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Culture and Development

The Evidence Base for Positive Peer Culture

This article explores the evidence base for Positive Peer Culture (PPC) which is a total system for developing positive youth cultures in youth serving organizations. It challenges a popular belief among some researchers that group programs which bring together troubled youth are inherently negative.

Positive Learning Framework

The Positive Learning Framework (PLF) model builds on the theoretical foundations of universal needs as described in the Circle of Courage. PLF offers a positive lens through which one can view students, behaviour, and instruction. This unique model draws on emerging findings in resilience research, restorative practices, and positive youth development.

Motivating Urban Youth

A roadmap for success with urban youth builds a sense of hope in both the adult and the young person.

Flexible as a Dancer, More Resilient Because of It

When asked once during an interview what her best quality is, Victoria Rowell simply responded with one word: Resilience.

Addressing the Challenge of Disenfranchisement of Youth

Understanding the role that poverty and racism play in the educational and socioeconomic barriers that confront racially and ethnically diverse youth is critical to affecting positive change with youth. Teaching principles, solutions, and basic concepts to make education a viable, life-giving experience for young people of color are discussed.

"Peer Pressure" and the Group Process: Building Cultures of Concern

Peer group treatment has been subject to two main lines of criticism. Some suggest any program which aggregates antisocial youth inevitably fosters negative peer influence. Others are concerned that certain peer programs are based on coercive peer confrontation. Positive Peer Culture [PPC] is an antidote to both of these varieties of toxic group cultures. The authors draw on group research, extensive clinical practice, and a strength-based value perspective to describe the specific process of developing positive group cultures.

CYC-Net

The world’s leading website for child and youth professionals is cyc-net.org which is hosted in South Africa. The founders of the site describe the history and scope of free resources available on this site which is visited by one million persons each year.

The Oneness of Humankind

The guiding principle behind the healing of racism is the Oneness of Humankind. This is not an old concept warmed over. It is knowledge about our collective capacity to reach deep into the human spirit and solve the most complex challenges of our time.

Chillihuani's Culture of Respect and the Circle of Courage

A Canadian anthropologist describes how “rituals of respect” permeate the indigenous culture of a remote mountainous village in Peru. When children’s needs for belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity are met, they thrive and achieve their full potential.

The Resilience Revolution: Our Original Collaboration

The Circle of Courage™ philosophy emerged from research on how Native American cultures reared respectful, responsible children without resorting to coercive discipline. It was first presented at international conferences of the Child Welfare League of America in Washington, DC, and the Trieschman Center in Boston. The model entered the mainstream of education and youth work with the 1990 publication of Reclaiming Youth at Risk by Larry Brendtro, Martin Brokenleg, & Steve Van Bockern. This article reviews the development of this resilience model over the past two decades.