information or may be afraid to ask their parents for advice about some issues. The level
of education in schools on topics such as reproductive health and drug and alcohol use is
not known by the author, but it seems to be insufficient in at least some communities.
Eleanor, an older facilitator, explains that girls in her village lack knowledge about
reproductive health.

I know girls especially; there are a lot of things they don ’t know much about. It ’s
just what they heard from friends or what. I don ’t know if their parents don 't sit

90

and tell them or their mother doesn 't say exactly. And they come and ask you. As
a matter of fact I told you before I had to use personal experience to explain to
some of them, right. (Laughs) Because they ’re of the knowledge that certain
things are this way and that way, and if you do this and if you do that and stuﬁf
So you have to sit down, and as much as I know I have to explain. And we had
some other pamphlets, we had to go through them and that ’3 how we went
through that.

Kim, a youth group member says that the group gave youth a chance to look for solutions

to the problems in their lives.

We used to share our problems right there. Like other people would come up with
answers to problems and different information and... when you get these answers
to these problems it is up to you, to make the change or not. Because it is a whole
lot you used to get because the class is big. Everybody had diﬂerent opinions.

Reﬂection questions were included in the manual to encourage dialogue. The
researcher did not ask speciﬁcally about the use of reﬂection questions, but one
facilitator, Eleanor, reported on her group’s use of the questions and their ability to lead

to deeper thought about the issues.

There ’s a part here in reﬂection, “Is it a good idea to have sex before marriage
so you 'll be able to be experienced with your marriage partner? " right? Things
like this, we ask them what you think about this ﬁrst, each group, they ’ve got to
tell you the advantage of it, and then each group you ask back the disadvantage.
And then after anybody has any more to add and then you go, then we going to sit
and discuss it.

For Eleanor at least, these questions made her think more deeply about the issues.
...and then you have to participate in these reflections where you have to sit and
ponder on certain things you just took for granted sometimes. And you ask
yourself the pros and cons of it. You have to try and make a choice which one you
think is better.

She hoped that these reﬂection exercises would also help the youth in her group to take a

fresh look at the topics, and not simply accept social problems just because they are

everyday occurrences.

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4.2.2.2. Consciousness Raising and Theoretical Topics

Dialogue was a major part of most YCMTW groups interviewed for this study.
Youth approached topics from a number of angles, including their personal experiences,
their beliefs, and what the manual said. However, it’s not clear if the dialogue lead
students to consider deeper causes of social problems- causes like inequality of the sexes
and economic injustice. Unfortunately, the data gathered do not answer this question.
Direct observation of the groups’ meetings would give a clearer picture of the dialogue

process. Existing interview data do provide some clues, however.

In F reire’s pedagogy, group facilitators are generally academics or other trained
activists ﬁ'om outside of communities and are aware of connections between wider
societal forces and problems on the ground. They are expected to contribute this
awareness as participants in the dialogue process and help others see the connections. In
the Baha’i concept of education, a study of the Baha’i Sacred Writings would also bring
connections to light. In YCMTW, facilitators are often not academically trained in these
areas, and may or may not see the links between local problems and wider social forces.
The manual also does not make explicit connections, so youth may miss the connections

between the major issues they face and the deeper causes of those issues.

The inclusion of the more theoretical topics like the equality of women and men,
racial equality and global prosperity is one possible way that youth in YCMTW could
become more aware of those concepts, and could make connections between them and
other problems in society. In practice however, the majority of groups interviewed found

those topics to be of little interest and did not focus much energy on them (either not

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covering them or covering them quickly. Three reasons were given for the lack of
interest in theoretical topics. Their importance varies depending on the group and topic in
question.

One major reason was that youth were most interested in those topics that they
could directly relate to. Many youth had ﬁrst-hand experience with drug or alcohol
abuse, domestic violence and unplanned pregnancy or were aware of these problems in
their community, so it was clear to them how it could affect their lives and was
interesting to talk about. Facilitators recognized this, and spent the majority of their
sessions dealing with the most popular topics, since they attracted the most youth and
held their attention. All four of the groups that gave the reasons why certain topics were
most popular cited the prevalence of the issues in society as a reason for their popularity.
Group members and facilitators talked less about implementing theoretical topics, and
those who did reported negative experiences with the topics. One group member
explained that the topics which seemed less important (including some theoretical topics)
were less popular.

Sex, suicide, domestic violence, and child abuse we had full. Like global

prosperity, and protection of the environment and something about art- we didn ’t

have much turn out that day. But like, the major topics that are prevalent in

today 's society we had turnout for.

Some facilitators and participants also expressed their frustration in trying to
understand the theoretical topics, particularly global prosperity. Facilitators in two groups
reported that they or their groups had a hard time understanding global prosperity. Two
facilitators, Anthony and J esette said they had trouble understanding the gender equality

topic. They said that the problem began at the facilitator training when they were ﬁrst

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exposed to the topic in the YCMTW context. If facilitators don’t understand the topic
they have a hard time coherently and enthusiastically presenting it in their home groups.
Anthony and J esette, former YCMTW co-facilitators had this experience with the gender

equity topic.

Anthony: the way they did it at the training- the facilitator training, that was
- boring- I was bored...

Jesette: She just stood up there and she talked and talked.

Anthony: talked and talked. So when you come there you don 't really have no
edge [grasp] of this thing, what you could do, you know?

Jesette: You don ’t really understand much of what you could tell the children.

Many of the youth interviewed were confused by the chapter on global prosperity.
Michelle’s experience as a facilitator was typical, “Global prosperity- I don’t think they
ever understand what is global prosperity. I was trying to explain- but they don’t want to
do that one.” Another frequently misunderstood topic was promotion of the arts. This
topic focused on using the arts to bring about positive social change. A number of youth
interviewed, however, thought that it had to do with improving one’s drawing skills. The
youth didn’t see this topic as important, because in the words of one participant, “Anyone
can draw.” Improved training sessions and clearer vocabulary (use common terms or
deﬁne new ones) could probably improve youths’ understanding of the content and
relevancy of these topics. In some cases, the theoretical concepts may have been difﬁcult
for youth, especially younger youth, to understand at their current level of cognitive
development. Some of the concepts, such as international economic justice, are quite
abstract and may not make sense to youth who are just beginning to think about ideas that

go beyond their own concrete experience. This research did not investigate the cognitive

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development of youth group members and the developmental appropriateness of the

YCMTW materials, but these may be important areas for further study.

Finally, one of the subjects, racial prejudice and discrimination, may have been
avoided or downplayed because it was considered too controversial. Only one facilitator
interviewed expressed this opinion outright, but it may have been felt by other facilitators
and should be considered in light of the racial tensions that continue to plague Guyana.
Interestingly, few facilitators mentioned this topic at all- as either a topic that was
popular, or that was unpopular. It seems like the relevancy of this topic should be
apparent to most youth, who certainly hear about racial tensions and divisions in the
media, even if race relations are good in their own villages. Lack of enthusiasm about
this topic could be due to a denial of racial disunity in their village or neighborhood,
confusing or un-engaging presentation of the topic in the manual, or fear of talking
openly about this very touchy subject. Eleanor, a YCMTW facilitator, includes a

combination of these factors when explaining why she was uncomfortable with the topic.

And this one with prejudice/discrimination, I had a problem with this because I’m
an Indian and the majority of children, they are Negroes. And I ’ve grown up in
this community- actually I was, we were the only Indians in our church, and I
don ’t have a problem with race. And if I had, if people knew I had a problem with
it they wouldn ’t send their children here or to the school or whatever, I 'm not a
racial [racist] person. Everybody is equal to me... Well when we did it [the
topic], we didn 't say East Indian or Negro we said Coolie Man [Guyanese term
for East Indians] and Black Man, because you have to go down to their level too
and explain to them because- I mean you find that in [this Region] you don ’t have
these type of problems as prevalent as you have in Georgetown- race and stuﬂf

Even if racism is less of an issue in some of Guyana’s regions, it is still a problem of

critical national importance and should be included in YCMTW. However, some

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adjustments in the manual and training may be necessary to make facilitators and groups

feel comfortable delving into the topic.

4.2.2.3. Moral/Spiritual Content in the Manual

The Baha’i concept of education stresses the importance of moral/spiritual
education for all people because it can orient their motivations and actions towards
“good” ends. Moral and spiritual education can make people aware of moral principles
or truths that can guide personal decision-making in a world of conﬂicting messages and
pressures. YCMTW gives youth an opportunity to draw upon the moral guidance of
Guyana’s religions while they study and discuss the various topics. Religious quotes
related to each topic can be found at the end of each chapter, and can be used by groups
as they see ﬁt. Few groups, however, utilize these quotations. When asked about their
use of the quotations, two facilitators seemed unaware that there were quotations! Lack of
awareness could have resulted from a training process that did not demonstrate why and
how the quotes could be used, or it may be a polite way for facilitators to say they didn’t
think that the quotations were important. Facilitators in three groups were aware of the
quotations but used them very little or not at all. Their reasons included fear of parental
disapproval and a belief that the writings of other religions did not apply to the youth in
their group. Interestingly, none of the facilitators said that they opposed using the
quotations simply because they were religious, which seems to support YCMTW’s
presumption that Guyanese youth would not on principle object to the inclusion of

spiritual or religious material in the program.

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Those who did use the quotations extensively included a group with Baha’i
facilitators and one Christian church group. These three facilitators said that they felt the
moral aspect was an important component of the program. They said that most youth did
not object to reading and thinking about the quotations and that the youth actually
enjoyed it. One facilitator reported that the youth in her church group gained a new
perspective on the problems facing youth when they “realized that the spiritual part went
hand in hand with the social part”. They felt that solving these problems would require
youth to think about them at a spiritual as well as social level. While most of the youth
did not have a problem with the quotations, some members of the church did object to the
youth reading the writings of other religions, and one girl dropped out. The other group,
which was lead by two Baha’i youth, believed that the youth in their group felt
comfortable with the quotations because they made it clear ﬁom the outset that they were
not interested in converting anyone to the Baha’i Faith or any other religion. They
presented the quotes as teachings about virtues that the religions believe are important

and that could help youth.

The experience of the facilitators seems to indicate that if YCMTW wants the
quotations to be used by facilitators, training should be improved to help facilitators see
the purpose of their inclusion; namely, that the quotations are included as sources of
moral wisdom that add another perspective to the social problems, and that they are not to
be used to convert anyone or make anyone uncomfortable. The shared message of the
quotes may be emphasized to show that the religions agree on many of the issues. Also,
greater balance in quotes might be helpﬁrl when possible, so that youth could ﬁnd quotes

from their religion on each subject.

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4.2.3. Did youth engage in praxis?

The ultimate aim of YCMTW is to help youth transform Guyanese society
through reﬂection and action. This section looks at the action and reﬂection undertaken
by YCMTW groups, and at the program’s ability to promote praxis through skills
development and accurate, useful information. Finally, the barriers to action after a

group’s ﬁrst year are discussed.

4.2.3. 1. Facilitator/Group Action and Reﬂection

The most signiﬁcant action taken in YCMTW is the organization and operation of
dozens of youth groups around the country involving hundreds of youth. Youth
facilitators with varying backgrounds and experience put tremendous effort into
organizing their fellow youth into groups that learn about important issues, work together
to develop their abilities to cooperate and communicate, and hopefully share their
knowledge and abilities with their communities. Although not all groups are unqualiﬁed
successes, the hard work and commitment of the volunteer youth is truly impressive. The
facilitators had a genuine sense of service to their fellow youth and communities, and

YCMTW gave them the opportunity to turn this into action.

Simply creating a space where young people can come together and learn about
important issues is a great service that YCMTW facilitators provide. The opportunity to
learn about these critical issues with other youth was a major attraction to YCMTW and
is a need that is often not met elsewhere. The majority of facilitators and participants

interviewed said that the opportunity to learn about the issues presented in YCMTW was

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a major reason they joined the program. By learning and working together, youth from
an area who might not have know each other well have the opportunity develop deeper

friendships that could lead to future cooperation.

The majority of youth groups interviewed have taken further action in their
communities. This action has mainly been education/awareness-raising through the arts.
One hinterland school—based group hosted a village-wide Mashramani (Guyana’s national
celebration, which is similar to carnival in Trinidad and Tobago) celebration, including a
costume parade where youth carried banners and signs with messages relating to the UN.
Convention on the Rights of the Child and other YCMTW themes. The celebration,
which also had sports and food stalls, was well-attended and attracted a lot of attention.
Another group performed educational puppet shows, skits and dances for local
elementary schools and a well-attended village festival. Some groups engaged in other
forms of community service, including school maintenance and literacy classes for
neighborhood children. Other groups expressed an interest in doing community service,
including environmental clean-ups and providing food for local people in poverty, but
they had not managed to get to these activities before the end of the one year program.

None of the actions undertaken by YCMTW groups have involved partisan
politics. This is in line with YCMTW’s design, which is based largely on Baha’i
principles that stress the fundamental importance of unity and forbid partisan political
involvement. The Freirean approach to social change, on the other hand, promotes
political involvement and frames education in the context of the struggle between the
oppressors and the oppressed. The political non-involvement of YCMTW and its

emphasis on unity among youth is an important part of the program’s success because

99

Guyana has a history of crippling political and racial divisions. Politics is largely race-
based in Guyana (Economistcom, 2002), and in the researcher’s opinion an association
with any political party would alienate youth who identify with the opposing party and
youth who wish to promote racial harmony. Many Guyanese want unity and see the
critical importance of it for their development, and YCMTW has been recognized in the
press for promoting unity among a very diverse body of youth (Prabhala, 2003). Only
one interviewee mentioned the importance of political non-involvement. She stated that
she was not a political person and would not use her group to get the youth to engage in
political activities. Politics was not mentioned in any of the other interviews, and it did
not seem to play a role in any of the groups.

The previous paragraphs on dialogue in YCMTW indicate that facilitators and
participants engaged in a lot of personal reﬂection about the different issues. Their
reﬂections may have been expressed in the artistic works they created and the other
actions they took, but the connection between their reﬂection and action is not clear. The
extent to which YCMTW groups reﬂected back on their actions after they were taken, or
reﬂected on their functioning as a group is also not known. I simply did not collect the
appropriate data to answer these questions. However, facilitators (in some years at least)
had an opportunity to reﬂect on their groups at follow-up trainings where they were
encouraged to share their experiences, both good and bad, with their fellow facilitators.
Some groups were also able to reﬂect on their activities and group functioning during

visits from YCMTW volunteers.

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4.2.3.2. Development of Action Skills

In order to take effective action in their communities, youth need to develop a
wide range of skills. YCMTW provides hands-on opportunities for youth to develop a
number of these skills, especially group cooperation and decision-making and

communication through the arts.

As previous paragraphs have demonstrated, YCMTW is a highly participatory
program that demands hard work and commitment from youth and gives them ﬁrsthand
experience with the difﬁculties and rewards of running their own youth groups. The
youth groups were run in a variety of ways and undertook different activities in different
locations, but the youth reported similar experiences and lessons learned. These lessons
are applicable to any voluntary group activity, and should prepare the youth for future
endeavors. First, facilitators and participants found that being a part of an active youth
group required serious commitment, at least on the part of some individuals. The youth
sacriﬁced their time and in some cases ﬁnancial resources to achieve their goals. For
instance, two of the 2001-02 groups found that they needed to supplement the basic art
supplies they were given in order to create their desired quantity and quality of artistic
works. While some of the facilitators said they felt somewhat burned out at the end of
the year, most still felt good about their experiences and about the program. J esette, a
former facilitator, summarized it well,

If you want to enjoy yourself you have to make sacrifices. If you really want to do

this program... it calls for sacrifice. Anything you do in this life you have to

sacrifice. 0k, you have to put aside one hour per one week just for this program.

And you may not have time to do it, but you have to make that time- just an hour-
to get that program done. ‘Cause it ’s very important.

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Second, the facilitators learned that keeping momentum and excitement up in a group is a
difﬁcult, but necessary aspect of group ﬁrnctioning. Initial excitement is often high, but
as time goes on, people become bored or simply stop coming if they aren’t stimulated by
new activities or goals to work towards. Drop-outs occurred in every group and are to be
expected since the program is voluntary. To maintain interest and vitality, however,
facilitators learned that they had to keep things fresh by adding new activities (especially
ﬁm activities) into their usual program. Co-facilitators Yve and Chucky said that keeping
their members interested was a challenge. To address this they would take a walk to the
sea wall when they sensed the youth were getting too bored, and they organized short
trips for the group. The youths’ excitement about the trips kept them interested in
coming to the weekly YCMTW meetings. Other facilitators reported using similar
tactics, though only the older facilitators organized group trips to destinations outside the

local community.

As mentioned above, YCMTW provided basic arts training and supplies for
facilitators and required groups to create a number of artistic works. The inclusion of the
arts was a major attractor for many youth group participants. All of the individuals
interviewed said that they enjoyed the artistic component and many were especially
drawn to the puppets and the banners. The arts training was relatively short and basic,
and two facilitators complained that training in some of the arts was not extensive
enough.

In addition to learning artistic skills, working with the arts helped the youth in
many groups to develop communication skills, build their self conﬁdence and build

greater group cohesion. These positive side-effects of the arts are not surprising, as they

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have been found in other programs around the world (Cornwall, 1997; Hart, 1997; van
der Wijk, 1997). In two groups, drama also played an important part in the dialogue

about youth issues in some groups where it helped youth to express themselves and to

understand others’ perspectives.

For many youth in YCMTW, getting the courage to stand up in front of an
audience and perform is difﬁcult. While some Guyanese youth are involved in dance,
drama or music, most have little or no experience on-stage. Thus, when these stage-shy
youth are able to successfully perform a skit or dance in front of an audience they are
surprised at their own success and their self-conﬁdence grows. Ann, a youth group
member, describes her experience singing a song for the arts festival:

...when I went up in town, when I had to sing the piece... of the song I never

expected I could ’ve hold a mike in my hand. I was like nervous! You know, like, I

say when I hold the mike it was like I 'd drop it out back (demonstrates dropping

the mike from a shaky hand) because I never hold one of them before... No, I

didn ’t drop it. You know, but I was trembling and I was moving out of time

(laughs). But when I came off the stage they [her fellow group members] all told

me that I sound real good- they never expected I could have do it.

The artistic creation and practice process also helped to break the ice between
youth group members and built bonds of trust and friendship between the youth. Ann, a
youth group member, got to know youth from her village better through the arts. “

There was a lot of them live around my area and I never used to talk to them. But

since I came down here, like doing these things like drama, singing songs and

things I get to like everybody.

The arts festival held at the end of the program year is a major motivator to some
groups to work hard on their artistic works. It seems likely that if this competition did

not exist, a number of groups would not get around to creating many of the types of

artwork or performances. The timelines created by the three 2001-02 groups interviewed

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showed a rush of activity at the end of the program to get their entries ready for the
festival, sometimes meeting every day of the week once school is out. Winning an award
at the festival is a real source of pride for groups, and groups work hard to be number
one. Both Anthony and Eleanor described winning ﬁrst prizes at the festival as one of
the best parts of the program because they felt it reﬂected the hard work they’d put into
their groups.

While this source of motivation is positive, it may overshadow the real purpose of
the artistic creations, which is to give youths a way to express themselves and to share
important messages with their communities. Perhaps more emphasis should be put on
encouraging youth to share their works with their communities and to create works that
will be most meaningful and effective in those communities. YCMTW may also want to
experiment with some participatory forms of theater that might be more effective in

creating community dialogue than traditional message-delivery theater.

4.2.3.3. Barriers to Action After Year 1

The process of learning, action and reﬂection is ideally an on-going process that
groups or individuals continue with over time. The youth in YCMTW take part in this
process at varying levels for roughly one year in their youth groups. Once that year is
over, youth can continue with this process as individuals but often the groups formed to
take part in YCMTW dissolve or have a hard time functioning after graduation is over.
This loss of active youth groups represents a missed opportunity for the promotion of
social change. All of the 2001-02 participants were interested in continuing with the

program in some manner, but the majority was not sure how they would proceed. A

104

number of barriers make group continuation difﬁcult. If these barriers can be overcome,

then YCMTW could potentially have greater long-term beneﬁts.

Currently YCMTW does not have any suggested curriculum or activities for
second year YCMTW groups. Some of the youth group members can become trained as
facilitators and may take a new group of youth through the one year program, but this
still leaves the rest of the group wondering what to do. Groups may continue using the
YCMTW materials and participating in YCMTW events, but for obvious reasons youth
are often not interested going through the same materials and activities again. Ideally
groups would move forward on there own, setting their own goals and creating their own
activities. Unfortunately, at this point facilitators are often very tired, and may not be
enthusiastic about continuing without a manual or other ready to use materials.

Two of the 2001-02 groups interviewed planned to ﬁnish the topics they had not
covered and then to do more community service and outreach. These groups had not
begun meeting again at the time of their interviews, so I do not know how they have
actually proceeded. The third 2001-2002 group completed all the topics, and their path
forward was less clear. All participants in that group expressed an interest in continuing
either as participants or facilitators, and the current facilitator (though tired) was willing
to continue with the program for another year. She hoped that some other youth would
be trained as facilitators and would take over that role. The members of this group
wished continue learning about youth issues and wanted to bring in new members, but
they did not wish to simply repeat what they had already learned. The dilemma of how to
proceed was not solved by the time of the group’s last interview (in early September

2002)

105

 

A number of possibilities exist for a continuation program for YCMTW.
Currently the YCMTW program may not be able to afford extensions to the program in
terms of ﬁnances and human resources, but it might be a worthwhile addition in the
future. One potential plan suggested by past two YCMTW facilitators, is that youth who
have ﬁnished the one year program in a village could continue to meet as an educational
performing arts group. They would perhaps not meet as regularly as the ﬁrst year groups,
but would continue to create and perform artistic works in the community. These groups
could also perform community service. This plan could be especially beneﬁcial to
groups who did not have many opportunities to reach out to their communities during the
one—year program. Groups may also want to develop the skills to investigate and act on
issues in their communities, drawing upon the skills and knowledge they developed in
their ﬁrst year in YCMTW. This plan of action would quite closely resemble Freire’s

vision of education for social change.

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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS

5.]. Summary of Findings and Possible Implications

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate YCMTW’s potential to
bring about social change in terms of its design and implementation. YCMTW provides
an interesting case study of an educational program that hopes to promote social change
in Guyana, an ethnically diverse developing country. This study is organized around a
theoretical framework that assumes that education programs that encourage participation,
consciousness-raising, and action and reﬂection can bring about social change.
Qualitative data was gathered mainly through interviews with program staff, volunteers,
and participants, and was used to begin investigating how YCMTW has been
implemented in terms of participation, consciousness raising, and action and reﬂection.
This research pays particular attention to the factors that inﬂuenced the implementation
of the program. The following paragraphs summarize the ﬁndings of this research and
suggest some possible implications of these ﬁndings.

YCMTW has taken steps towards promoting social change through education, as
it is genuinely participatory, engages youth in dialogue, and leads to action and reﬂection.
YCMTW can continue to improve through continued evaluation and experimentation
with new materials, techniques and approaches to learning. The lessons learned from the
YCMTW experience are in one sense speciﬁc to Guyana, but also demonstrate in a more
general way that factors on the ground interact with a program’s design to inﬂuence its

implementation and outcomes.

107

The YCMTW program is a truly participatory youth education program, meaning
that youth are actively involved in the program and have real decision-making power.
Youth participate at many levels in the program, and youth groups function as
autonomous youth-run organizations. The program’s most visible success is its ability to
bring enthusiastic and dedicated youth together to learn about and work on issues they
care about. The program has been especially attractive to young women and to
Christians and Baha’is, but is apparently less appealing to young men, Hindus and
Moslems. YCMTW could beneﬁt from having greater male, Hindu and Moslem
participation, especially since a number of the youth issues covered in the program have
signiﬁcant gender and religious dimensions. While this research provides some potential
reasons for the gender imbalance, YCMTW may want to investigate ways to make the
program more attractive to members of under-represented groups.

The core activity of YCMTW is education about youth issues, but this is not
merely didactic teaching. Dialogue about the issues, often drawing on the real-life
experience of the youth, is an important part of the youth groups. This dialogue includes
not only concrete experiences, but also emphasizes the moral and societal implications of
choices and behaviors. The dialogue and cooperation on artistic projects have also
helped to build bonds of friendship between youth in a community. This friendship can
help youth to deal with the stresses of adolescence and establish a positive identity, and
may lead to cooperation in future efforts for social change.

While the dialogue in YCMTW groups can be very positive, the majority of the
youth interviewed are not talking about the connections between individual experiences

and deeper societal problems such as gender inequality and racism. Although these

108

deeper problems are presented in the program manual, a number of youth ﬁnd these
materials hard to understand and uninteresting. This may be addressed by modifying the
materials to make them more relevant to youth and by highlighting the importance of
investigating these connections in the training sessions. In some cases it may not be
reasonable to expect youth, especially younger youth, to make these connections if they
have only begun to develop their abstract thinking capabilities. Facilitators, many of
whom have never worked with youth or taught before, could beneﬁt from training about
the developmental stages of adolescence and how to deal with the differing cognitive,
social and emotional needs of younger and older youth. Since YCMTW covers such a
large age range (12-25), it may useful to give facilitators speciﬁc suggestions about how
to use the materials differently with youth in early adolescence (roughly the 12-14 year
olds), late adolescence (roughly the 15-20 year olds), and young adulthood (roughly the
21-25 year olds).

In addition to organizing youth groups in their home communities, the majority of
groups interviewed took other forms of action in their communities. Public education
and awareness-raising through the arts was the most common form of action. Youth
groups shared their artistic presentations in schools and at a variety of community events,
and some groups undertook other forms of community service. None of the YCMTW
groups engaged in political action. Non-involvement in politics is important for the
cohesiveness and inclusivity of YCMTW and consistent with the Varqa Foundation’s
goal to promote unity. Facilitators and at least some group members committed
tremendous time and energy to YCMTW during the program year and developed their

knowledge, skills and group cohesiveness. Unfortunately, the momentum may be lost

109

after graduation since the program is designed for one year, leaving the youth without a
clear way forward for their groups. The majority of 2001-02 facilitators and participants
interviewed were interested in continuing with their groups, but they had not reconvened
by the end of the research process and their actions in 2002-03 are not known. YCMTW
may be able to assist groups by developing optional ‘year 2’ manuals that provide
suggestions and resources that can help groups remain active and become self-sustaining.
Ideally, these YCMTW groups would develop into centers of continual learning and

could become real agents of change in their communities.

5.2. Future Research

This research examined the design and implementation of YCMTW, but much
remains to be learned about this program. Perhaps the most interesting question is how
much social change will actually occur as the result of YCMTW. At this point YCMTW
is a relatively young program (less than 5 years old) so it is too early to know what the
longer-term impacts will be. Also, this study was not designed to look comprehensively
at the short-term impacts in terms of attitude and behavior changes on the part of
participants. Future research could investigate short-term changes, using methods such
as surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews. Longer-term change could be
assessed by following the lives of facilitators and other participants through periodic
interviews and/or surveys that gather information on their attitudes and actions over time,
and how those attitudes and actions are related to their participation in YCMTW. It
would be very interesting to see if YCMTW participation inﬂuences involvement in

future community activities such as service, education or other work for social change. It

110

would be especially interesting to see if youth who took part in the program are able to
avoid the social problems that concerned them most in YCMTW. Will the youth be able
to avoid infection with HIV/AIDS, and create relationships free from domestic violence?

YCMTW is a continually evolving program, and will thus present new
opportunities for research in the future. Currently the program is undergoing a major
transformation to increase its emphasis on HIV/AIDS at the request of UNICEF, which
has also increased funding for YCMTW. While the other topics will remain, the
emphasis on HIV/AIDS recognizes the growing threat of the epidemic in Guyana, which
has the second highest infection rate in the western hemisphere. Since the start of the
2002-2003 program year, YCMTW has held major conferences on HIV/AIDS, and has
begun adding related materials to the program. The additional funding has increased the
program’s paid workforce, and two volunteer youth from North America are working
with the program for one year. The additional man-power, ﬁnancial resources and
excitement around HIV/AIDS prevention have added additional momentum to YCMTW.
These changes in the program might lead to signiﬁcantly different experiences and
outcomes among participants, and may be another interesting topic of study.

Finally, this research raises many questions that could be answered by future
research. For instance, the research found that women and Christians seemed to be over-
represented in the program, but it was beyond the scope of this study to look deeply at
why this was the case. Further research into this question could be valuable if it brings to
light some of the factors that inﬂuence participation among different demographic
groups. While these factors might be speciﬁc to Guyana, awareness of the possibility of

these factors could be useful in similar societies. This research was also not able to

111

directly observe the functioning of youth groups and the nature of their group
interactions. Program volunteer observations suggest that the level of participation in
groups was related to the age gap between facilitators and participants. Further research
on this possible relationship could result in improved training for facilitators that

encourages greater participation of all youth in groups, regardless of the age gap.

5.3. Research Limitations

It is important to note that this research was exploratory and small scale, and thus
is limited in its generalizability. This research is narrow in scope. The research and
ﬁndings refer only to one program, YCMTW, in one country, Guyana, and cannot be
generalized to other programs or to the same program in other countries. The ﬁndings of
this study are not intended to provide a deﬁnitive and representative account of YCMTW.
Instead, they are intended to identify some potentially important trends and issues for
further study.

The data used in this study were gathered from a limited number of program staff
and participants, and do not represent the entire program. In particular, because I was
interested in learning about the experiences of youth throughout the entire length of the
one-year program, I only interviewed youth whose groups had successfully completed the
program. This sampling bias has probably resulted in ﬁndings which are more positive
than average, since youth who completed the program probably had a more positive
experience than those who dropped out or whose groups dissolved. Sampling bias also
occurred because time and ﬁnancial considerations prevented me from interviewing

youth from the interior of Guyana. Interior communities vary in signiﬁcant ways from

112

communities on the coast, including greater isolation and more inﬂuence from
Amerindian cultures. Finally only one of the facilitators interviewed worked with a
school-afﬁliated group. There was no speciﬁc intention to avoid school-based groups.
They were not well-represented at the graduation when 2001-02 groups were selected,
and none of the former facilitators had worked with a school-afﬁliated group. It is not
clear how school-based groups would differ from independent youth groups, but there
may be differences in the relationships between facilitators and participants if the
facilitators are also teachers in the school. School-afﬁliated groups may also receive
better support than independent groups. Interviews were used to gather much of the data
in this thesis. Although these data provide rich accounts of participants’ experiences,
they can be inﬂuenced by the interview process and are subject the interpretation of the
researcher. For instance, interviewee answers may have been inﬂuenced by a desire to
give answers that reﬂect well on their group or themselves. Interviewees may also have

misunderstood some of my questions, and I may have understood some of their answers.

113

APPENDICES

114

APPENDIX A

INTERVIEW GUIDES

115

Date:
Time:

Interview Guide

In-Depth Interview of a Facilitator

 

 

Interviewer:
Location:

 

 

I. How did you get involved?

1.

2.

How did you ﬁnd out about youth can move the world?

Why did you join YCMTW?

II. Likes and dislikes about the program?

1.

2.

What was the most important part of the program for you?

What was the best part of being a facilitator?

What was the hardest part of being a facilitator?

What did you think about the factual information- did it answer your questions?
Would you like to see anything in added or left out?

What about the social aspect of the program?

What did you think about the skills you learned in the program- were they useful,
fun?

What did you think about having writings from the different religions in the
program? Was it important? Did you have a problem with it? Did others have
a problem with it?

What would you like to see changed in the program?

116

III. Knowledge, beliefs and attitudes

1. What kinds of abilities and/or knowledge do you need in your life in order to
make good choices?
0 Does right and wrong matter?
0 Does correct information matter?
0 Does the ability to reason matter?
0 How do you think you would have answered this question a year ago? What

has changed or stayed the same?

2. Has your knowledge about the different youth issues changed over the last year?
How? What lead to this change? Did the program play a role?

3. Have your beliefs about what kind of behaviors are right and wrong changed over

the last year? What led to this change? Did the program play a role?

IV. Future
1. What do you see your group doing in the future?
2. What do you see as your role in Guyana’s/your community’s future/development?
0 Thinking back to last summer, what do you think your answer would be?

0 Why do you think your answers changed or stayed the same?

117

Interview Guide

Y CM TW Focus Group Interview

Date:

Time:
Interviewer:
Location:

8.

9.

 

 

 

 

. How did your group form, or decide to take part in YCMTW?

What was a typical session (or some other logical time period) in your group like?
How did your group run? How did you go through the materials in the manual?
How did you make decisions about what you would do as a group?

Which topics were most popular?

Have you done any activities in your community? Describe them.

How did your group change over the year (can ask how it changed after particular
events)?

What are you most proud of? Why?

What would you improve if you were to do it again?

Where will your group go from here?

10. What did you like best about the programme?

11. What would you like to see changed in the programme?

12. What advice would you give a group who is just starting out?

13. Any other questions the youth would like to discuss as a group.

118

Date:
Time:

Interview Guide

In-Depth Interview of an Individual Group Member

 

 

Interviewer:
Location:

 

 

I. How did you get involved?

1.

2.

How did you frnd out about YCMTW?

Why did you join YCMTW?

II. Likes and dislikes about the program?

1.

2.

What was the most important part of the program for you?

How did your group run? How did you go through the materials in the manual?
Which topics were most popular?

What did you think about the factual information- did it answer your questions?
Would you like to see anything added in or left out?

What about the social aspect of the program?

What did you think about the skills you learned in the program- were they useful,
fun?

What did you think about having writings from the different religions in the
program? Was it important? Did you have a problem with it? Did others have
a problem with it?

What would you like to see changed in the program?

119

III. Knowledge, beliefs and attitudes

1. What kinds of abilities and/or knowledge do you need in your life in order to

make good choices?

Does right and wrong matter?

Does correct information matter?

Does the ability to reason matter?

How do you think you would have answered this question a year ago? What

has changed or stayed the same?

2. Has your knowledge about the different youth issues changed over the last year?

How? What lead to this change? Did the program play a role?

3. Have your beliefs about what kind of behaviors are right and wrong changed over

the last year? What led to this change? Did the program play a role?

IV. Future

3. What do you see your group doing in the future?

4. What do you see as your role in Guyana’s/your community’s future/development?

Thinking back to last summer, what do you think your answer would be?

Why do you think your answers changed or stayed the same?

120

Interview Guide
In-Depth Interview of a Past Graduate

Date:

Time:
Interviewer:
Location:

 

 

 

 

1. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience in YCMTW? Why did you join the
programme?
2. What was your group like? How many members? How did it form?
3. How did your group run? How did you go through the materials in the manual?
Which topics were most popular?
4. Looking back on your time in YCMTW, what was the most important/meaningful
part of the programme to you? What sticks with you?
5. Have you done any activities with your YCMTW group since graduation?
6. What kinds of abilities and/or knowledge do you need in your life in order to make
good choices?
0 Does right and wrong matter?
0 Does correct information matter?
0 Does the ability to reason matter?
0 What things have inﬂuenced your answer to? In what ways?
7. What do you see as your role in Guyana’s/your community’s future/development?
How did you see that role before you joined YCMTW?

8. Do you think your participation in YCMTW will affect your life in the future?

121

APPENDIX B

CONSENT FORMS

122

25 July 2002
Dear Potential Research Participant,

You are being asked to participate in a study called Values in Youth Development
Education: A Case Study in Guyana. Ms. Karen Brook is conducting this study in
cooperation with Youth Can Move the World. The study is intended to help improve the
Youth Can Move the World Programme, and to fulﬁll a university graduation
requirement for Ms. Brook at Michigan State University in the United States.

In this part of the study, individuals and groups who have worked with or
graduated from the Youth Can Move the World programme will be interviewed about the
programme. These interviews will take about one to two hours and may be taped on a
cassette. Tapes and transcripts will not contain the name of the person being interviewed,
and will be kept separately from any identifying information. Tapes and transcripts will
be stored in locked boxes, and tapes will be destroyed after the completion of the research
process. Research participants may leave the study at any time, but the cassettes and
transcripts of their interviews will remain with Ms. Brook and may still be used in the

study.

The risks involved with participating in this research may include personal
embarrassment if your name and things you said in your interviews are made public.
This could happen if research documents are stolen, if the interview is overheard, or if
someone in a group interview tells others about what was said in the interview. You may
also receive unwanted attention if you are seen talking with an American researcher.
Being in this study might require short distance travel, which also has risks. There are no
ﬁnancial beneﬁts from participating in this study, but snacks will be provided at all
interviews, participants will be paid back for any travel expenses, and participants will

have access to the ﬁnal ﬁndings of this study.

123

Participation in this study is voluntary. You may choose not to participate at all, or
you may refuse to answer certain questions or refuse to participate in certain parts of the
study. If you choose to participate, you may leave the study at any time without penalty.
Any data you provide, however, will remain with the investigator (Karen Brook), and
may be used even if you withdraw from the study. If you choose to participate, your
privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. Any data gathered
from you will be treated with the strictest conﬁdence, your name will not be used, and

you will not be identiﬁable in any report of research ﬁndings.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the investigator, Karen Brook,
by phone: 268-2050, e-mail: brookkar@msu.edu, or regular mail: 14 Hague Front, West
Coast Demerara, Guyana. If you have questions or concerns regarding your rights as a
study participant, or are dissatisﬁed at any time with any aspect of this study, you may
contact — anonymously, if you wish — Ashir Kumar, M.D., Chair of the University
Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) by phone: (517) 355-
2180, fax: (517) 432-4503, e-mail: ucrihs@msu.edu, or regular mail: 202 Olds Hall, East
Lansing, MI 48824. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Karen Brook

Your signature below indicates your voluntary agreement to participate in this study.

 

 

Name Date

124

25 July 2002

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Your child is being asked to participate in a study called Values in Youth
Development Education: A Case Study in Guyana. Ms. Karen Brook is conducting this
study in cooperation with Youth Can Move the World. The study is intended to help
improve the Youth Can Move the World Programme, and to fulﬁll a university
graduation requirement for Ms. Brook at Michigan State University in the United States.

In this part of the study, individuals and groups who have worked with or
graduated from the Youth Can Move the World programme will be interviewed about the
programme. These interviews will take about one to two hours and may be taped on a
cassette. Tapes and transcripts will not contain the name of the person being interviewed,
and will be kept separately from any identifying information. Tapes and transcripts will
be stored in locked boxes, and tapes will be destroyed after the completion of the research
process. Research participants may leave the study at any time, but the cassettes and
transcripts of their interviews will remain with Ms. Brook and may still be used in the

study.

The risks involved with participating in this research may include personal
embarrassment to your child if his or her name and things your child said in interviews
are made public. This could happen if research documents are stolen, if the interview is
overheard, or if someone in a group interview tells others about what was said in the
interview. Your child may also receive unwanted attention if he or she is seen talking
with an American researcher. Being in this study might require short distance travel,
which also has risks. There are no ﬁnancial beneﬁts from participating in this study, but
snacks will be provided at all interviews, participants will be paid back for any travel

expenses, and participants will be have access to the ﬁnal ﬁndings of this study.

125

Participation in this study is voluntary. You may choose not to allow your child to
participate at all, and your child may refuse to answer certain questions or refuse to
participate in certain parts of the study. If you choose to let your child participate, he or
she may leave the study at any time without penalty. Any data your child provides,
however, will remain with the investigator (Karen Brook), and may be used even if your
child withdraws from the study. If you choose to let your child participate, his or her
privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. Any data gathered
from your child will be treated with the strictest conﬁdence, your child’s name will not be

used, and your child will not be identiﬁable in any report of research ﬁndings.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the investigator, Karen Brook,
by phone: 268-2050, e-mail: brookkar@msu.edu, or regular mail: 14 Hague Front, West
Coast Demerara, Guyana. If you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s rights
as a study participant, or are dissatisﬁed at any time with any aspect of this study, you
may contact - anonymously, if you wish — Ashir Kumar, M.D., Chair of the University
Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) by phone: (517) 355-
2180, fax: (517) 432-4503, e-mail: ucrihs@msu.edu, or regular mail: 202 Olds Hall, East
Lansing, MI 48824. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Karen Brook

Your signature below indicates your voluntary agreement to allow your child to

participate in this study.

 

 

Parent/Guardian’s Name Date

 

- Child’s Name

126

APPENDIX C

CODE DEFINITION TABLE

127

 

 

80:83:». 388: 80an 5:838
8: 8o: he 80: :88on 8: .«o :98: 8: Bo: 8:863: 38 8E. 388: 5.: ammon—
dzohw E8: E 5:853 88:8

:88: 8: 8 @888 85885: 8: 26: 8888:: :8 8E.

Whoa OH GOUONDM

 

8%:on
8: E 8888038: 83 8:858 :88: Bo: 8:88;: 8x8 83.

88:8 :28:
.«o :EaﬁoEoEEH

 

80:88.0 :28: 8088:
Ho: 80: Ho 80: 8&8: 8: mo :88: 8: Bo: 8388—: 8x8 83.

88:8
:88: we :wmmon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.8?on 5:0» E8:
E “Ewe—«6 8: 8 888: 85885: 8: Bo: 8:88;: :8 8E. 8&88: 8 5:08:
.18880g: “88888::
83 E 8 58on 8: E 8&28: .«o 8: 8: 8:882: 88 8C. 8 08035
came—E: 88:88
8: 80: he 80: game: 8: no :88: 8: Bo: 8:88;: :8 8E. 0888: .5: :m_8Q
58886800
85:36:89
.828 :o 88: 5:86:88 E 80:88:: 8 888 EB 85. E 80:88:: 8850
888.3
88.85 8:880:83 863 Game: 8: >5: 8:88;: :8 8E. 8:36qu wEEmBm
.Eﬁweqmz: E 88:08 negate: 5:36:83
:33 8: 8 888.. 8:36:53 8: Bo: 8:88;: :8 82. 8 SEEM
.8808038: 8888885
83 : 8 55ng: 8: E 5:36:88 mo 68— 8: 8:88;: :8 8C. 8 8:385:
883885: 80an
8: 80: Ho 80: .88on 8: .3 :88: 8: Bo: 8888:: :8 83. :EBEEEE .5: eminen—
:ESEEEA

 

 

8885...»:

8:00

 

8:8 .3 8:8 .2880

 

 

Code Definition Table Part 1

Figure 5

128

 

.8 3:338 8:883 5 888980
8.3 8: :83 00:88:08 8:380:83: 8: 8 80:8 :8 08:.

88:33:88 82

 

.8338 5 3838880800 88388883:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 83:8 38 8 .3HEU> E 8.3 8: :o 03: 8: 8 80:8 :8 8:. 8.3 8: :o .32
8838833: ::3 ::33 8388: 3 :88wwq3 m3 .BHEU> 838 :38
8 838 E50 33> 38 38080388: 8 80:8 :8 85. 33> 38080588:
8:390:83: BHEU> :3 :833 33 8080298 8080>5>E
::3 80:83 3803: :0 88385:: :33 358 8: 8 80:8 :8 8:. ::3 88:83 3883:
wEE3: 53::03: E 80:88on 3838883: 8: 8 80:8 :8 8:. mEE3: 5:38:03:
33538 83
88> :30: 35% 8:5» :o 38:83 ::33 BHEU> 8 80:8 :8 08:. 88:83 8388:
A053 8: :o 0.58 5
85 8 :888 on :38: 880
88:35:38 88:3 5 05:8: 8:80 85% BHEU> 95%
8: 5 8: mEE333 3305:: 88:38 8: 8 80:8 38 8E. wEE33sm 338::5
.3328 a 83:25.3 323:0
3:308: 8:03 85808: 00:08on 8:380:83: 8 80:8 :8 83. 8089808: Exm
53:03 5838800 b3 85:
5: 33: 95% 3 38 33: 8: 0:208 83 >38 8 .E 0w3w80 85% 5308800383
3.: 8:83:03 0833 .5 :830800 5838800 :3 8 80:0: :8 8:. 3838800

 

 

833...:

 

3088 0:53: 338 3.95% .5 3.38838: 8: 8 80:8 :8 8C.

858 8:53: 333

 

38:8 8853: 3.95:» 5 3.338888 8: 8 80:8 :8 8C.

888 8:53.:

 

395% 88: E 883038
3803: 8: 8 :8038 3838833: 8: 38— 83:32: :8 8E.

:8385:E
3803: 8 85:030.:

 

 

5:30:50 3803: 80808 5: 80: 5 80: 38. 3::
8: 3 8388: 8: :0 53808058 8: 30: 8333: 8x8 8?

 

:830800 3803:
:0 53808058

 

 

 

Code Deﬁnition Table Part 2

Figure 6

129

APPENDIX D

YOUTH CAN MOVE THE WORLD ADVERTISEMENTS

130

 

 

 

ppesenls
150th Can Move The World (YCMTW)

A one-year Youth Leadership
programme, sponsored by

'l'tii luttnnnriutuu

Ilium continuity
In collaboration with

Incl. llitmnsm or Emu

The YCMTW programme is in two parts:

A: 'li-alning of facilitators: Oct. 26 - 28,
and Nov. 16 - 18 at School of Nations. The
course focuses on youth issues - suicide, domestic
yiolence, poverty, prejudice, etc. This training is for youths l6 - 25 years. The youths
trained then become the facilitators of the second phase of the programme.

B: Facilitators return to their own communities and conduct a similar
programme weekly with their peers. This will continue weekly from Nov.'2001 tojuly
2002.

Programme is open to youths of all backgrounds. There are no fees for the course.

 

 

    

To APPLY CONTACT:

VARQA A FOUNDATION
120 Parade Street, Kingston, G/town, Tel: 226-7870 (day) Tel: 226-2732 (evening)
Deadline for applications Oct. 23, 2001

      

Figure 7: YCMTW 2001 Advertisement #1

131

 

VARQA FggyDATION

Youth Can Move The World (YCMTW)

      

X/fh
A one—year Youth Leadership programme, sponsored by The
International Bahai Community
In collaboration with IDCE, University of Guyana.

The YCMTW programme is in two parts:
A) Training of facilitators: October 26-28, and November
16-18 at School of Nations. The course focuses on Youth
issues - suicide, domestic violence, poverty, prejudice etc.
This training is for youth 16-25 years. The youth trained
then become the facilitators of the second phase of the
programme.

8) Facilitators return to their own communities and
conduct a similar programme weekly with their peers. This
will continue weekly from November, 2001 to July, 2002.

Programme is open to youth of all backgrounds.
There are no fees for the course.
To apply contact: Varqa Foundation, 120 Parade Street,
Georgetown,
Tel: 226-7870 (day) 226-2732(evening)
Deadline for applications October 23, 2001 .

 

 

 

Figure 8: YCMTW 2001 Advertisement #2

132

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