Educating Youth in Developing Countries

Educating jejuneness in Developing CountriesJohn W. Gardner, former United States repository of Health, Education and Welf atomic number 18 stated Much preparation today is monu cordially ineffective. All too often we are giving unripened people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants (http//thinkexist.com/quotes/john_w._gardner/). Gardners statement expresses the fatality to educate children thoroughly by providing them with skills to harvest their own self-improvement. These skills include take aimership, team thrash, self-reliance and responsibility. more world-wide organizations stress on early days development by dint of education. Children are the generation most capable of carrying out unconditional changes such as serenity, development, and equity, due to time and materials being in their favor. When spring chicken are given the mean to educate themselves and acquire leadership skills, they are provided with an opportunity to make a positive contribution to their global society.Programs that focus on youth education and development through organized drill are pop in developed and create countries. Organizations range from summer encamps to after aim programs to international teaching scuttles. I work for an organization called Youth Leadership Camps Canada that specializes in functional with children ages 5-18 in an outdoor recreational surroundings to support in their leadership development. Our staff is trained in various recreation techniques including games facilitation, high ropes and waterfront activities, teamwork initiative tasks, and reflection in order to effectively convey important leadership and self-improvement techniques to children and jejunes. Through working at YLCC,I have discovered that play is an effective way to teach leadership skills in a practical and spicy manner. Children absorb concepts quickly through consider, and active learning helps them gain the effrontery to le ad among their peers when given the opportunity. I have seen positive takes and growth in children and teens that are vision impaired, children with mental development issues, children who are labeled at risk and children who are labeled norm and above average in their development.My experience working at YLCC has fueled my curiosity to discover similar programs and interrogation their methods and levels of success. This research paper go out explore factors influencing the need for development among third-world youth recreational education as a proved method of equipping youth with essential skills programs that educate youth through action, and criticisms of such programs.Factors Influencing the motif for Youth maturementWhen discussing the importance of rehabilitating and teaching youth, it is necessary to evaluate their living conditions and the factors that influence their need for development. Many children in developing countries live in undesirable conditions, suffer ing poverty and starvation, low success in school, and negligence from parents. Michael Justesen and Dorte Verners book titled Factors Impacting Youth victimization in Haiti discusses the state of matters among Haitian youth A series of factors predisposes a large proportion of youth to poverty, school dropout,3unemployment, early sexual initiation, teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, sexual and physical abuse, crime and violence, substance abuse and drug dealing, and social exclusion (Justesen, M Verner, D. 20073). Determining the factors that propel youth to unhealthy and unfulfilling conditions allows one to obtain to develop a solution to the problem. harmonize to Justesen and Verner, the sources of youth development hindrances are rooted in several aspects In many households absence of the draw or both parents, drug abuse, pressure for female adolescents to bear children, and domestic violence contribute to the challenges young people face on a daily basis (20073). Addressing and unde rstanding these factors and their sources is necessary if one has the bearing to work with youth and help them to work toward self-improvement.The World Banks Country Study titled Caribbean Youth Development discusses three factors contributing to the need for youth development individual characteristics, microenvironment, and macro environment. (The World Bank. 2003 28-42) Individual characteristics advert to the character and qualities of the person in question. For example, the study refers to the levels of self-esteem and shadeings of rage among youth in the Caribbean (2003 28). Youth who experience rage are more likely to engage in crime and violence, or use drugs, inebriant and tobacco. (2003 28) More than half of children who display rage-like behavior in the Caribbean have been either sexually or physically ab employ (2003 29). Microenvironment and macro environment refer to factors such as parental and4community influence, and sparing stances and position in society, respectively. (2003 30, 37) Institutions and individuals with whom youth make contact are very powerful influences in their lives (2003 35). exact connection with members of their microenvironment put up play a role in a youths development, and the individual demeanor they will adopt. Macro environment concerns itself with factors that determine a persons circumstance, such as gender or economic situation (2003 37). The three aforementioned factors cover varying aspects of a youths life, addressing elements both within and beyond an individuals control.Despite records that legitimate factors lead to disagreeable living conditions, hope remains that Haitian youth, and others to follow, will rise above their troubles and work as leaders, if given the proper direction Haitis history, combined with the countrys social and poverty indicators, show that youth should be seen non as a problem, but as a product of the family and community environment and and then should be treated as a potential solution to Haitis development challenges (2007 3), This statement advocates the idea of developing youth through education and leadership, allowing them to be divisors of change in their own lives and in their communities.Recreation and Youth Connections and ResultsPeople have participated in sport and recreation for hundreds of years, from simple game play in the schoolyard, to worldwide Olympic events. According to Martha Ewings article, The Role of Sports in Youth Development, Children learn5moral behaviour from engaging with others, watching the behaviour of others, and/or being taught ethical behaviour (Ewing, M.E et al. 200237). In this sense, ethical behaviour fuck be acquired through active learning in an interactive team environment. Ewings article suggests that youth underside learn moral behaviour and build character through participation in sport. Specifically, Ewing mentions that in examine children and their participation in physical education, it has be en proposed that children (a) develop physical skills(b) improve fitness (c) learn social and steamy skills (d) develop moral values and (e) acquire a better sense of self through increase perceived competence, self-esteem and self- cartel (2002 31). The essential skills gained from participation in sport work as an agent toward youth development and provide a solution from troublesome conditions. Through sports and team activities, children learn self-sufficiency, co-operation, and begin to believe that they are capable of being leaders.Recreational programs are sometimes government funded and provided within schools, plot of land others are non-governmental and extra-curricular, such as summer camp. Camp is often presented in the media as simply a place for children to have fun in the outdoors. However, summer camp provides youth with an opportunity to extend their own(prenominal) boundaries, be active, make connections, and gain confidence through learning new skills and inter acting with others. Christopher Thurbers study Youth Development Outcomes of the Camp Experience Evidence for6Multidimensional Growth discusses the technique for youth development used by summer campsPromoting the healthy development of young people adheres to two complementary theoretical orientations. stripe Science (e.g., Greenberg et al., 2003 Nation et al., 2003) aims to identify at-risk populations and alter individual characteristics that are precursors to unhealthy behaviors, such as school failure, drug use, and violence. Positive Youth Development (e.g., Catalano, Berglund, Ryan, Lonczak, and Hawkins, 2002 Larson, 2000) also seeks to reduce unhealthy behaviors, but by further the individual, social, and environmental characteristics-such as positive identity, social competence, and independence-that promote healthy development. Viewing young people as assets rather than liabilities also reflects the trend toward studying positive psychology and resiliency (e.g., Seligman , 2003 Werner and Smith, 2001), rather than focusing narrowly on pathology and risk (Thurber, C.A, et al. 2006 241).According to this study, summer camps break their education methods down into two categories. They evaluate not save the factors contributing to the need for development, but focus on methods of fostering healthy development in a positive manner. The harmony of discovering the origins of the problem with the process of intently working toward improvement and learning has proven to be successful(Researchers have) focused on children with identified problems, including emotional disturbances (Byers, 1979 Durkin, 1988, 1993), learning disabilities and social skills deficits7(see Mishna, Michalski, and Cummings, 2001, for a review), family dysfunction (Lewicki, Goyett, and Marr, 1996), chronic medical conditions (e.g., Zimmerman, Carter, Sears, and Lawson, 1987), delinquency (e.g., Castellano and Soderstrom, 1992), and gang involvement (Harris, Fried, and Arana, 1995). Re sults of these studies all support the conclusion that camp promotes childrens health and development and reduces the recurrence of referral problems.Summer camps and physical education are proven methods of guidance for youth in an active environment. The techniques used to increase a childs mental and physical health through activity can be used effectively to aid youth in developing countries to gain confidence and leadership skills.Programs Specializing in Recreational Education in Developing CountriesMany organizations have taken expose of the positive results that come from youth participation in organized activity. Programs such a Right to assemble and OA Projects focus on providing children with essential skills through engagement in team sports such as soccer. UNICEFs quietness Education program facilitates various workshops for school-aged youth, intending to teach qualities such as empathy, tolerance, communication, and co-operation (Fountain, S. 1999 17). Susan Founta ins article discussing training methods by UNICEF describes peace education among the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required to live and work in dignity (19991). Specifically, sport and physical education have been used in Rwandan schools as a vehicle for developing skills and attitudes of peace8(199917). grooming youth to work together as members of a team is a common goal among activity based NGOs like Right to mutation and OA Projects. Right to Play is based on the guiding dominion of inclusion, hoping to promote the involvement and acceptance of youth who are marginalized for various reasons, including gender, disability, and background (At a Glance, 2009 1). Right to Play also focuses on reintegrating youth affected by conflict into society health promotion and affection prevention education basic cognitive development and partnership with local community leaders and coaches to batten individual as well as community development (At a Glance, 2009 1) Similarly, OA Projects partners with local programs focused on promoting peace and rebuilding communities (www.oaprojects.org. About.) Interaction with the project country contributes to the organizations authenticity.The Outcome Results and CritiquesNearly every effort to aid in developing countries provokes critiques questioning its integrity and authenticity. One might question whether a child can actually grow and receive essential skills from play. While leadership skills are important, do these programs provide youth with the opportunities to exercise them fully, and enough to make changes in their lives and in their communities? Cora Burnetts Sports-for-Development Approaches in the South African Context A Case Study Analysis looks at sports in the school, community clubs, and South Africas Youth Development through Football (YDF) program. In her conclusion she suggests, the emphasis of9traditional male sports such as rugby, cricket and football, inevitably limited the opportunities for e quitable gender participation (YEAR 38). While Burnetts critique states that inclusion of members of the community created cumulation participation at the school level and afforded many rural learners the opportunity to participate in a variety of sports (year 39), focus lacked in addressing contextual priorities and appropriate needs-based education and training to creat(e) career pathways or enhanc(e) the employability office (with reference to the school sport assistants and contract workers) of vulnerable populations (year 39). Burnetts critiques address concerns that many inevitably share, questioning whether the issuance of activity-based programs is worth the means to present them.ConclusionIt goes without saying that every child deserves to enjoy life and feel the joy that comes with playing and being active. Programs that offer children an opportunity to grow through activity not only intend to expose war-affected youth to an experience of fun, but through the fun experi ence, show children how to work together, lead and take initiative. Whether in Canada or in the third-world, physical activity is proven to increase fitness, confidence, and teamwork and communication skills. It is suspect whether sports and activity-based programs have a consistently favorable outcome as providers of better opportunities for youth. However, it is undeniable that the end result of joy and confidence for a child is worthwhile. Children in developing countries deserve a childhood retributory as much as children in10developed countries do. Through organized activity and sport, children are given the opportunity to play and laugh, while learning valuable team and leadership skills. Sports-based programs are not designed to pave the pathway of a better future for third-world youth, but rather to provide them with the confidence and skills to consider their pathways, and equip themselves to think critically about the pathways they are on.