40 Assets for Youth Development: Bagged Lunch and a Drop of Oil, Multiplying Resources for Urban Ministry, VI
A Framework for Developing Assets
+ Asset Mapping in a youth development context:
Based on research involving over 2 million young people since 1989, the Search Institute has identified “40 Developmental Assets” as a framework for mapping assets for youth development.
The 40 assets framework is not meant to be exhaustive, but helps shine a light on the resources “in your hand” and assess how best to utilize them. The 40 Developmental Assets are:
“concrete, common sense, positive experiences and qualities essential to raising successful young people in our culture.”
They have been validated with research and both faith-based and secular youth agencies serving in the community.
+ Asset Categories
Youth development assets fall within two basic categories: those external to individual young people and those internal to them.
1. External to individual youth
… A) Support
… B) Empowerment
… C) Boundaries & Expectations
… D) Constructive use of Time (opportunities)
2. Internal to individual youth
… E) Commitment to Learning
… F) Positive Values
… G) Social Competencies
… H) Positive Identity
+ External Assets
The 40 assets align within those categories as follows:
A) Support
… 1) Positive family support
… 2) Positive family communication
… 3) Other adult relationships
… 4) Caring neighborhood
… 5) Caring school climate
… 6) Parent involvement in schooling
B) Empowerment
… 7) Community values youth
… 8) Youth as resources
… 9) Service to others
… 10) Safety
C) Boundaries & Expectations
… 11) Family boundaries
… 12) School boundaries
… 13) Neighborhood boundaries
… 14) Adult role models
… 15) Positive peer influences
… 16) High expectations
D) Constructive Use of Time
… 17) Creative activities
… 18) Youth programs
… 19) Religious community
… 20) Time at home
+ Internal Assets
E) Commitment to Learning
… 21) Achievement motivation
… 22) School Engagement
… 23) Homework
… 24) Bonding to school
… 25) Reading for pleasure
F) Positive Values
… 26) Caring/compassion
… 27) Equality and social justice
… 28) Integrity
… 29) Honesty
… 30) Responsibility
… 31) Restraint
G) Social Competencies
… 32) Planning and decision making
… 33) Interpersonal competence
… 34) Cultural competence
… 35) Resistance skills
… 36) Peaceful conflict resolution
H) Positive Identity
… 37) Personal power
… 38) Self-esteem
… 39) Sense of purpose
… 40) Positive view of personal future
+ Ideas for building developmental assets.
This is part 6 of 7 in a series based on the curriculum Jeremy Del Rio wrote for last year’s Urban Youth Workers Institute Reload training events: “Bagged Lunch and a Drop of Oil: Multiplying Re$ource$ for Urban Ministry”.
Click here to purchase the workshop CD from the UYWI Store. You can download the powerpoint slides for free (PDF), along with the teaching notes (PDF).
