BY VALERIE HD KILLEBREW
In 2022, the team at Creative Generation, in collaboration with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), spent time with hundreds of members of the BGCA community, specifically those who were interested in artistic, cultural, and creative learning in their Clubs. While at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s 2022 National Conference in Chicago, IL, Creative Generation held space for dialogue on the impact of BGCA Arts programs across the country. We wanted to know:
What impacts are Arts programs having on youth and communities through Boys & Girls Clubs?
To help answer this question, qualitative data was collected via one-on-one interviews conducted at the Creative Generation booth at BGCA’s National Conference. Twenty-nine interviews were captured throughout the conference. Each interview ranged from five to fifteen minutes in length.
INTERPRETING STORIES
Based on the content of responses, each interview was coded to align to the “ABCs of Student Experience” (Carver, 1997) is a conceptual model used to illustrate the benefits of experiential learning from both an educational and youth development perspective. Carver’s proposed goals for positive youth experiences are to develop youth’s personal Agency, create a sense of Belonging, and establish Competency:
Agency: Developing a young person’s individual agency is defined as “allowing a young person to become more powerful change agents in their lives and communities, increasing recognition and appreciation for their power within themselves, and enabling them to use this power to generate activity” (Carver, 1995; 1997).
Belonging: A sense of belonging can be defined as when youth “see themselves as members with rights and responsibilities, power, and vulnerability and learn to act responsibly, considering the best interests of themselves, other individuals, and the group as a whole” (ibid.).
Competency: Referring to “the development of skills, acquisition of knowledge, and the attainment of the ability to apply what is learned in a wide variety of areas” (ibid.).
Carver’s empirical study evidences the ABC model to be a justified tool for assessing youth experience from both the staff and youth perspectives. It is also implied that the youth experience is one that is both a process and outcome. The interviews that took place at the 2022 BGCA National Conference provided shining examples of Clubs across the nation aligning the goals of experiential learning with positive youth experiences that use the arts as a process for cultivating Carver’s ABC model.
BIG TAKEAWAYS
The following key findings were found across the interviews of Club staff, leadership, and youth members:
Centering Youth Voice: Across the interviews, providing opportunities for youth voice was one of the most commonly discussed youth development practices. Interviewees shared how these opportunities have been embedded into their arts programming to accomplish important long term goals for youth, such as having a sense of belonging, the ability to communicate and express themselves, and preparation for adulthood.
Personal Connections: Another theme shared across interviews is one of making personal connections, often ones that have lasting impact for years. Each young person interviewed talked about the power of a personal connection they had made through the Club, either with other youth or with a caring staff member who provided new opportunities for them, often creating a sense of belonging in the arts program and Club. Favorite memories often held by staff members were ones of a personal connection they either saw happening through their arts programming or they were able to make themselves.
Community Engagement: Many interviewees discussed how their arts programming allowed them to engage with their community. These connections were primarily made during or through culminating experiences and/or events. Many interviews include details about the importance of meaningful culminating experiences as they provide youth an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and passions and engage with their community, sharing their ideas and messages.
Pathway to College and Workforce Readiness: Another prevalent theme discussed across interviews was how arts programming in Clubs provides valuable exposure and skill building opportunities connected to college and workforce readiness. Many Club staff talked about how their arts program provides participants opportunities to see viable career opportunities in the fields of arts and culture as well as build skills and competency related to college and career readiness through entrepreneurship ventures. All of the six youth members who interviewed talked about how their experience in the arts programming at their Club allowed them to see themselves and grow as performers.
Through each story shared by the interviewee, it is clear how valuable the arts and creative experiences are to Club programming, the development of Club members, and the enrichment of communities. As Clubs move through the COVID-19 pandemic, arts programming offers support in rebuilding efforts: both in terms of offering relevant and meaningful programmatic experiences where young people can reflect, process and grow, as well as recruitment incentives for new youth and staff. Interviewees note how the arts provide a space to belong and a space to become for both adults and young people, a goal which remains vitally important to the mission of Boys & Girls Clubs across communities.
LISTEN NOW!
Take a moment and listen to these inspiring stories from youth and adults across the globe!
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Killebrew, V. HD. (2022, October 26). Arts Impact Stories: Boys & Girls Club of America. Creative Generation Blog. Creative Generation. Retrieved from https://www.creative-generation.org/blogs/arts-impact-stories-boys-and-girls-club-of-america