Values, knowledge and competencies that are important to youth development professionals
Abstract
The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to identify a list of values, competencies and knowledge components that members of an expert panel of youth development professionals believe to be necessary to successfully work with non-formal youth groups and volunteers that impact these youth, and(2) to develop a taxonomy (a list of job components) that a majority of the nation's youth serving agencies and organizations can adopt as their professional research and knowledge base. Participants were surveyed using a modified Delphi technique in three rounds of questionnaires to arrive at a consensus on what they as professionals viewed as essential and important to their day-to-day work. And, how would they classify a list of items/statements from previous studies done by the USDA-Cooperative Extension Service and the Academy for Youth Development as Value sets, Competency skills, and Knowledge areas from the youth development prospective. The youth development professionals came into agreement on 73 of the 82 items/statements as follows: (1) value - 14 items/statements, (2) competency - 20 items/statements and (3) knowledge - 41 items/statements. There was more difficulty among the youth development professionals reaching consensus on the “Importance” of each item/statement. Few professionals rated any of the items/statements as “Not Important”. The majority of the items/statements were rated “Essential or Important” and the difference there probably lies in each professional's work focus. The youth development professionals came into agreement on 62 of the 82 items/statements as to their “Importance” and are as follows: (1) essential - 9 items/statements, (2) important - 20 items/statements and (3) essential/important - 34 items/statements. The nine items/statements that youth development professionals deemed essential to their job were (1) respect,(2 )honesty, (3) interpersonal communication, (4) positive youth development, (5) ethics in working with youth, (6) confidentially, (7) accountability, (8) biased-free approach, and (9) continuous lifelong learning.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Peters, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Adult education|Continuing education|Agricultural education|Curricula|Teaching
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