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The Ecology of Purposeful Living Across the Lifespan pp 73–92Cite as

Discovering the Possible: How Youth Programs Provide Apprenticeships in Purpose

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Abstract

Youth development programs are rich contexts in which teenagers build competencies and begin to gain direction for purpose. Youth in these programs work on projects over weeks or months to achieve meaningful goals (e.g., creating films, painting murals, lobbying public officials). Their high investment in this work helps them learn skills for navigating real-world challenges, achieving goals, and managing the strong emotions that accompany purposeful work. The roles youth hold in programs provide opportunities to enact a moral identity as someone who is responsible to others. These experiences awaken the possibility of purposeful action.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Names of youth, staff, and programs are pseudonyms.

  2. 2.

    Results from these studies have been reported in numerous publications (www.youthdev.illinois.edu).

  3. 3.

    There were times youth had conflicts. But the positive norms included expectations that conflicts be resolved.

  4. 4.

    Leaders also modeled these norms in their relationships with youth.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by generous grants from the William T. Grant Foundation. I would also like to thank Vanessa Gutiérrez, Aimee Rickman, Gina McGovern, Carolyn Orson, and Marcela Raffaelli for contributions to this research. We also thank Yollocalli Arts Reach for their excellent arts program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Reed W. Larson

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  1. Reed W. Larson
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Correspondence to Reed W. Larson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Anthony L. Burrow

  2. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA

    Patrick L. Hill

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Larson, R.W. (2020). Discovering the Possible: How Youth Programs Provide Apprenticeships in Purpose. In: Burrow, A., Hill, P. (eds) The Ecology of Purposeful Living Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52078-6_5

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