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Rachel Blum, USAID and Christy Olenik Caroline Fawcett Nancy Guerra Valerie Haugen from JBS International, Inc.

Examining the Evidence: Topics of interest to USAID in youth development & education. Rachel Blum, USAID and Christy Olenik Caroline Fawcett Nancy Guerra Valerie Haugen from JBS International, Inc. Purpose .

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Rachel Blum, USAID and Christy Olenik Caroline Fawcett Nancy Guerra Valerie Haugen from JBS International, Inc.

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  1. Examining the Evidence: Topics of interest to USAID in youth development & education Rachel Blum, USAID and Christy Olenik Caroline Fawcett Nancy Guerra Valerie Haugen from JBS International, Inc.

  2. Purpose • To provide USAID’s Office of Education with information on the latest research regarding youth workforce development, youth education in conflict environments, and holistic or cross-sector youth development. • To provide USAID’s Office of Education with support in setting priorities for a youth focused research and evaluation agenda. • Work supports USAID Education Strategy Goals 2& 3, as well as the impending USAID Youth in Development Policy.

  3. Literature Scan *Numbers in each review overlap as some studies were considered evidence in more than one topic area

  4. Types of Studies *The youth workforce development scan also included 3 meta-analyses not listed here.

  5. Workforce Development Initial Findings • Positive impacts on employment and earnings • Less clear about rural youth and university educated youth • Youth are gaining skills that foster outside employment including interviewing, resume development, and job search • Entrepreneurship strategies seem to increase gaining targeted knowledge and skills in customer service, marketing of products, accounting, record-keeping, and understanding the market • Youth are also acquiring life skills like positive work ethic, financial literacy, and other developmental assets (e.g., honesty, responsibility, decision-making) • Institutional capacity development trends include labor market assessments, national-local partnerships, flexible short term training and active participation of youth

  6. Potential Research and Evaluation Topics • Most essential, cost-effective components for youth in general • Most essential, cost-effective components for rural youth • Most essential, cost-effective components for highly educated youth • Link between life/soft skills and employment • How programs can reach scale and sustainability • What strategies are effective at integrating youth into value chains

  7. Youth Education in Conflict Initial Findings • Access to education including classrooms, community centers, and non-formal learning groups. • Positive impact reported in reading, writing and math skillsafter access to basic education. • Youth are gaining employability and life skills. • Positive feelings and attitudes and also increased healthy behaviors. • Positive impact on the longer-term outcomes of less violence and increased tolerance and feelings of belonging and empowerment. • Long-term outcomes achieved through multi-component interventions: employment, psychosocial, peace-building, and conflict mediation.

  8. Potential Research and Evaluation Topics • What works at increasing youth access to education • Link between youth education and country stability/mitigation of violence • Link between youth employment and youth crime or violence • What works to build youth-friendly systems • What makes some youth more resilient than others

  9. Holistic, Cross-sector Youth Development Initial Findings • A broad set of academic and social-emotional skills predict academic achievement, positive social behavior, and resilience for youth across cultures and countries. • As youth get older, these skills are complemented by specific technical, vocational, and health knowledge and skills (often called life skills) to facilitate the transition to adulthood. • These skills and behaviors represent short-term developmental outcomes of PYD interventions; these short-term outcomes predict long-term, sector-based outcomes. • These socio-emotional skills, academic skills, life skills, and behaviors can be improved through a range of different programs including school-based curricula, out-of-school training, and engagement with youth organizations. • Cross-agency and cross-sector collaborations, although difficult to implement, produce the most enduring effects for PYD.

  10. Potential Research and Evaluation Topics • Should youth programming be universal or based on youth needs/risk factors • What short term outcomes serve as milestones for long term outcomes • What factors impact young people’s decision to engage in risky behaviors • What assets do youth need at (10-15 yrs.) vs. (16-19 yrs.), vs. (20-29 yrs.) • The impact of youth engagement in program design and implementation • What benefits can be gained from cross-system, cross-sector collaborations

  11. Questions & Answers

  12. Thank You Rachel Blum – rblum@usaid.gov Christy Olenik – colenik@jbsinternational.com http://www.jbsinternational.com/site/Pages/global-usaid-youth.aspx

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