By Kate Walker I recently attended the annual meeting for the Society for Research on Adolescence where my mentor Reed Larson was invited to reflect on his influential research career in youth development. Reed first got interested in adolescence because he saw it as a critical period of awakening. Yet he noticed that most research focused on problems more than development, and he discovered that youth programs were powerful spaces for this awakening and development to occur. These insights propelled an impressive body of research that has tremendous implications for our work with and on behalf of young people. Young people’s daily experiences and emotions With his mentor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi , Reed began by studying adolescents’ daily experiences and emotions, pioneering the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) where young people were prompted (with beepers back then!) to report on their feelings and the dynamics of their experiences in different domains in their daily lives. He exp
By Allison Hansen When you think of "art," what comes to mind? Maybe it's the timeless beauty of classical paintings and sculptures, or the profound messages conveyed through art installations like the statue, Dignity: of Earth and Sky . Or perhaps you envision the playful creativity showcased in youth exhibitions. The reality is, art encompasses all these aspects—beauty, power, playfulness—and much more. Art includes drawing, painting, sculpture, creative writing, dance, music, theater, fashion, makeup, interior design, and numerous other disciplines. The National Core Arts Standards assert that engaging with the arts doesn't just develop artistic skills; it fosters collaboration, critical thinking, social competence, brain development, creative problem-solving, innovation, emotional regulation, creativity, and curiosity—qualities often categorized as "21st century skills," "social emotional skills," or "soft skills." Ultimately, arts i