Youth Development Insight University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development blog on issues in our field

Photo of Rebecca Goldberg

Developing Career Pathways for Youth Workers

By Rebecca Goldberg—Monday, January 9, 2012

There is a perpetual discussion in the youth work field about how to create career pathways and other growth opportunities for staff working in youth programs. We have perhaps millions of people employed across the country in a variety of youth programs ranging from before and after school to out- of-school time to youth development to summer programs and camps. Most of these jobs are part-time, and if they are full-time, the pay is low to moderate and growth opportunities are limited. How do we create more growth opportunities for youth workers? What pathways might we develop to help youth workers pursue a career in the field? More


Photo of Joyce Walker

Digital media: New literacy finds a place in out-of-school time

By Joyce Walker—Monday, December 5, 2011

I met Nichole Pinkard in October and she inspired me! She genuinely got me excited about podcasts, video production, computer graphic design and digital sound production. And hey, I'm a former high school English teacher. How did she do it? She grabbed my attention when she shifted the emphasis off learning technical skills and put the emphasis on mastering creative and innovative digital literacies for the 21st century. How does it relate to our work with youth? More


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Happy New Year!

Next Gen begins the conversation about career pathways this year with Rebecca Goldberg's blog describing a program that helps young people gain their footing in the field of education--wouldn't a similar program help young people on the path to youth work? We'll continue the career pathways conversation in February and March.

In April we’ll be blogging “live” from the NAA Convention in Dallas where Next Gen will run a track of seven workshops as well as a reception. Browse the schedule! We hope you’ll be there, but if not, the blog will give you a glimpse of the content.

Through the summer, blogs and resources will focus on navigating the role of higher education in youth work, and in later months practitioners in the field will blog about navigating practice. We look forward to your posts to the monthly topics and creating a national dialogue about all the important and exciting things evolving in the youth work field.

The Next Generation Youth Work Coalition brings together individuals and organizations dedicated to developing a strong, diverse after-school and youth development workforce that is stable, prepared, supported and committed to the well being and empowerment of children and youth.

Next Gen focuses on advancing 5 key areas to build strong workforce support systems:

  • Standards and competencies
  • Professional development and training resources
  • Learning delivery systems
  • Career ladders and compensation guidelines
  • Research and evaluation systems

The Next Gen Coalition Partners—individuals and organizations—have 3 primary roles:
  1. Provide thought leadership around cutting edge practices, research and policy
  2. Generate lively discussion and exchange of ideas about the field of youth work.
  3. Share resources to inform and educate youth work professionals.

New Postings

We encourage posting of new publications and resources to share with our national network of youth work professionals.

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