By Jeremy Freeman For the past few years, the research around developmental relationships has formed a backbone for guiding youth development practices. The research has surfaced numerous times on our Youth Development Insight blog. Yet, the five domains of developmental relationships (outlined below), have applications even beyond our work with young people. If we hold up the framework of developmental relationships to our volunteer management approaches, we'll find that many of the key elements that strengthen youth-adult relationships can also empower our volunteers. Megan Franks, a 4-H Youth Development colleague in Louisiana, notes in her article titled "Creating a volunteer program that empowers volunteers" , that empowered volunteers often become more involved in the organization and provide greater impact. However, she adds that many volunteer management practices are formal, rigid, and don’t allow for shared power. Many of the empowerment strategies that Megan...
Our youth development educators bridge research and practice. In this blog, they offer their views on what's happening in the field of youth development, with an eye to evidence-based research written by themselves and others in our field. We welcome your comments.