Open AccessCultivating True Leaders: A Social Justice Curriculum for Youth Development Programs
Author(s) -
Kamaria C. Massey,
Alexander E. Chan,
Edwin Green,
Maru González
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of youth development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.191
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 2325-4017
pISSN - 2325-4009
DOI - 10.5195/jyd.2021.1189
Subject(s) - curriculum , experiential learning , pedagogy , competence (human resources) , positive youth development , experiential education , equity (law) , social justice , sociology , inclusion (mineral) , psychology , public relations , social psychology , political science , criminology , developmental psychology , law
In recent years, there have been increasing calls to intentionally center diversity, equity, and inclusion within positive youth development programs. True Leaders: Culture, Power and Justice is a 4-H curriculum designed to engage young people in understanding and applying social justice concepts with the ultimate aim of nurturing their sense of self-efficacy as they work to find solutions to pressing social issues. The True Leaders curriculum is shaped by the Five Cs of positive youth development—confidence, competence, connection, caring, and character—and a social justice youth development framework. Each lesson is grounded in the critical experiential learning model, which seeks to move participants through a process of hands-on learning about social justice concepts, critical reflection, and, ultimately, collective action. The True Leaders curriculum is intended for use with middle and high school-aged youth.