Page 225 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 225
mobilising the potential held by one’s entire linguistic repertoire ...
developmental assets (Benson et al., 2011) is usually emphasised, while the
5Cs/6Cs outcomes or indicators of positive youth development outcomes
(Lerner et al., 2005) are also recognised. The forty developmental assets
(Benson, 2003, pp. 198–199) which can facilitate positive youth outcomes
pertain to social relationships, interactions, experiences, and developmen-
tal processes. In four main categories, they are divided into 20 external as-
sets (i.e., environmental, contextual and relational features of socialising
systems) and 20 internal assets (i.e., skills, competencies and values). The
external asset categories include support (family support, positive family re-
lationships, other relationships with adults, a caring neighbourhood, a fa-
vourable school climate, parental involvement in schooling), empowerment
(community values, helping others, security), boundaries and expectations
(those within the family, those within school, those within neighbour-
hoods, adult role models, positive peer influence, high expectations) and
constructive use of time (creative activities, youth programmes, religious
community, time spent at home). The internal asset categories cover com-
mitment to learning (motivation to succeed, learning commitment, home-
work, connection to the school, reading for pleasure), positive values (care,
equality and social justice, integrity, honesty, responsibility, self-control),
social competencies (planning and decision-making, interpersonal compe-
tencies, cultural competencies, appropriate conflict resolution), and posi-
tive identity (self-esteem, positive opinion of personal future). When youth’s
strengths are aligned with developmental assets, the positive development
that results can be operationalised by the “Five Cs”/5Cs – Competence,
Confidence, Connection, Character and Caring (Bowers et al., 2010, p. 721).
Competence represents a positive view of one’s actions in domain-specific
areas, including social, academic, cognitive and vocational ones. Social
competence pertains to interpersonal skills (e.g., conflict resolution), cog-
nitive competence to cognitive abilities (e.g., decision making), academic
competence to school grades, attendance, and test scores, whereas voca-
tional competence involves work habits and career choice explorations, in-
cluding entrepreneurship. Confidence is defined as an internal sense of
overall positive self-worth and self-efficacy, one’s global self-regard, as op-
posed to domain-specific beliefs. Connection denotes an individual’s posi-
tive bonds with people and institutions that are reflected in bidirectional
exchanges between the individual and their peers, family, school and com-
munity, in which both parties contribute to the relationship. Character rep-
resents a person’s respect for societal and cultural rules, the possession of
225
developmental assets (Benson et al., 2011) is usually emphasised, while the
5Cs/6Cs outcomes or indicators of positive youth development outcomes
(Lerner et al., 2005) are also recognised. The forty developmental assets
(Benson, 2003, pp. 198–199) which can facilitate positive youth outcomes
pertain to social relationships, interactions, experiences, and developmen-
tal processes. In four main categories, they are divided into 20 external as-
sets (i.e., environmental, contextual and relational features of socialising
systems) and 20 internal assets (i.e., skills, competencies and values). The
external asset categories include support (family support, positive family re-
lationships, other relationships with adults, a caring neighbourhood, a fa-
vourable school climate, parental involvement in schooling), empowerment
(community values, helping others, security), boundaries and expectations
(those within the family, those within school, those within neighbour-
hoods, adult role models, positive peer influence, high expectations) and
constructive use of time (creative activities, youth programmes, religious
community, time spent at home). The internal asset categories cover com-
mitment to learning (motivation to succeed, learning commitment, home-
work, connection to the school, reading for pleasure), positive values (care,
equality and social justice, integrity, honesty, responsibility, self-control),
social competencies (planning and decision-making, interpersonal compe-
tencies, cultural competencies, appropriate conflict resolution), and posi-
tive identity (self-esteem, positive opinion of personal future). When youth’s
strengths are aligned with developmental assets, the positive development
that results can be operationalised by the “Five Cs”/5Cs – Competence,
Confidence, Connection, Character and Caring (Bowers et al., 2010, p. 721).
Competence represents a positive view of one’s actions in domain-specific
areas, including social, academic, cognitive and vocational ones. Social
competence pertains to interpersonal skills (e.g., conflict resolution), cog-
nitive competence to cognitive abilities (e.g., decision making), academic
competence to school grades, attendance, and test scores, whereas voca-
tional competence involves work habits and career choice explorations, in-
cluding entrepreneurship. Confidence is defined as an internal sense of
overall positive self-worth and self-efficacy, one’s global self-regard, as op-
posed to domain-specific beliefs. Connection denotes an individual’s posi-
tive bonds with people and institutions that are reflected in bidirectional
exchanges between the individual and their peers, family, school and com-
munity, in which both parties contribute to the relationship. Character rep-
resents a person’s respect for societal and cultural rules, the possession of
225
