Youth Development

AIR’s youth development work is based on the idea that evidence-based and practice-informed solutions can foster conditions for thriving youth and families, supportive schools, and community development. Our domestic and international youth development work includes many topics that are interrelated and contribute to thriving and equity, including how and where young people learn and develop.

AIR experts lead work in this area that includes but is not limited to:

  • School-based afterschool and expanded learning programming;
  • Community-based out-of-school time programming, including before and after school, as well as during the summer;
  • Community schools and other place-based initiatives;
  • STEM programming; and
  • Experiential learning, including play-based education, environmental education, arts programming, and mentoring.

Our youth development work is connected to AIR’s work on whole child learning and development, including social and emotional learning and related frameworks, school climate and conditions for learning, and other youth-serving systems.

Our Services

Our team of youth development experts inform practice and policy implementation and improvement by using knowledge gleaned from our work in measurement, research, evaluation, and technical assistance.

Supports for Improving Practice and Making Informed Policy Decisions

  • Data use and interpretation, reporting, goal-setting, and action-planning
  • Training, technical assistance, and coaching
  • Professional learning as well as resource and tool development that applies evaluation and research findings to real life contexts

Measurement, Evaluation, and Research

  • Survey development, psychometrics, administration, processing, and analysis
  • Rigorous implementation and outcome evaluations that answer questions about program practice and effectiveness
  • Research studies that yield generalizable knowledge and contribute to AIR’s field-building work

Latest Work

Project

An Opportunity to Do Better: Youth Pathways to Thriving

While communities have made progress in the last decade to reconnect youth to opportunities to thrive and build skills through school and employment, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens this progress. Now is the time to address this inequity through a learning agenda for opportunity youth. This brief explores the promise of adolescents as a force for good, reviews the evidence on programs intended to support opportunity youth in their transition to adulthood, and identifies a learning agenda to support opportunity youth on a path to thriving.
15 Jan 2021
Spotlight

Spotlight on the Science of Learning and Development

The science of learning and development (SoLD) is a cross-disciplinary body of knowledge that describes how people learn and develop. AIR is part of the SoLD Alliance, which serves as a resource to connect and support leaders in research, practice, and policy to transform America’s education systems and achieve equity and excellence.
22 Dec 2020
Report

S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation National Character Initiative Retrospective

Starting in 2019, AIR partnered with the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, to capture grantees’ experiences with the National Character Initiative. Specifically, through interviews and surveys, AIR aimed to describe grantees’ experiences implementing the grants and participating in the supports that were provided by the Foundation and expert consultants. Findings from the retrospective may be useful to other foundations as they decide how to fund and support youth-serving organizations.
Image of middle school students working on science project
2 Nov 2020
Q & A

A Quick Word with Jill Young on the Readiness Projects

The Readiness Projects—a partnership of the Forum for Youth Investment, the National Urban League, and AIR—advances work informed by science and grounded in practice. In this Q&A, Jill Young, senior researcher at AIR, discusses how the Readiness Projects can support equitable opportunities for thriving youth.
24 Aug 2020
Brief

COVID-19 and Whole Child Efforts: Reopening Update

Several national organizations have offered frameworks and resources for planning for the reopening school buildings closed due to COVID-19. Policymakers and practitioners will need a shared understanding of the common whole child terms and phrases as they plan and work to mobilize student supports. This resource provides definitions for key terms along with an analysis of the inclusion of these terms in the various reopening guidance documents.
Project

After School Matters 2020 Summer Program Analysis

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, After School Matters engaged in organization-wide planning and preparation efforts to move in-person programs online. After School Matters reenvisioned its summer 2020 program session to provide 517 remote learning programs to nearly 10,000 teens in the city of Chicago. After School Matters partnered with AIR to contextualize and better understand remote programming in three key topics: (1) teen experiences, (2) instructor experiences, and (3) program quality.
30 Mar 2020
Podcast

AIR Informs Episode #2: Opportunities for Learning and Development in Out-of-School Time

In this podcast, AIR managing director and youth development expert Dr. Deborah Moroney, based in Chicago, shares what parents should know about out-of-school time programs and resources to support students while they’re not in school.
Project

Science of Learning and Development in Practice

The science of learning and development is an emerging, cross-disciplinary body of knowledge that tells us how young people learn and develop. We partnered with seven national youth-serving organizations to learn about how they are aligning the guiding principles from the science of learning and development to their organizational and program practices.
Image of young teacher with students using magnifying glasses outside
14 Oct 2019
Brief

The Science of Learning and Development in Afterschool Systems and Settings

The SoLD Alliance is a collaborative effort to combine findings from diverse areas of research, from neuroscience to human development, into an integrated science of learning and development. It includes experts from AIR, EducationCounsel, the Forum for Youth Investment, Learning Policy Institute, Populace, and Turnaround for Children.
3 Jan 2019
Q & A

Meet the Expert: Deborah Moroney

Dr. Deborah Moroney specializes in bridging research and practice, having worked as a staff member for out-of-school programs early in her career. She’s written practitioner and organizational guides; co-authored the fourth edition of “Beyond the Bell®, A Toolkit for Creating High-Quality Afterschool and Expanded Learning Programs,” a seminal afterschool resource; and co-edited Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools: A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Approach to Supporting Students.
26 Nov 2018
Spotlight

Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools: A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Approach to Supporting Students

Safe and supportive school communities foster students’ social, emotional, and academic needs. Educators want actionable strategies and practices to ensure that all students can access equitable learning environments. Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools helps school leaders make sense of the various evidence-based resources and frameworks designed to support the whole child.
17 Jan 2017
ESSA

ESSA │Afterschool and Expanded Learning

Quality expanded learning opportunities extend learning and positive youth development beyond the school bell and engage students who might otherwise be left behind. There are opportunities in ESSA for states to fund innovative programs to create, strengthen, or maintain quality extended learning opportunities. AIR's work in the afterschool and expanded learning field supports the creation, evaluation, improvement, and maintenance of high-quality afterschool and expanded learning programs in a variety of ways.
Project

Mapping the National AfterSchool Association Core Competencies with Social and Emotional Learning Practices

National AfterSchool Association survey findings suggest that, while organizations and programs value social and emotional learning and many professionals implement SEL practice, many do not feel knowledgeable talking about SEL. NAA and AIR developed SEL to the Core: Building from Foundational Youth Development to Support Social and Emotional Learning as a support for afterschool professionals and leaders.
1 Jan 2017
ESSA

ESSA │Family and Community Engagement

Mounting evidence indicates that family engagement in education is a necessary component for positive student outcomes and overall school improvement. AIR uses a practical approach that is based on a framework grounded in research to build state, district, and school capacity, helping them to recognize their individual and collective responsibility for family engagement.
1 Jul 2016
Journal Article

Developing a Federal Research Agenda for Positive Youth Development: Identifying Gaps in the Field and an Effective Consensus Building Approach

The field of positive youth development (PYD) is at an important crossroads in scope and future research directions. This paper describes an effective consensus building process that representatives from 16 federal agencies used to develop a PYD product and research agenda.

19 Oct 2014
Report

Evaluation of the Coach Across America Sports-Based Youth Development Program - Final Report

Research shows that coaches have the ability to affect youths' decision-making. AIR researchers evaluated the impact of Coach Across America, a sports-based youth development program, on underserved youth nationwide over the course of the 2013-2014 program year.
Project

Early Childhood and Youth Development Studies Programs

The National Household Education Surveys Program within the National Center for Education Statistics assesses the nature and content of young Americans' educational experiences. A number of surveys administered over time cover all aspects of the learning process, such as school readiness and parental involvement. AIR provides expert support for the design, implementation, and analysis of several of these studies.

13 Apr 2011
Report

Listening Session Summary: Focus on Youth Enrichment, Youth Engagement, Youth Mentoring, and Positive Youth Development (San Francisco, CA)

This summary is one of ten reports from a series of public listening sessions held by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (IWGYP) and supported and facilitated by AIR.