Opening Pathways: Youth in Latin America

Transcription

CONTENTS
Opening Pathways:
Youth in Latin America
Abriendo Caminos: Jóvenes en América Latina
Mary Agnes Hamilton
Stephen F. Hamilton
with Davydd J. Greenwood
January 2011
n Cali, Colombia: Casas Francisco Esperanza, Fundación Paz y Bien
n San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina: Por un Mañana, Fundación Gente Nueva
n Buenos Aires, Argentina: Terminalidad, Fundación SES
Opening Pathways: Youth in Latin America | 1
Chiapas and the Federal District, Mexico: Jóvenes Constructores de la Comunidad n
FINAL REPORT TO JACOBS FOUNDATION
Acknowledgements
Opening Pathways: Youth in Latin America, (Abriendo Caminos: Jóvenes en América Latina),
is a Final Report to Jacobs Foundation on an action research project of Cornell University,
July 2009 – December 2010. Stephen F. Hamilton, Human Development, is Principal
Investigator; Co-Principal Investigators are Mary Agnes Hamilton, Project Director, Family
Life Development Center; and Davydd Greenwood, Anthropology.
Jacobs Foundation staff supported our vision and plans throughout the project. They linked
us to potential Latin American partners and provided encouragement and advice.
We are deeply grateful to our Latin American partners for taking a leap of faith to collaborate
with us on this innovative action research initiative over the past year:
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina: Por un Mañana, Fundación Gente Nueva
Buenos Aires, Argentina: Terminalidad, Fundación SES
Cali, Colombia: Casas Francisco Esperanza, Fundación Paz y Bien
Chiapas and the Federal District, Mexico: Jóvenes Constructores de la Comunidad (JCC)
You opened your doors to us, in hopes that together we could shed light on how to make
communities a better place for youth in transition. The 9-month gestation period after the
first Cartagena conference has given us a good start. Wiser because of our work together, we
are now able to take surer next steps on that journey.
The energy, cultural awareness, analytical and creative talents, communication skills and
Spanish language fluency of our Cornell research assistants advanced our action research
and relationships with our Latin American partners. Three graduate research assistants
contributed to this project: Diego Rios Zertuche, Carmen Gutiérrez Solano, and Alexis Arthur.
Three undergraduate research assistants also contributed: Ana Goya Arce, Maria del Mar
Zamora Dominguez, and Abdiel Ortiz. Our Cornell administrative team included Lisa Lyons,
a patient problem solver who handled the intricate administrative details of this international
project. Kirstin Gasteiger and Peter Farley provided unending and timely support in all
administrative matters. Patricia Thayer generously helped with many tasks, especially
preparations for the conferences. Indeed we are grateful to the Family Life Development
team for their support. The graphic talents of Barbara Wells make the products effective and
attractive.
Funded by Jacobs Foundation.
Cornell Youth in Society Program, Family Life Development Center, College of Human
Ecology, Cornell University
www.youthinsociety.human.cornell.edu
2 | Abriendo Caminos: Jóvenes en América Latina
CONTENTS
1 | Project Overview
Purposes of the Project
5
Institutions Supporting Transitions to Adulthood
5
Action Research: Rationale, Key Principles
7
Youth and the Transition to Adulthood in Latin America
8
2 | Getting Started
The Partners
12
Search Conference
22
3 | Action Research Activities and Results
24
4 | November 2010 Conferences Synthesis Conference
31
Dissemination Conference
42
5 | Conclusions
Learning About the Framework and Transition
47
Reflections on Action Research
51
Next Steps
56
Appendices
A |Case Study Template
60
B |Synthesis Conference Participants
62
C |Synthesis Conference Agenda
63
D |International Dissemination Conference Participants
66
E | International Dissemination Conference Agend
67
ABRIENDO CAMINOS: JÓVENES EN AMÉRICA LATINA
1 | PROJECT OVERVIEW
Purposes of the Project
The project was designed to explore the question: How can new institutions be created that
build the critical developmental assets young people need to make a successful transition to
adulthood in a global economy? It entailed collaboration with participants in four selected
programs in Latin America on action research that combined the perspectives and insights
of key stakeholders with those of the investigators. The program partners’ primary concern
was with strengthening their programs through action research. The investigators shared
this concern but had a second explicit purpose: to use action research as a means of learning
both about the specific programs involved and about the question guiding the project. We
hope the findings reported here will aid people in the programs in improving their practice
and, by revealing the programs’ key features, strengths, and limitations, will also aid other
practitioners engaged in similar endeavors, and will inform scholars and policy makers
concerned with the transition to adulthood.
Institutions Supporting the Transition to Adulthood
Around the world, adulthood is beginning later in the life course as more young people
prolong their education and postpone parenthood, creating an extended period of life after
young men and women have matured physically but before they assume a full range of adult
roles.1 This trend responds to the escalation of educational requirements for productive
employment. But a prolonged transition from adolescence to adulthood does not provide
equal opportunities for all.2 Poor youth without access to family support, education or
well-paid jobs may be relegated to one of two contrasting paths to adulthood, both inimical to
their optimal development. Some find their paths to adulthood blocked; they cannot enroll
in post-secondary education or earn enough to become independent of their parents and start
their own families. For them this stage of life is largely wasted and can lead to frustration,
social upheaval, migration, or worse: violence, crime, addiction, ill health, even terrorism.
Other poor youth are prematurely burdened with adult roles as parents and breadwinners
1.Lloyd, C.B. (Ed.) (2005). Growing Up Global: The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing
Countries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
2.Hamilton, S.F., & Hamilton, M.A. (2006). School, work, and emerging adulthood. In J.J. Arnett &
J.L. Tanner (Eds.), Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
that they can barely manage to perform and that leave them with no opportunities to build
developmental assets. For them, adolescence is not prolonged but a truncated stage in their
abrupt, premature, but only partial transition to adulthood: they assume the adult role of
parent with inadequate education, which constrains their capacity to support a family.
The transition to adulthood is defined by changes in the institutional roles young
people perform. It is distinct from previous life course transitions, which are marked
by physiological changes. Scholars of the life course have identified “structural lag”3 as
a phenomenon at the older end of the life course, when healthy elders remain employed
past the typical age of retirement and devote their wisdom and energy to community
organizations and social causes rather than withdrawing into a life of leisure. Structural lag
occurs when prevailing social institutions no longer match the behavior and meet the needs
of the people who inhabit them. Institutions that have traditionally fostered the transition to
adulthood also manifest structural lag;4 they no longer function well for all or even a majority
of youth. Residential universities and colleges exemplify such an institution. They are ideally
structured to give young people both increased independence from their parents and needed
adult support, immersion in peer relations and preparation for adult employment. Yet even in
the United States, which pioneered mass higher education, only a minority enjoys enrollment
in such institutions.
Even in Latin American countries where higher education has been more limited, it has
become more difficult for young people to enter full-time employment and earn enough
to establish themselves as independent adults and to support families of their own. Being
young and lacking educational credentials relegates them to low-paid, unstable jobs, to the
underground economy, or to no jobs at all.5 The greatest challenges are found, as always,
among the world’s youth (defined here as ages 15-24) living in extreme poverty, who are most
likely to be without either employment or education.6
In a recent book chapter,7 we made the case that institutional innovation is needed to support
the transition to adulthood, especially for poor youth. The chapter describes promising
or emerging institutions (apprenticeship in the former East Germany, YouthBuild USA,
Community Cleaning Service, and Tap and Reposition Youth, both in Kenya) to illustrate
how they support the transition to adulthood of low-income youth. These institutions are
3.Riley, M. W., Kahn, R. L., & Foner, A. (Eds.). (1994). Age and structural lag: Societies’ failure to provide
meaningful opportunities in work, family, and leisure. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
4.Hamilton, S.F., & Hamilton, M.A. (2009). The transition to adulthood: Challenges of poverty and
structural lag. In R.M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology, (3rd ed.),
Volume 2, Contextual influences on adolescent development, pp. 492-526. New York: Wiley.
5.Lloyd, 2005, chap. 5
6.United Nations (2007). World Youth Report 2007. Young People’s Transition to Adulthood: Progress
and Challenges. New York: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2007.
7. Hamilton & Hamilton, 2009
well positioned to build developmental assets that are critical to successful adulthood in the
twenty-first century, namely: sense of purpose and agency, including having both a life plan and
the confidence to enact it; human capital or the competence needed to work productively; and
social capital, the personal connections that help a person achieve goals. Our analysis of these
promising institutions found shared structural features that promote these developmental
assets: they are public-private partnerships that combine learning and earning, provide
responsible social roles and opportunities for youth leadership and civic engagement; they
proliferate pathways to the future; and they offer mentoring.
The Abriendo Caminos project was designed to test and refine this conceptual framework
of developmental assets and structural features. We wished to know whether these elements
would be evident in programs in Latin America, whether others might exist that we had not
previously noted, and how these elements are created and manifested.
Action Research: Rationale, Key Principles
After learning and writing about promising programs in Africa, we (the Hamiltons) became
curious about whether programs in Latin America might yield insights into how to create
more effective institutions to support the transition to adulthood. However, we do not speak
Spanish (or Portuguese) and we did not wish to conduct research as complete outsiders. One
reason for conducting action research was to reverse the conventional relationship between
researchers and “subjects,” make it possible for the people engaged in promising programs to
identify the questions of greatest interest to them and to take leadership in conducting the
research. We became advisors and supporters, enabling program stakeholders to do their
research, while also gaining knowledge about issues of interest to us from their work and from
our interactions with them. Extending our previous collaborations with Davydd Greenwood
to this project added his deep experience and expertise in action research and his fluency in
Spanish.
Action research has a wide variety of definitions and applications.8 In this project, the research
questions were identified by a team representing each program and the collection and analysis
of data were also done by practitioners and participants, with the support of the Cornell
investigators and of “local researchers,” people in each community with graduate degrees and
expertise in social science research. Action research includes both action and research in a
continuous loop: research is conducted about action and action is informed by research. The
relationship is more reciprocal and recurrent than simply doing research, then taking action.
Action research in this project was conducted in a partnership including the Cornell team and
local researchers, program staff, participants, and other stakeholders. Each of these partners
8. Greenwood, D.J., & Levin, M. (2007). Introduction to action research: Social research for social
change (second edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
brings a different perspective and a different set of competencies to the project. They are not
all involved in the same way. Dialog and negotiation among the partners are critical to action
research. Disagreement is inevitable. Understanding and working through disagreements is
an important part of the process.
The data used in action research can come from many sources, formal and informal. In this
project, interviews and questionnaires were predominant methods in two programs, while
observations of youth meetings, staff meetings, and youth activities became a more important
source of data in the other two programs.
Research about human behavior is commonly arrayed along a spectrum, with
laboratory-based experiments viewed as most rigorous and non-experimental field research,
especially when conducted in a participatory manner, viewed as far less rigorous. Our
position is that if research is to be genuinely useful as a guide to action and a means of
checking on whether action has had its intended effects, it must be high-quality research. Bad
research, in fact, has more serious consequences when it is linked to action than when it is
only published for other researchers to read. We acknowledge that the findings of the action
research undertaken as part of this project are firmly rooted in the places where the research
was done; they cannot be generalized to other locations and populations (i.e., external validity
is limited). The same is true, but often unacknowledged, of supposedly more rigorous
research conducted in laboratories that are unreal by design.9 The utility of this study
comes from its insights into particular situations and the stimulus these insights provide for
investigations into other situations, not from a presumed generalizability.
Youth and the Transition to Adulthood in Latin America
The countries in which we found our partners, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, are, in
a global perspective, developed and prosperous. According to the World Bank, all three
rank among the top 30 nations by gross domestic product (GDP). Their rankings by per
capita GDP are, respectively, 43, 71, and 46 (of 213 countries). Like the United States,
however, these countries have large populations of very poor people; the youth we are most
concerned about are from these populations. The magnitude of the population living in
poverty is high because rates of income inequality in Latin America are among the world’s
highest. One measure of income inequality is the ratio of income of the wealthiest 10% of
the population to the income of the poorest 10%. That ratio in the middle of this decade
was 60.4 for Colombia, 31.6 for Argentina, and 21 for Mexico. Using this measure, 18 of the
25 countries in the world with the highest income inequality are in Latin America.10 There is
9. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
10. http://justf.org/blog/2010/06/08/income-inequality-latin-america-today
some evidence that inequality in Latin America is easing somewhat in this decade after sharp
increases in the two previous decades.11
Throughout Latin America, poverty afflicts the young more than the adult population. In
2002, 45% of 15-19 year-olds were classified as poor, compared to 33% of people 30 years and
older. Poverty is highly related to location and ethnicity, falling most heavily on youth in rural
areas and urban slums and on youth of African and indigenous descent.12
Youth population. The proportion of youth in the Latin American population reached a
peak in the 1970s and has been declining since. In 2005, youth between the ages of 15 and 24
accounted for 18.5% of the total population of Latin America. That proportion was 16.7%
in Argentina, 18.5% in Colombia and 18.0% in Mexico. Declining birthrates will lower this
proportion in the region and in all three countries over the coming decade.13 As youth move
into young adulthood, succeeded by smaller cohorts of children and youth, the proportion of
the population in dependent status (children and the elderly) will become smaller than the
potentially productive cohort of young adults.14 The proportion of the growing young adult
cohort that is in fact productive will depend on the availability of jobs and on the human
capital that those young adults possess.
Education. Most Latin American countries have made significant gains in educational
enrollment over the past two decades, especially at the primary level, and they have been
so successful at overcoming gender differences that female enrollment surpasses male at
the secondary and post-secondary levels. Major challenges include: increasing retention,
promotion, and completion rates; increasing enrollment in secondary and post-secondary
education; reducing gaps between rich and poor and between urban and rural populations;
and improving educational quality.15 Earnings gains associated with educational attainment
11. Gasparini, L.; Cruces, G.; & Tornarolli, L. (2009). Recent Trends in Income Inequality in Latin America.
Paper prepared for CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Planta, Argentina. Accessed
December 1, 2010 at http://www.nip-lac.org/uploads/Leonardo_Gasparini.pdf
12. United Nations, 2007, p. 57.
13. United Nations, 2007, Table 2.1, p. 48
14. Trabajo decente y juventud en América Latina 2010 (2010). Lima: OIT/ Proyecto Promoción del
Empleo Juvenil en América Latina (Prejal), Gráfico 1, p. 18. Accessed December 1, 2010 at http://
www.ilo.org/employment/Whatwedo/Publications/lang--en/WCMS_146296/index.htm
15. Seelke, C.R. (2007). Overview of Education Issues and Programs in Latin America. CRS Report to
Congress (RS22778). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Accessed December 1, 2010
at http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS22778.pdf; di Gropello, E. (Ed.) (2006). Meeting the Challenges
of Secondary Education in Latin America and East Asia: Improving Efficiency and Resource Mobilization.
Washington, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank.
Accessed December 1, 2010 at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPREGTOPEDUCATION/
Resources/Meeting-Challenges-of-Secondary-EDU.pdf; United Nations, 2007.
are high, providing an incentive for remaining in school longer. However, those returns are
lower for children in poor families, probably reflecting the lower-quality schools most attend.16
Employment. Youth employment and unemployment are difficult to measure in all countries.
Youth jobs tend to be part-time and short-term. Movement is frequent from job-to-job, in
and out of the labor force. Many youth work in the informal economy, eluding enumeration.
Reflecting the low status of youth in Latin American labor markets, 69% of employed 15-19
year-olds worked in “low-productivity occupations” (unskilled, self-employed, domestic
service, very small firms) in 2002, and 49.4% of 20-24 year-olds, and the proportions
increased from 1990.17 Youth unemployment in Latin America, as in nearly all other parts of
the world, is much higher than adult unemployment, generally double.
Another complication in assessing the seriousness of this issue is that youth participation
in the labor force is often the reciprocal of enrollment in education; that is, youth may leave
school to take a job or decline employment in favor of additional schooling. As a result,
declining levels of employment can be a positive sign that more youth are continuing their
education. In 2008, 34% of youth (ages 15-24) in Latin America were enrolled in education,
33% were employed, 13% combined work with education, and 20% were neither enrolled
nor employed.18 This last group is clearly the one in greatest need of institutional support.
It contains a much higher proportion of youth in families and communities with limited
resources. Many of these youth have left low-quality schools to face an unwelcoming
labor market.
Family formation. South America (not including Mexico) is unique among the world’s
regions in the persistence of relatively early marriage for young women. During the decade
1990-2000, 16.3% of 15-19 year-old women had been married and 51.3% of 20-24 year-olds.
Marriage age is much higher for men. Early marriage is more common in Africa and parts
of Asia, but everywhere except in South America marriage ages for women are rising.19
Childbearing also continues to occur relatively early among young women in South America;
one quarter are mothers by age 19, half by age 22.20
Resilience. The grimness of many of these numbers should not obscure the remarkable
resilience of many youth, who not only survive but manage to thrive under very challenging
circumstances. The poverty rate drops for older youth (ages 20-24) as many move from
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
di Gropello, 2006
United Nations, 2007, Table 2.6, p. 56
Trabajo Decente, 2010, Gráfico 12, p. 49
Lloyd, 2005, pp. 421-425
Lloyd, 2005, p. 512
low-productivity to higher-productivity jobs, in part presumably because they have gained
human capital even from performing unskilled jobs. One avenue for youth agency is
migration. The peak age for internal migration within Latin American countries is 20-24.21
Colombia has experienced the most dramatic internal migration in recent years as many rural
communities have been devastated by the toxic brew of left-wing guerillas and right-wing
paramilitary units plus drug gangs. Argentina receives immigrants from poorer Latin
American countries. The United States is by far the most frequent destination for both legal
and illegal immigrants. Spain has seen a significant increase in Latin American immigrants
over the past two decades.
21. United Nations, 2007, Figure 2.1, p. 60
2 | Getting Started
2 | GETTING STARTED
The Partners
From July to December, 2009, Mary Agnes and Steve Hamilton reviewed programs that
have the goal of opening pathways for youth. They sought program recommendations from
multiple experts, read program reports, and made site visits (see Search Report, Appendices A
& B, Site Visit 1, Site Visit 2). The developmental assets and structural features identified in the
book chapter and stated on p. 7, above, served as criteria for selecting programs.
The people in all four programs are dedicated to what they are doing, knowledgeable, and
thoughtful. The teams of collaborators from the four promising programs, including youth
and program staff, agreed to engage in a process with Cornell researchers to articulate,
evaluate, and analyze how they create and strengthen institutions to overcome structural
lag and inequality (see Search Report, Appendices C & D, Partner Scope of Work, Local
Researcher Scope of Work). Yet each of the programs is distinctive. Following are brief
descriptions of the four programs, extracted from the profiles in the case studies written
by the partners [see Abriendo Caminos Case Studies]. (Sources of statistics related to each
community may be found in the case studies.)
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina: Por un Mañana, Fundación
Gente Nueva
“Por un Mañana” is located in the city of San Carlos de Bariloche,
Southwest in the Rio Negro Province neighboring the Andes
mountain range, with 125,000 inhabitants. Youth targeted by the Por
un Mañana program are from the poorest sectors of the city, between
17 and 24 years of age, from socially and economically vulnerable
families. Forty-six percent have at least one child; 50% finished
middle school. A large proportion have performed child labor. Youth
in these sectors face social prejudice and stigmatization from other
sectors in the community, who associate them with criminal behavior
and marginality. This undermines youth self-esteem, generating a
vicious cycle that limits their opportunities for the future. In addition,
the labor market and the productive system of the city of Bariloche
have not addressed social inclusion of youth with socioeconomic
vulnerability.
2 | Getting Started
These youth generally
reside in poor housing
built with inappropriate
materials for Patagonia
temperatures. Wood and
metal sheets prevail, and
in some situations nylon
in place of glass, with
neither sewage nor natural
gas. Some people live on
land they do not own, which makes it difficult for the municipality to provide basic services.
Vulnerable youth face difficulty gaining access not only to material goods, but also to symbolic
goods such as art, recreation and leisure. This causes popular culture to be unrecognized or
undervalued, and thus youths’ expressions of their own art and culture to be minimized. This,
together with structural poverty, make it difficult for youth to be recognized as individuals
who can positively change their communities and transform their reality. One of the central
strategies of Por un Mañana is to create experiences that train and guide these youth for job
placements, as a “door” to other social, cultural or educational dimensions, to allow the youth
to put themselves in another place.
Fundación Gente Nueva [New People Foundation]. The mission of Fundación Gente
Nueva is:
“Walking alongside the poorest; building spaces of justice and fraternity; transforming
hearts and structures; working on education and community organization, from the
Gospel of Jesus.”
The objectives of Fundación Gente Nueva are to listen to and work with the poorest people
of Bariloche, recognize their needs and aspirations, learn and teach, and undertake projects
that arise from the needs of the community. The foundation created and manages 10
schools located in neighborhoods with limited resources. Strategies include promoting
entrepreneurship in the educational system, youth employment, training programs and
labor inclusion, youth entrepreneur programs and micro credit. In addition to placing youth
in workplaces with full labor rights, the foundation promotes life projects, strengthening
self-esteem, recognizing capabilities, and life skills. Through training, productive workshops,
and internships the foundation provides the possibility to improve living conditions and to
transmit a message of belonging to their communities.
For the past 3 years, the Por un Mañana program has aimed to offer opportunities for
about 35 teens and older youth over ten months to rebuild a life project that will offer them
decent conditions for the future, placement in a decent job, educational inclusion to expand
employment prospects and social insertion, and permit them to be agents of change. The
2 | Getting Started
work team includes a general coordinator, an operative coordinator, a tutorship coordinator,
three tutors, a workshop leader in charge of Proyecto de Vida [Life Project] and one for the
workshop Sociolaboral [social-labor]. In addition part-time trainers and workshop leaders
contribute as needed. A labor relations specialist connects businesses with the teams for
workshops.
The Proyecto de Vida workshops focus on helping youth think about, discuss, and reflect
on the dreams and ideals they have for their lives. The interactive workshops include group
activities, cooperative games, theater, and activities to develop creativity. They provide a space
both for action and reflection, facilitating communication, encouraging individual-group
interactions. The workshops create a fraternal, participative, and equal environment for
the training work. The dynamics are structured to strengthen self-esteem, the assertive
use of personal safety, the acquisition of “life skills” and personal and group skills. A link
is established between the life path and socio-work spaces. The aim is that each youth will
learn about and assess the different options available to them, and will confront the decisions
they must make at school, at work, in their families, and in other areas, to build their own
employment project. Socio-cultural tools (knowledge about labor laws and about safety and
occupational hazards, development of a realistic and viable employment-education profile,
skills for a job search) enable them to overcome obstacles encountered in their entry into the
world of work. These tools reduce the inequality of opportunity that currently frustrates their
integration into that world.
Tutors. Tutors who accompany youth throughout the program maintain the closest
relationships, creating bonds of trust so that they may be turned to in times of need. Tutors
are young, proactive and creative people. Their activities include home visits, individual
interviews, and follow-ups to the work-training courses. Through home visits the tutors get
to know the daily environment and establish a relationship with the family. Tutors observe the
workshops to help identify issues the group might encounter. The tutor team meets weekly to
plan and build consensus about approaches they wish to use.
Job Training. During the course of the program individual and group interests of participants
determine specific job training courses that are provided by local organizations. This enables
the youth to experience other institutional norms and to train in external locations. In cases
where it is not possible to do this the program puts together a training program of its own.
Recreational activities, reflection, and workshops complement the training. This year a
workshop for young mothers was initiated to allow more specific interventions on their behalf.
Internships. Internships motivate youth to join the program and often give them their
first entry into the work world. Securing internships remains one of the program’s main
challenges. An effort is currently underway to reach companies and build a network of
employers to increase internships. It involves such related organizations as employers,
Sub-Secretariat of Economic development, unions, local Ministry of the Family, Secretariat for
Social Development, training institutions, and Gente Nueva schools.
2 | Getting Started
Terminalidad addresses two structural weaknesses in Argentina’s educational system. One
is a lack of opportunity for older youth and adults to complete their secondary education.
The other is a wide gap between professional trade skill training and academic education.
Currently located in eight vocational training centers in and around Buenos Aires, Argentina,
the program began in 2007 to promote training for work endorsed by the Ministry of Labor.
In the year 2010 initial enrollment reached 636, with 425 completing the year.
The program is a joint initiative of Fundación SES and Fundación UOCRA that jointly
manage it with support of the Ministry of Labor and National Social Security. Fundación
SES, founded in 1989, supports strategies that ensure the rights of youth to inclusion in
education, in the world of labor, and in political and social participation in Argentina.
Fundación UOCRA (Republic of Argentina Construction Workers Union) develops education
proposals for construction workers, within a paradigm in which education is understood as a
continuous and integral process that allows development of workers and their families.
Objectives. The objective of Terminalidad is to train youth and adults in trade skills in
conjunction with their completion of secondary school. To accomplish this objective,
Fundación SES and Fundación UOCRA create links between unions and education centers
and the Ministries of Education and Labor. SES coordinates the project and conducts
research on what happens to students. UOCRA coordinates the training and certification
system by sector competencies. Terminalidad emphasizes training for a specific job together
with completing secondary education, the latter mandated by Argentina’s New National
Education Law of 2006. This dual purpose places vocational training within the framework
of the traditional academic educational system. Rather than one teaching method being
valued more than another, vocational training motivates and enables participants to continue
their academic studies while preparing for employment. Another
source for the project is the interest construction workers have in
vocational training, their need for a secondary school certificate,
and their willingness to take courses to satisfy specific training
needs that they face in their jobs.
Main Activities. Students attend classes five days a week, taking
academic and technical-practical courses, and cross-articulation
courses linking the two, such as tutoring workshops to enhance
understanding of their own capacities, team building, and
additional topics requested by the youth, such as employment
experiences related to their personal and family histories.
2 | Getting Started
Participants. The program
is designed for young adults
of 18 years or more who
did not finish secondary
school or never started.
They belong to the most
disadvantaged sectors of
the population and are
primarily attracted to training
related to construction
skills in which they see a
possibility of employment, as well as personal and professional development. Some enroll
for specific training needs to advance in their jobs or to improve their work conditions. This
three-year program simultaneously allows them the opportunity to obtain their secondary
education diploma. More males than females enroll, reflecting the traditional association of
construction with men. However, Terminalidad is trying to generate interest among female
participants. The overall average age is 30 years, but the average age of participants in the
morning shift is 18 years.
Collaborating Organizations.
The Ministry of Labor oversees finances, follow-up and evaluation of the different
stages of the project.
The Ministry of Education allocates fees and class hours required, and manages and
approves legislation that validates the program in each jurisdiction.
Curriculum specialists and technical assistants train teachers and directors of the
schools/centers. They also produce curriculum materials for the students.
CENS / Secondary Schools include Directors of General Education, the general
education teachers, and the school’s administrative staff.
Social and Employment Tutors accompany students on their educational paths and
work in the school alongside the teachers. They conduct youth workshops weekly.
The Vocational Training (VT) Center includes VT Directors, Teachers, and
Administrative Staff.
Staff. At the schools where Terminalidad operates, pairs of teachers, academic and vocational,
work together. Social and employment tutors serve as intermediaries between the youth and
the teachers. General professionals provide constant pedagogical technical support to the
teachers’ body of the different institutions adopting and developing the project. Additional
staff coordinators assist the social and employment tutors’ team.
2 | Getting Started
Casas Francisco Esperanza (Francisco Esperanza Houses) is part of the Fundación Paz y Bien
(Peace and Well-being Foundation), located in the Aguablanca District, a low-income area
of Santiago de Cali, in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Aquablanca is home
to one-third of the population of Cali. Young people ages 7–25 can come to be safe and
participate in a range of activities at the 9 Casas. Restorative justice with vulnerable youth
is the main emphasis, meaning helping young people who have violated the law to rebuild
broken connections with their families and communities, and teaching them non-violent
ways of resolving conflicts. A graduate house opened last year.
The Aguablanca District occupies 5,600 hectares (21.6 square miles) to the southeast of the
central city of Cali. It was opened to an urban population in 1961, mostly squatters and
subnormal settlements. In the ensuing decades it was inhabited both legally and illegally by
people with very low income. The population is primarily black (Afro-Colombian). Levels
of education in Aguablanca are slightly below the citywide average, and decrease in higher age
groups. The leading cause of death is homicide at 37%, followed by cardiovascular diseases,
pneumonia, and accidents, in that order. Aguablanca has a significant number of gangs;
many of the youths who attend the Casas Francisco Esperanza are either gang members or are
at risk of being part of them. This generates problems of violence and delinquency that affect
the youths as much as others in the community.
Fundación Paz y Bien (FPB) provides assistance to individuals displaced by violence,
community dining centers, microcredit programs, assistance to pregnant youth, and conflict
resolution. Founded in 1987 as a non-governmental grassroots organization, it works with
the impoverished and victims of social conflicts to promote a culture of peace, to build and
strengthen
processes
of social
awareness, civic
participation,
social
organization and
self-management
for the
improvement
of the quality of
life of children,
youth, women,
and their
families, and
2 | Getting Started
caring for those in forced displacement. It is funded by private and
foreign entities. FPB’s mission is:
To achieve in the medium term, a community organized
according to Christian values, made up of independent
free agents, agents of peace and generators of public
participatory processes, with worthy projects, living
peacefully and respecting the physical and social
environments to which they belong.
Objectives and Activities. Since 1999, in the course of promoting a
culture of peace, the Foundation has connected with young people
at high risk through a program of restorative justice and peace,
Casas Francisco Esperanza. Once admitted, young people receive
medical and psychosocial evaluations, and they receive the documentation certifying them
as citizens, in order to facilitate their self-advancement and legal recognition. The program
includes workshops on self esteem, personal care, building new self-identity or relationships
with others, political empowerment, conflict resolution and restorative justice, and other
activities with the community and the families of participating young people. Objectives are:
• To promote restoration of relationships with themselves, their family and
community.
• To help youth bring new significance to their life projects, through training
activities, entertainment, cultural and sporting activities.
• To manage technical training opportunities to facilitate the income generation of
young people.
• To promote the integration of the community.
The Program was developed by FPB in partnership with the Pontifica Universidad
Javeriana-Cali to help young people change their attitudes, improve relationships with the
community, and erase the stigma of troubled and dangerous youth. The restoration is done
through community work; youth recognize their responsibility for their actions and make
restitution through work done within the district to which they belong.
The restorative justice process seeks to heal social relationships broken by conflict. The three
parties to conflict – offender, victim, and community – collectively resolve through dialogue
how to deal with the consequences of crime or conflict and its implications for the future.
The steps necessary for the offender to take are:
1. Recognizing the fault and expressing regret.
2. Asking for forgiveness or apologizing.
3. Agreeing with the victim and the community about the means of repairing the
damage.
2 | Getting Started
4. Involving the family for support.
5. Accepting the community as an overseer of the restoration process.
6. Participating in the Francisco Esperanza training program.
Staff. Currently, there are nine Casas Francisco Esperanza, each run by two tutors and
mentors who direct the program. The houses are open during the week for a couple hours
in the morning, and afternoons from 2:00 – 8:00. A graduate house was opened last year as
a 10th house. The 20 tutors and mentors have the assistance of two professionals in family
development, a social worker, and two psychologists, and also have the support of two sports
coaches. Everything is coordinated by a person with community leadership experience,
a family counselor, and a professional social worker. During the year 2010, 670 youth
ages 7-25 enrolled in the houses. Of those, 178 youth were ages 15-18, and 40 were older
youth ages 19-25. By unofficial count,1129 graduates have completed the program, which
can last 3 years.
Chiapas and the Federal District, Mexico: Jóvenes Constructores de
la Comunidad (JCC)
In 2010 Mexico has a population of approximately 108.4 million people, with 18.7% youth
between 15 and 24 years old (20.2 million youth). Most young people leave school at age 15
to 17. In 2005, 28% of young people (ages 15-24) were enrolled in school. On average the
youth population has 9.4 years of schooling, only 14% have higher education, approximately
56% do not finish compulsory basic education, and 2.8% are illiterate. The JCC program
targets the 29% of Mexican youth who do not work or study, to provide them opportunities
for training, returning to school, and placement in the
labor market.
Chiapas. Despite being a state rich in natural
resources and culture, Chiapas continues to be one of
the economically poorest states in Mexico. Even with
the increase in public and private investment after
the 1994 armed uprising, poverty still characterizes
this southern state, where more than 90% of the
municipalities suffer high economic marginalization.
The proportion of youth in the Chiapas population is
21.2%, the highest level nationally. Low educational
levels coupled with constant economic and political
crises of the state have intensified poverty, striking
with greater force the youth sector of the rural,
indigenous and peasant population, leaving them with
2 | Getting Started
no opportunity for development and social growth. Since 1994 Chiapas has seen an increase
in interstate displacement, international mobility and rural-urban migration in the female
population.
Federal District of Mexico City. High youth and young adult unemployment in formal
labor markets, high educational dropout rates, and a lack of access to secondary and higher
education mean that many youth join the informal market, which can be illegal, does not
require experience, and does not guarantee a good salary or continuity. In Mexico City, one of
the manifestations of violence by youth is membership in groups (Gangs, Maras, Clikas, etc.).
Program staff think that the projects counter social exclusion and marginality of youth.
Organization and Objectives. Jóvenes Constructores de la Comunidad AC (JCC) is a
non-profit civil partnership without political or religious affiliation. It is modeled after
the United States program, YouthBuild. In 2003, JCC started to promote programs in the
Federal District, rehabilitating historic buildings in the Historic Center of Mexico City. The
vision of JCC is to become an exemplary regional organization supporting development and
socio-professional integration of youth, seeking to represent a suitable option given the reality
of each community in which projects operate, rebuilding social fabric and life trajectories,
promoting education and employment for youth. The fundamental objective is to focus the
energy of the young people towards creative and productive action, aimed at improving the
social conditions of Mexico, converting them into social actors for positive change.
The Education, Training, and Job Placement Program for Youth (Programa de Formación,
Capacitación e Inserción Laboral de Jóvenes), began in 2003 in the Federal District and
the Metropolitan area and in the State of Chiapas since 2005. The program rehabilitated
buildings catalogued as national heritage for their historical value in the Federal District; in
Chiapas it focused on construction problems left by hurricane Stan. The youth or young
adult trainees (called “fellows” because they receive a fellowship or stipend, rather than a
wage) who build and restore non-profit buildings and parks are men or women betweeen
15-19 years who have not completed secondary school and are not working. Fellows learn
different construction skills such as ironwork, carpentry, masonry, and electricity among
others. The methodology used is based on “learning by doing” through the renovation of
community centers, public squares, sports facilities, etc. The teachers are the carpenters,
electricians, ironworkers, masons, and other construction technicians who accompany young
people in their work, teaching, explaining, and guiding the process. Each project lasts 3-6
months; approximately15-25 fellows work in small brigades, normally consisting of one
teacher per every 5-10 young people. Formal evaluation is done monthly of the progress of
every fellow. The program promotes the development of life skills of young people such as
leadership, community service, camaraderie, self-confidence, non-violent problem solving,
2 | Getting Started
team work, among others. During the past three years, 404 youth participated. Lack of
funding in 2010 limited JCC to initiate only one project in Mexico City in May. New funds
initiated seven Ciudad Juárez projects in the fall.
Promoters. Selected graduates, called promoters, assume supervisory responsibilities
and support new fellows in their projects, including program activities, and passing on
values developed during their own participation in a project. They work alongside youth
participants and act as intermediaries between them and adult staff, including both JCC staff
and the experienced construction workers who take the lead with skilled work. Promoters
are expected to understand and explain the JCC model and to help participants develop life
skills. JCC believes that a promoter, being also a young person, can achieve a more effective
level of communication in the coordination of the education and training processes, and link
the young fellows with facilitators and building site managers. Their function is a key to the
development of the program. That is why the JCC team decided to strengthen the promoter’s
role as an objective of the action research in the search conference.
Funding. JCC negotiates with different agencies to fund projects, e.g., Rescue Public Spaces
Program and the Temporary Employment Program in the Ministry of Social Development,
and Community Neighborhood Improvement Program in the Social Development Secretariat
of the Federal District Government.
2 | Getting Started
Search Conference
A Search or Search Conference is a methodology that has been developed to enable groups
of people to generate issues and ideas for dealing with those issues as a basis for acting on
them.22 The investigators organized a Search Conference for the program partners January
14-15, 2010, in Cartagena. (For a full report of the conference, see A Search Report.) During
site visits to the programs and through email communication, Mary Agnes and Steve worked
with the partners to agree upon a Search question: How can we make our community a better
place for youth and young adults? This question is a restatement in their terms of the projects’
guiding question, “How can new institutions be created that build the critical developmental
assets young people need to make a successful transition to adulthood in a global economy?”
Teams from each of the four partner organizations participated, including the program
directors and key staff plus at least one youth participant. The investigators hoped to make it
possible for everyone to get to know and learn from each other and for each team to:
1. Identify and clarify critical issues.
2. Begin to make plans to address some of those issues.
3. Determine what they need to discover or learn about to take effective action.
Participants worked sometimes as a whole group, sometimes in teams, and sometimes
in mixed small groups. The report on the Search Conference describes the activities and
summarizes the results at each step. The culmination was the production of action plans
by each team, including objectives and next steps, as detailed as identifying the convener of
the next meeting to work on each objective. Three teams revised their objectives somewhat
shortly after returning home from the conference. Revision and priority setting continued as
the action research proceeded.
The Search Conference functioned as intended, providing a time and a framework for each
team to identify the issues they would then explore using action research. The Search process
(sharing their history, their ideal and probably futures, and action planning) created a strong
sense of shared purpose. Having visited each of the sites and gotten to know most of the team
members, the investigators were pleased to see them learn about each other’s programs and
engage in substantive discussions with one another. The three student research associates
from Cornell got to know participants personally, building relationships that helped to sustain
the project through the following months. The investigators were also gratified by the sense of
accomplishment that was shared. Bringing four different teams together seemed to enhance
the productivity of the event.
22. A good introduction is Weisbord, M.R., & Janoff, S. (2000). Future search: An action guide to finding
common ground in organizations & communities. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
2 | Getting Started
In an evaluation session at the close of the conference without the investigators, the
participants agreed that they could have benefitted from a clearer understanding of next
steps in the action research following the conference. Among their other suggestions for
improvement were a more dynamic format for presentations about each program, more
spaces for debates that show differences, and more space for youth participants to contribute.
These suggestions were taken into account as we planned the concluding Synthesis
Conference.
3 | ACTION RESEARCH ACTIVITIES & RESULTS
The challenge for each team after the Search Conference was to begin to implement their
action research plans based on the objectives they set for themselves in Cartagena. Each team
returned home to reconsider whether their original steps and objectives were achievable, and
in some cases to modify them. The role of the Cornell team after the Conference remained to
be worked out. Mary Agnes consulted regularly by e-mail with the project team leaders and
the local researchers. Communication by phone and video conference were infrequent; Skype
calls with Mary Agnes, Steve and a research assistant as translator increased in frequency over
the nine months and allowed targeted discussions about the action research. The role of
the local researchers evolved somewhat differently in each of the projects. Although we had
originally described them as “technical advisors” (See Search Report, Appendix D, p. 36.), they
functioned as members of the action research teams. Rather than only advising, they also
took an active part in discussing issues, designing instruments, analyzing and interpreting
findings, and reporting. We believe this demonstrated both the need for expertise in these
activities and the trust that other team members had in the local researchers.
As part of their action research process, each team agreed to submit a “Case Study” of their
action research activities to the Cornell team by September 1 or earlier to allow for feedback
and revisions. (See Appendix A, Case Study Outline.) These case studies were distributed to
all conference participants in advance of the November Cartagena conferences.
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina: Por un Mañana, Fundación
Gente Nueva
The Por un Mañana team in Bariloche focused on two objectives as a chance to evaluate and
improve the program:
(1) to strengthen links
to stakeholders to
increase job placements
for internships and
graduates; and (2) to
follow graduates. The
team met weekly, and
created a team meeting
room for the action
research. The case study describes actions taken by the program to increase the number
of workplace internships available to participants. The case study also includes the team’s
reflections on why some efforts did not succeed, what they will continue to try, and how
they learned about key limitations in their strategies. For example, identifying the need for
a new strategy to develop internships took priority after they confronted the prejudice many
business owners have against the economically disadvantaged youth they work with.
An initial meeting with graduates identified two directions for the action research. A regular
graduate group meeting was initiated to address needs related to job search readiness; another
group was created for young mothers, providing a forum for them to address their issues
related to maternity, employment, and the family. The case study consistently reflects how
action research engaged adults and youth in a discovery process, constantly posing new
questions as they learned more about challenges facing graduates and deep dilemmas facing
the young mothers. The Cornell investigators during Skype conferences and during a May
site visit encouraged the team and local researchers in their efforts to use their action research
to understand the program needs of young mothers. The local researchers contributed to this
process by reporting their observations of meetings and encouraging group reflection on what
happened.
Cleaning and childcare appear as the only possible destiny for these young women.
Again the “domestic” [is seen] as a “natural” destiny. Is this the factor limiting these
young women’s possibilities for projection? Is it everyday reality [that is] turning
their eyes back to this only possible destiny?
For these women the program means a possibility for inclusion in other spaces
beyond the domestic to which they are constrained. It is a legitimate space of
insertion into new social networks that allows them to leave their role of mothers and
housewives to think a little about themselves and what they want to be, a space that
they value and support in front of their “partners,” “parents” and “children.” (Por un
Mañana Case Study, p. 20)
The focus on mothers and graduates caused a conscious shift in the action research
methodology. The two local researchers made and shared systematic records of their
“outsider” observations of the youth meetings and the team meetings as these new strategies
were considered. They also worked with a recent graduate of the program who was a member
of the team to design, conduct and analyze in-depth interviews of six selected graduates. The
team “Actions” in the case study highlight questions raised by the “action, reflection, action”
process as they describe it: “To continue problem solving together with youth, the team and
the community in general the different problems and questions that arose” (p. 25). The team
generated questions they intend to pursue about how to enhance youth initiative, effectiveness
and ownership of their job search, and how to work more effectively with local businesses to
create internships and jobs. Questions about the gender issue focused on understanding the
reasons for a larger female enrollment, female perceptions of types of work available to them,
identification as a woman/mother/spouse/housewife, limited female role models, and the
paucity (or limits) of their socialization networks.
When the team presented their
plan to conduct action research
in two schools, representatives
from the other four schools also
asked to participate and joined
the process. This expansion
strengthened the action research
but also made it more difficult
to conduct. Terminalidad is a
complex program. The team’s
action research objectives address
the program’s complexity
– its co-sponsorship by two
organizations, connection to
two government ministries,
and its location within the school system, where it bridges academic and technical forms of
education. Objective 1 was to strengthen the tutor’s role; Objective 2 was to create greater
awareness and understanding of the program among institutional actors.
Tutors play a critical role in the program, accompanying students in their classes and
supporting their learning but also building a relationship with them outside of class to
encourage regular attendance. The challenge is partly that teachers and administrators are
unfamiliar with the role; the role is also defined differently in participating schools. In some
schools, tutors have no private workspace, occupying a desk in a hallway. School principals
have sometimes assigned tutors as substitutes for absent teachers. Uncertainty about the role
of tutor is a specific instance of the larger challenge addressed by Objective 2, which is for
outsiders (the Terminalidad program team) to build a new program inside schools that have
their own institutional cultures and practices.
The team developed a detailed plan (Terminalidad Case Study, pp. 16-18) setting out
issues, questions, and methods of data collection. Three methods were chosen: workshops,
interviews, and a survey. Although a survey instrument was developed, by the time of
this report it had not yet yielded data that can be reported. Interviews and observations
of workshops organized for students, teachers, and school leaders yielded useful insights,
including the following.
• Linking general (academic education) with technical or occupational education is
valuable but continues to be a challenge.
• Pairing an academic with a technical teacher helps make this link.
• Institutional and individual resistance to the program persist (e.g., some teachers
oppose special provisions for dropouts).
• Flexible attendance policies are needed for older students.
• Tutors help maintain attendance, complement the work of teachers, and mediate
between students and teachers.
The interviews and workshops not only elicited the views of all participants but also served
as venues in which the issues identified by the team were surfaced and discussed. The data
collection activities, as a result, advanced the two objectives even before they produced
quantitative data for analysis.
Returning from the Search Conference in Cartagena, the team defined their objectives in
rather broad terms as exploring: (1) the reasons and processes through which young people
overcame their problems; (2) the characteristics and reasons for their problems; and (3)
significant changes in their lives and relationships after the program. Over the succeeding
nine months, the team redefined their objectives and steps more concretely to determine how
best to understand the Casas Francisco Esperanza experience of graduates and to involve the
team in the action research process.
Several hurdles caused the team members to reconsider their initial strategy. Plans for
interviews required extensive recasting to produce an interview schedule designed to elicit
stories from graduates about their experiences in multiple domains (in families, the program,
with peers, in the neighborhood, in free time, in school, in work, etc.). The initial questions
seemed to the Cornell investigators to assume the validity of the team’s prior beliefs rather
than treating them as hypotheses to be tested. Joint work on this issue produced a more
productive set of interview questions. Meanwhile, the team spent time observing the
program as it operated in two houses.
During a site visit in June, a major issue arose when the Cornell investigators learned that
the team planned to interview only 3 graduates. The local researcher explained that this
plan reflected the team members’ lack of experience and training in conducting interviews.
Following some brainstorming about possible resources within Javeriana University that
could help overcome this limitation, the local researcher decided to recruit qualified
interviewers from among his students and graduates, and to have them and himself
accompany team members interested in doing interviews. Thus, new teams of interviewers
were formed and 26 interviews were conducted over the next month or so.
This
negotiation
about the
roles of team
members
in action
research
required time
and energy.
Everyone
wanted
to frame
questions, do
observations,
select a pool
for interviews,
conduct
interviews,
and analyze the date. The local researcher, with support from the Cornell investigators, had
to assure that these scientific processes were grounded in professional training to maximize
reliability and validity at each step. Another issue that had to be negotiated was the chance
to conduct a survey of all graduates (more than 1000) about the topics identified for the
interview. Two Javeriana University professors who have expertise in survey research
volunteered to work with the team on the survey. Before they decided to collaborate on
the survey, which is now ready to pilot, the team needed reassurance that the design and
administration of the survey and the use of its results would respect the value the program
places on learning from the community rather than importing outside experts.
Analysis of the data from observations and interviews produced some useful findings,
including the following.
• Participation in the program puts youth in a social network that helps them change
their lives.
• Tutors are especially important to participants, providing affection and support but
also serving as needed authority figures.
• Workshops, in addition to their content, help young people organize a daily
routine.
• Employment is important not only as a way to earn money but also as a means of
social integration and a new source of identity.
• Participants struggle with the disruptions of abrupt relocation from rural to urban
life and with pervasive violence.
These and related results of the action research confirmed for program staff the importance
and impact of what they do and helped them focus more sharply on the parts of the program
participants see as most effective and those most needing improvement. They recognized
more clearly the influence of families, including older siblings, and resolved to involve families
more closely in the program. In addition, they agreed that the emotional burden on tutors
warrants added support for them. Interviewing graduates not only added their perspective on
the program but confirmed and explained needs previously identified for support to follow
their life project objectives for employment and education after completing the program.
Staff members hope to train graduates to be leaders of the new graduate house.
Chiapas and the Federal District, Mexico: Jóvenes Constructores de
la Comunidad (JCC)
The Mexico team initially stated three objectives, but later agreed to give priority to the
first two: (1) strengthen the training process of the promoters; and (2) research what the
graduates are doing and learn how the program has impacted their Life Project. A critical
factor for the action research in Mexico was the absence of new program activity in Chiapas,
where the action research was planned for San Cristóbal and Tuxtla. Without expected
funding, staff resources were severely limited, and no new promoters were hired. As a result,
the sites for data collection shifted to locations where JCC projects had previously been
completed: Mexico City and the coastal regions of Chiapas. Locating and securing completed
questionnaires from people who were no longer associated with the program proved to be
very difficult. Moreover, the action research team was divided between Mexico City and
Chiapas. The director traveled to Chiapas twice to work with the team. E-mail, telephone,
and Skype enabled communication. But the dispersion of staff and data collection was a
constant challenge that
resulted directly from the
lack of funding for new
construction in Chiapas.
This unplanned change in
the program highlights some
important consequences
of the organization’s mode
of operation. Because
construction projects are
funded separately, each
lasts only as long as it takes
to complete, typically 3-6
months. This means that the
duration of the experience
is determined by the construction work, not by the needs of participants. While some
participants re-enroll in a second project, that possibility too is determined by the existence of
another funded project in their community. An acknowledged limitation on action research
activities was the lack of new project funds and staff commitments to other priorities.
The relationship between the Cornell investigators and the Mexico team, while unfailingly
respectful, was sometimes tense. Acknowledging and adapting to the absence of new
programs in Chiapas was one source of tension. Another was the process of developing
questionnaires, determining respondent pools, administering the questionnaire, as well as
coding and analyzing responses. The local researcher was often placed in a difficult position,
trying to mediate between the Cornell investigators and the Mexico team. The investigators
were more active than anyone wished them to be in urging changes in action research plans
to accommodate the absence of a new program in Chiapas, and in monitoring the data
collection and analysis. In September, the Mexico team planned to conduct a survey of other
organizations in Mexico having similar aims. The Cornell investigators refused to support
this plan because it was unrelated to the project’s goals. Producing the case study increased
tension because the Cornell investigators returned multiple drafts with extensive comments
and requests for revisions through October.
To learn more about how to train promoters and about graduates, the team, with input
from the Cornell investigators, designed questionnaires for three sets of people: facilitators,
promoters, and graduates. Most were administered face-to-face, with respondents completing
the questionnaires themselves. A few were sent and returned via e-mail. All three sets of
respondents were asked about the role of promoter. The graduates were also asked about their
experience in the program and their current activities.
Respondents expressed appreciation for what promoters do but also identified some
ambiguities in the role and some limitations in the capacity of those performing it. For
example, while JCC staff see the closeness in age between promoters and participants as an
essential strength, some respondents pointed out that a promoter may have less education
than a participant, and therefore be unable to serve as a role model or advisor in that crucial
arena. Respondents generated a constructive set of recommendations for the training and
support of promoters (which address the team’s third objective of systematizing the role).
Graduate respondents reported a high level of appreciation for their experience in JCC and
said they had learned important lessons. Most valued the experience of teamwork and the
opportunity to work on their life project more than the specific construction skills they
learned. The majority said they were either working or enrolled in school. However, the
low response rate makes it impossible to assess how representative these findings are of
the graduates as a whole. One surprising finding was that 45% of graduates were under
the age of 18 when they participated, though the program’s stated target age range is 18-29
(JCC Case Study, p. 26).
4 | November 2010 Conferences
4 | NOVEMBER 2010 CONFERENCES
Partner program teams came together a second time in Cartagena for a Synthesis Conference,
November 10-11, 2010. Twenty-five public private sectors representatives joined the
Dissemination Conference that Thursday evening and Friday. (See Appendices B, C, D, and E
for the list of participants and agendas.)
Synthesis Conference
“Synthesis” refers to the function of the conference as a time to consolidate the work of each
team and of the project as a whole in a manner allowing communication of the experience
and findings beyond the participants. The conference purposes were stated as follows:
Expand and deepen the work of Abriendo Caminos through mutual commentary,
critique, and ongoing planning about “How can we make our community a better
place for youth and young adults?”
• Reflect on learning from action research
• Develop and refine strategies for future action
Plan how to represent this work to an international audience of public and private
sector representatives [at the Dissemination Conference].
In anticipation of the conferences, each team’s case study was sent out in advance to all the
other participants. This helped to reduce the amount of conference time devoted to each
team telling the others what they had done and to maximize time devoted to discussing
critical issues, within and across teams and with participants in the Dissemination Conference
(“public/private sector representatives”).
In support of these purposes, four commentators participated (thanks, in part, to additional
support provided by the MacArthur Foundation’s Research Network on Transitions to
Adulthood and Public Policy). These eminent scholars were asked to listen carefully during
all of the sessions and to identify critical issues, elicit team members’ ideas about those
issues, and contribute their own ideas. The investigators urged commentators to be both
supportive and challenging to team members, pushing them to think more deeply about
what they had done and might do in the future, posing some difficult questions and offering
strong encouragement of the teams to be more self critical in their analyses and bolder in
their interpretations and plans. They performed this role admirably. In addition to adding
their own expertise and perspectives, they shared with the investigators some of the burden
of challenging teams to confront difficult issues. Four representatives of Jacobs Foundation
also attended and were actively engaged in the discussions. Four students from the University
of Cartagena provided informal translation assistance; the professor who arranged for
their presence attended as an observer and served as a group facilitator. Two professional
translators provided simultaneous translation during plenary sessions.
The addition of the Dissemination Conference sharpened the focus of the Synthesis
Conference and raised the stakes for the partner programs. Rather than sharing their
case studies only with each other, the investigators, the commentators, and with Jacobs
Foundation, they would be presenting critical issues and action steps resulting from their
action research process to an additional set of actors with access to important resources:
knowledge, communication networks, and in some cases potential funding. Moreover, the
sharing took the form of an invitation to questions, comments, suggestions, and criticism.
Thus an important component of the Synthesis Conference became preparing for the
Dissemination Conference. The two conferences together became a continuation of the
action research process rather than only an opportunity to report on it.
Partner Posters. The medium chosen to convey to the public/private sector representatives
the challenges the teams uncovered in their action research was a poster. Posters are widely
used in scientific conferences as an alternative to the reading of papers, precisely to minimize
passive listening. They make it possible for audience members to allocate attention according
to their interest in a particular study. If a study is not interesting, a conference participant
can walk by quickly. If it is highly interesting, the participant can read the poster carefully,
perhaps pick up a written paper, and talk extensively with the author(s).
The investigators’ commitment to minimizing one-way presentations and maximizing dialog
led to an on-the-spot revision in what the program teams were asked to convey in the posters.
The posters’ content was shifted toward the presentation of findings, issues and challenges;
action steps taken or needed (including what to drop that they are now doing and what
to create); and team members’ reflections on the action research process. Newsprint was
provided for comments from public/private sector representatives, other Abriendo Caminos
teams, commentators and the Jacobs team.
Much of day two of the Synthesis Conference was devoted to drafting, discussing, and
improving the posters. They were then presented during dessert following the dinner at which
the public/private sector representatives were welcomed. This allowed for lively and extended
conversations that lasted past 10:00 pm. Because the posters incorporated the new work
that the teams had done during the previous two days, they did not repeat the information
contained in the case studies, which the public/private sector representatives had received
in advance, but carried the work forward. This emphasis on what happens next also invited
participant input much more than an account of what had already happened.
Creating the posters served
multiple purposes. When
completed, the posters effecively
conveyed very briefly and pointedly
the action research findings along
with current and future actions. As
the teams worked through what to
put on their posters and responded
to the questions and suggestions
of the commentators, they added
some substantive points about their
action research that they had not included in their written case studies.
The Bariloche team explained that they would change the sequence of the two modules,
socio-labor and life project, and link them more closely. (Please see page 32.) They also
provided more detail about working with graduates, quoting a statement (whose author we
did not record), “The program does not end when it ends,” to emphasize that completing the
program does not take participants to the point where they need to be. They responded to
program completers telling them that they were not yet ready for employment by designing
a new set of supports and opportunities to carry them forward after what had been seen as
the completion of the program. They also identified as a barrier to employment a style of
communication participants used among their peers that is inappropriate in the workplace,
and began to think of activities to teach a different style of communication.
The team from Buenos Aires produced a poster that placed greater emphasis than their case
study had on the impact of public policies on their program and the need to engage with the
political process to influence those policies. (Please see page 34.) Their reflections on action
research demonstrated a heightened appreciation of the need and the difficulty of eliciting
the knowledge and ideas of all parties, and the time and mutual adjustments required to
work in this manner. The need for taking time was balanced by the recognition that quicker
solutions often fail.
A new observation was included in the poster prepared by the Cali team: that women in
Aquablanca are increasingly engaging in violence and forming gangs, activities previously
associated only with men. (Please see page 36.) They agreed that they must meet this new
challenge and gain a greater understanding of the gender issues involved. Regarding the
role of tutor, a new plan was stated to create a more formal training program or “school” for
tutors (recognizing the costs as well as benefits of formalizing the role). They also agreed that
the program needs to do more to generate formal employment opportunities.
The Mexico team concluded that JCC should diversify its sources of funding to generate a
more predictable sequence of projects. (Please see page 38.) They also made a commitment
to building collective knowledge between staff in Mexico City and Chiapas.
Fundación Gente Nueva | “Por un Mañana”
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
8. Reflect about Action Research
At the beginning it was difficult
to differentiate the roles of each
of us in the research process;
expectations were too high on the
methodological paradigm.
It is necessary to generate
interventions that imply “getting
out of the bubble,” activities that
facilitate the relationship with the
outside, for example, visits.
5. Participatory Action Research
Planned actions
Change the socio-labor module to the beginning
of the program.
Plan a way to link the life project workshop and
the socio-labor module.
Incorporate new evaluation points for the
students’ process and the program
Make youth graduates part of the technical and
specific trainings with youth that attend.
With regards to links with employers, develop
alternative strategies based in previous
experiences (urban interventions and radial
spaces)
Problems
Established prejudices with regards to
the poor youth in the city imaginaries.
A view of action research is very linked
to the graduate population (only those
who are closer to the institution).
The new law for internships (N. 26427)
inhibits poor youth from performing
employment practices.
Achievements
Creation of a virtual space of employment
linkage
Job placements for youth
Development of gatherings with
employment referents and exit through
productive circuits and for citizen services
in the city and the Region, not known by
youth as possible spaces for work
6. Participatory Action
Research Drop
The way to approach the
graduates’ space.
Practices close to “preceptors”
from tutors
Dependence on staff that does
not open ground for youth
autonomy
Achievements
Re-establish links with graduates generating
cohesion strategies for employment search
Creating of a space for youth mothers, as the
first step to begin working with gender issues
Incorporate one graduate as a tutor which
allowed us to gain a “closer” vision
7. Reflections from Action Research
Generate links with the local businesses,
seminars, work together with government
institutions, nongovernmental, community
and others.
Reflect about the communication used by
youth in certain places that create barriers
for access to the job market, because it
is difficult for them to express what they
want to demand or offer, and we think we
need to encourage certain argumentative
languages through corporal expression,
theatre, art, and group dynamics.
Comments
“The program does not end when it ends:”
We found out that more actions were
necessary once the program ended.
“Management requires self-management.”
1. Job placements open a space to
think “in tomorrow “ (un mañana)
The program proposes:
Construction of the life project (pro
activity, creativity, art, theatre, etc.)
Socio-labor training
Technical and specific training
Network creation (employers, youth,
training institutions and governmental
entities)
Gente Nueva - Bariloche, Argentina
Fundación SES | Terminalidad
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Coming next: (New challenges)
- Need to institutionalize the figure of the tutor
- Increase to other educational jurisdictions and to other productive sectors
- Deepen the political incidence in other relevant actors
- Diversity the sources of funding for the program
- For the educational system to recognize the learnt knowledge through life experiences
Challenge: To add commitments
Educational system
SES UOCRA
Ministry of Labor
Youth
MTE and SS
SES- Civil Society
UOCRA- Civil Society
Incidence in public policies
Work and Study: an effort of all
What did we do?
-Together we, social organizations, unions and the
Nation’s Ministries of Labor and Education, built a
different educational mode that links professional
training with general education
- We created the figure of the socio-labor tutor
to accompany the processes of youth in this
educational mode.
Achievements
- Installed a new school model in 18 institutions of the
formal education system around the country
- High increase in youth retention in secondary education
- Graduates with secondary certificate, 3 work
certifications and unemployment fund account
- Youth strengthened their knowledge and skills to
exercise their rights
- Incidence at the national level in the discussion of the
tutor’s figure in adult education
Our challenges (initial)
For youth that want to have a trade skill
to be able to return and finish secondary
education and improve their opportunities
in the world of work
Youth rights to education and work
“a school that opens door of education for work”
Panel 1
- The action research process distributes the
word and the strengths for action.
For some it may generate great discoveries
and for others it consolidates the knowledge
achieved.
- A process implies time for adjustments, change
needs action and also waiting.
- Listen and give time for change before seeking
immediate achievements that may be deceptive.
- Democratic participation is achieved through
collective work and the necessary efforts.
REFLECTIONS
-Recognize that the knowledge is in every actor.
Panel 2
SES Foundation - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fundación Paz Y Bien | Las Casas Francisco
Esperanza
Cali, Colombia
Manage financial
resources.
Get a Franchise of
the model “Casa de
restauración Juvenil”.
To make this proposal
sustainable and
autonomous.
to formalize mentoring
schools.
Actions
3. Mentoring as
emotional support
and refers authority,
are values by youth as
an important in their
process.
Find resources that
allows this networks
to get autonomy and
manage their own
program.
Strengthen Francisco
Esperanza´s networks.
Actions:
2. Support networks
have the power to
transform youth life.
Increase the Francisco
Esperanza Houses network
so that the intervention
makes it possible to
overcome this irregular way
of life of Aguablanca youth
Actions
4. Education and training
replace free time, organize
the work routine and open
the opportunity to interact
with the group of youth
Analyze the problem
and take it to a gender
perspective include
in a process activities
that allows to male and
female get involve, also
let them to work and
participate on the social
events, that give them the
opportunity to express
themselves
Finding 1:
1. Women are taking
violent roles as men do,
they are creating gangs.
Panel 1
Difficulty in meeting agreements in the
interpretation of results.
It is necessary to find ways of broadcasting the
impact of the program to society.
The alliance and relation with Javeriana University,
Cali, is not easy, because the commitment is more
on a personal level than institutional. This reduces
continuity to processes and makes it difficult to
produce and spread knowledge about the social
intervention.
Funding for this project is the exclusive
responsibility of Paz y Bien Foundation, which
is possible with resources from international
support. These resources are everyday more
scarce and government organizations do not
consider this program in their budgets.
Thoughts on Participatory Action Research
Strengthen family and neighbors circles to
achieve a restorative culture
Strengthen in the Tutorships School the
Restorative Justice Area
Visualize some process of restorative Justice
inside the community as an example of conflict
resolution
Actions
5. The Restorative Justice processes make it
possible to give another opportunity to the
youth offender and reintegrates him to the
community.
Panel 2
Create
Train graduates so that they can lead “the
graduates house” and to become managers
of their own self-management.
Language learning program.
Actions seeking to generate formal
employment.
Gender activities.
Construction of a Cultural Center ¨We are
Pacific¨
Request superior education program, open to
the challenges of globalization.
Attitudes leading to participant dependence
on staff.
Reactive interventions (not only address the
consequences, but the causes; to strengthen
prevention).
Undermine the findings that we have.
To file (drop)
Find a space in which they can express their
ideas, where someone listens them, orients
them, accompanies them and gives them a
place as human beings inside society.
Through workshops and skills for life training,
they are able to build and/or find a new
meaning for dignifying life projects, that take
them to achieve clear goals.
What makes youth to continue in the
program?
Paz y Bien Foundation - Cali, Colombia
Jóvenes Constructores de la Comunidad (JCC) |
Formación, Capacitación e Inserción Laboral de Jóvenes
Chiapas y Distrito Federal, México
Define the profile of
the promoter and
establish a youth
training program
for promoters, that
should be continuous
, with an educational
curriculum, and that
contains activities to
develop the necessary
skills.
Design a system that
makes it possible to
follow-up graduates
where they can access
different opportunities
provided by the
program
Diversify the sources of
funding to guarantee
the implementation
of the projects both in
the private and public
sectors
There are high
expectations about
the function of the
promoter, however, their
roles is not clear and
they lack the necessary
skills.
In some cases we lose
contact with graduates
and it’s not possible to
continue the follow-up
process
Political will in the
public sector to support
projects
1. Need to Strengthen
promoters’ training and
education
2. Need to follow-up
graduates
3. Difficulties to solicit
and implement
projects
Actions
Difficulties
Findings
Panel 1
Thoughts on the Action
Research Experience
Contribute to build collective
knowledge between the Mexico City
and Chiapas teams.
Importance of links with local and
national stakeholders.
Need to strengthen the
relation with allies.
Promoting assertive
communication.
Analyze the situation of the
organization; JCC, should work
towards sustainability.
Made it possible to define:
If what we are doing is working,
what should stay in the model,
what should be modified, and
what strategies to follow.
It made it possible to know what is
working in the Education, Training and
Job Placement Program.
Panel 2
Jóvenes Constructores de la Comunidad A.C. - Mexico
Dissemination Conference
The Dissemination Conference (November 11-12, 2010) was made possible by a
supplementary grant from Jacobs Foundation. It was added in response to a suggestion
from one of the reviewers of the initial project proposal, supported by foundation staff, that
the project’s dissemination component be strengthened, specifically that it not be limited
to written material and that it target international foundations and organizations active
with Latin American youth organizations. The investigators’ initial view of the conference,
reflected in the name, was that it was primarily about conveying to a selected audience the
project’s findings and results. This view evolved as planning proceeded, especially as the list
of participants grew. It seemed a wasted opportunity to assemble such an impressive group
of people with so much knowledge and experience and then have them spend most of their
time passively listening to case study reports. This observation led to a conference agenda
that engaged team members in focused dialog with the “public/private sector representatives”
attending the Dissemination Conference with the goal of securing their input into the action
research rather than merely telling them about it. This goal was reflected in the purposes
stated for the conference, which were explicitly differentiated between the two major groups
of participants.
Objectives.
Abriendo Caminos Teams
1. Expand and deepen the work of Abriendo Caminos through mutual
commentary, critique, and ongoing planning about “How can we make our
community a better place for youth and young adults?”
2. Develop and refine strategies for future action.
3. Generate ideas about how to use action research in the future.
Public/Private Sector Representatives
1. Gain knowledge about the four programs, their strengths and limitations.
2. Gain knowledge about action research, its promise and challenges.
3. Consider new ideas about how the public and private sectors can better support
the transition to adulthood of marginalized youth.
Identify and Develop Strategies for Promising Ideas, Practices, Programs, Institutions.
Having learned about the four programs from the case studies and posters, the public/private
sector representatives met on Friday morning to consider what issues/topics/questions
they would most like to discuss with the program team members, who were at the same
time meeting to decide what they would most like to discuss with the public/private sector
representatives. These discussions yielded
topics for discussion by mixed groups, each
with the charge to answer two questions:
• What are the most significant problems or
challenges regarding this topic?
• What are some promising ideas,
practices, programs, or institutions that
address this topic?
The plan had been for people to move
from their first-choice group to their
second-choice so that everyone could
discuss two different topics, but only one
person chose to move at the appointed
time. The plenary session in which each
group reported on its discussion was too
brief to allow for a group decision on
priority issues for further discussion, so the
investigators agreed over lunch on the issues
to be discussed next and their decision was
accepted.
Participants chose a group based on the
issue they most wanted to discuss. Each
group’s charge was to develop strategies
for creating or implementing promising
ideas, practices, programs, or institutions
to address their issue. Consistent with
the principle of minimizing one-way
communication, each group’s plans were
then listed on newsprint. Participants were
given colored adhesive dots and asked to
read the other groups’ points and place their
dots next to the ones they most wanted
to discuss further. This “multi-voting”
process set the sequence in which strategies
were discussed at the final plenary session.
Following is a summary of each group’s
major points, derived from the newsprint
notes they produced.
Youth Identity and Participation.
Strategies
• Include young people as decision makers
• Recognize the difference
• Political empowerment
Operational Plan
1. Trust and Acceptance
• Generate linkages
• Reconstruction of family bonds
• Intergenerational exchange
2. Representation/Participation
• Participation in strategic decision making in civil society organizations
• Demanding rights and (youth) active participation in public policies
3. Learning
• Intergenerational Exchange
• Acknowledgement of other learning.
• Promotion in communication media
• Skills for life
Tutors
Strategies
• Include within program planning the duty of continuous training for tutors.
• Establish a program, course or workshop to train future tutors and for professional
recognition, and that includes spatial mobility towards other programs (Mexico,
Colombia, Argentina).
Key Elements
• The training curriculum is unique for each program and not universal.
• Tutors should receive continuous updating of theoretical and everyday knowledge.
• Tutoring should include work with the youth’s family.
Strengthen Organizations, Build Networks [The investigators do not fully understand these
notes.]
• Increase Social Capital (power distribution)
• Enhance the democratic process
• Gain strength through collective action to influence public policies
• Build organizations’ capacity as relevant social actors
Strategies
A. Network-Research: allow and request action research
Commitment with development improves work
Amplifies the evolution itself and systematization
B. Network-Action
Networks by Project that allow the construction of models
Complementary roles (different organizations)
Possibility to include the different
C. Network-Information
1st employment – Latin American Studies about best practices – comparative
labor legislation – departing from free participation of the different actors that
sum the voice of youth (vision) to articulate common responses to address
diversity
Transit space to finish school until Access to the formal labor market that allows offers
to demands that address the visions of youth
Methodology [for Action Research]
• Build bridges between Academia, researchers-social organizations. Hold meetings,
create spaces for debate, joint decision making.
• Training for the academic community and NGOs with AR methodologies and
others.
• Social agenda penetrates the academic and political agenda.
• Recover already created learning.
• Internships for students and academics in social organizations and vice-versa.
Youth Employment/Self-sufficiency
• Begin dialogues between resilient youth and business people at the local level, then
summarize results and continue.
• Need is not to employ participating youth, but to change the perspective of business
people about youth.
• Create induction programs for new employees in the jobs.
• Initiatives also have to benefit the businessmen; benefit should be mutual.
oExample – Cancun
• Mass communication campaigns.
• Research what business people think about youth.
• Use microfinance to transform youth into entrepreneurs.
Youth participation was stimulated by the poster format and by small group discussions.
Youth members of all the teams took leading roles in talking with others about the posters,
a level of youth involvement that would
have been more difficult to achieve in a
more traditional type of presentation with
one or two people at the front of the room
talking to the entire group. One illustration
of youth involvement was when the adults
in the group strategy meeting on Youth
Identity and Participation returned to the
plenary session to say they had just had a
transformative experience. They reported
that after their discussion had gone on for
some time the youth in the group stated that
they had no idea what the adults were talking
about and proceeded to redefine the issues
in ways that made sense to them. The youth
then reported on behalf of the entire group.
The challenge of engaging large numbers of
youth in action research remains.
The Dissemination Conference generated
engagement and enthusiasm. Conference
discussions focused on the issues addressed
by the partners’ action research; participants
sharpened those issues and generated
responses to them. We did not ask
participants to make commitments about
what they were prepared to do about each of
these, assuming that we needed to conclude
the project and produce a report about it
first. After reviewing the conclusions of the
project in this report (see Section 5), the
participants will be asked to help formulate
strategies to build on the momentum
achieved during the conference.
5 | Conclusions
5 | CONCLUSIONS
Learning about the Transition and Conceptual Framework
The project was motivated by our wish to understand emerging institutions supporting
the transition to adulthood of youth with limited resources, and to test the conceptual
framework we had proposed. We tried to avoid imposing that framework. Ideally in action
research all participants share responsibility and authority for developing theory as well as
methods and the partners share a common language of critical terms. The nine months spent
actually engaged in action research allowed this process to begin, in spite of the geographical
separation and the English-Spanish divide. However, our priority during that time was
to focus on the partners’ issues at hand, in their terms, rather than to discuss our original
framework. In this section, we relate our new understandings about the original framework
to the case studies and reflections of the partners.
When discussing human and social capital in the Synthesis Conference, we found some
resistance to the terms. We do not fully understand the source of resistance but it
seemed grounded in a preference for a collective rather than an individualistic approach
(characteristic of the United States). We noted, however, that the group discussing
organizational and network issues during the Dissemination Conference referred to social
capital (see p. 44). We see no contradiction between the goal of building social capital and
a collective orientation. However, we acknowledge that in addition to helping individual
youth find a way out of poverty it is important to build a sense of solidarity among youth
with limited resources and to encourage their sense of collective agency in the political realm.
We observed a vivid example of this during a site visit to Bariloche, when youth organized a
march to the city hall to bring attention to the lack of public services in their neighborhood,
after the fire department’s slow response to a burning house resulted in the death of two
children of one program participant.
We also learned that for action researchers and others who see themselves as pursuing the
liberation of oppressed people, the metaphor of human and social capital is unacceptable
because of its market connotations. We retain these terms in the discussion of our framework
that follows to link what we learned from the project to our conceptual starting point.
However, part of that learning was about the need to reframe the issues in terms that our
partners understand and can use.
5 | Conclusions
Developmental
Assets. These
organizations
are well
positioned
to build
developmental
assets that
are critical
to successful adulthood in the twenty-first century. One is a sense of purpose and agency,
including having both a life plan and the confidence to enact it. All the programs work with
youth on their “life projects,” which result in a life plan.
The Bariloche team discovered a gap between having a plan and acting on it. They found
that many of their participants stated a commitment to finding a job, but then failed to take
action; specifically, they reported no job search activity. In addition, these youth expected
staff to do the work the youth themselves needed to do, such as writing a resume, reading job
postings, and calling to schedule interviews. One factor, staff concluded, is that the youth
realize they need a job but also resist the discomfort of leaving their neighborhoods and daily
routines.
After Cartagena the Bariloche team reflected that the gender issues they identified might not
be restricted to women.
“If we work with gender issues, would it be circumscribed solely to women’s
problems?” It is still a question how to work the gender theme, as a function of the
specifics that groups present. (Por un Mañana Case Study, p. 32)
A second developmental asset is human capital or the competence needed to work
productively. Formal education is the best indicator of human capital. All the programs
recognize and convey the importance of education, but only Terminalidad in Buenos Aires
provides formal education to participants. (Fundación Gente Nueva in Bariloche operates 10
schools; Por un Mañana encourages but does not require participants to enroll in school.)
The other programs enhance another aspect of human capital, in addition to education, that
goes by various names and is less easily measured. Some call it soft skills. We prefer the term,
“personal and social competence,” which we define as including self-confidence, initiative,
motivation, career planning, teamwork, and communication, among other components.
While all programs engage participants in activities likely to enhance these competencies, we
did not observe a clear connection between them and employment or methods of assessing
and documenting them to make participants more attractive job applicants (e.g., by means of
portfolios or letters of reference).
5 | Conclusions
The third developmental asset we identified is social capital, the personal relationships that
help a person achieve goals. The programs build “bonding social capital” by creating peer
groups with a positive orientation, a benefit noted especially by Casas Francisco Esperanza
graduates. Staff members, especially tutors, can add to participants’ “bridging social capital.”
But aside from the frustrated efforts to create more internships in Bariloche, little effort was
devoted in the programs to building bridging social capital; e.g., by trying to create mentoring
relationships or otherwise engaging participants with adults outside their neighborhoods.
The action research project alerted Casas Francisco Esperanza to the need to counter bonding
with peers who might encourage destructive behavior.
Another key finding was the recognition that women are assuming the attitudes of
gang members, almost to replace the men who join organized crime. Men enroll in
the armed groups outside the law and women adopt masculine behaviors in violent
gangs. This requires rethinking the work within Casas Francisco Esperanza. (Casas
Francisco Esperanza Case Study, p. 28)
Structural Features. In the conceptual writing that guided the design of this project, we
identified in institutions supporting the transition to adulthood six characteristics or features,
which then guided our selection of our four partner programs: public/private partnerships;
an emphasis on both learning and earning; creating responsible social roles for youth;
providing opportunities for youth leadership and civic engagement; proliferating pathways to
adulthood; and fostering mentoring relationships between youth and adults.
The last feature had the greatest prominence in the action research and conferences. As noted,
all four programs have a staff role called tutor or promoter, whose responsibilities include
what we would call mentoring. The importance of developing this role and sustaining the
people who perform it is clearly evident. However, as noted in relation to social capital, other
potential sources of mentoring have not been explored.
In their reflections after Cartagena three partners noted that the action research process
opened questions about the role of mentors or tutors.
With regards to this result, the action research team agrees with the need to rethink
the role of the promoter, recognizing the scope and limitations of youth promoters
and proposing a new approach for the role that the promoter should play within
the program. We could propose a new role or two types of promoters, one that
promotes, incentivizes and accompanies the process and another one with a different
profile that researches and follows a role like the tutor...(Jóvenes Constructores de la
Communidad Case Study, p. 36)
5 | Conclusions
This experience has allowed us to reassess the work of the tutor. Because it is a
fundamental element in the process youth go through, the decision was made
to develop a process of training and support for tutors to build on their core
competencies and to consider forming an international network about tutors
in conjunction with other institutions of ‘Abriendo Caminos.’ (Casas Francisco
Esperanza Case Study, p. 28)
One opportunity for youth leadership and civic engagement observed in Bariloche and
in Mexico is the opportunity for some participants to move into paid staff roles; both
teams included youth who had done this as representatives to the Search, Synthesis, and
Dissemination conferences. Allowing program time for youth to organize the march in
Bariloche cited above is an example of promoting civic engagement. Two youth on the Cali
team took active roles in the action research and the conferences, and helped establish and
maintain the graduate house. One of the challenges identified by the team in Buenos Aires
was precisely how to engage youth more effectively in the action research.
The four organizations all have links with both public and private sectors, but those links
vary widely. Fundación Gente Nueva in Bariloche receives funding from both public and
private sources and operates 10 public schools constructed with private money but staffed
by public employees. Likewise, Fundación SES in Buenos Aires receives funding from the
National Ministry of Labor and Social Security. The programs in Cali and Mexico are typical
of non-profit organizations that seek funding from all sources. Fundación Paz y Bien has not
yet received government funding.
After Cartagena, the Bariloche team listed plans for action steps requiring structural changes.
1. The possibility to create a space of reference to orient employment searches (in
some way to institutionalize what happened informally until today).
2. Leave vacant places for training of graduates in the program and in this way to
keep linking and strengthening the started processes.
3. Construction of spaces for citizenship training, neighborhood referents and work
in neighborhood communities.
4. Study the possibility to develop an initiative, possibly as a service cooperative,
in which not only job placements were facilitated, but also strengthening the
learnings in relation to the world of work. This initiative would allow us to face
current obstacles in relation to employment legislation for internships.
5. The creation of an office of job mediation as a service for business people and
youth.
5 | Conclusions
“How to continue working to create awareness within the community and business
people.” After what many commentators and guests said in the Cartagena meeting
about the obstacles and little response from the business sector to the job placement
objectives of youth, we are still thinking about how to generate an impact beyond
public policies. (Por un Mañana Case Study, p. 32)
Casas Francisco Esperanza and JCC also wanted to figure out what was happening to
graduates, and hoped to make structural changes to offer more support:
[After Cartagena] The decision was made to systematize the youths’ experiences by
collecting the life stories of young people and feedback on the new generations, [to
see how] the new young people have lived as graduates and thus integrate meanings
and senses. (Casas Francisco Esperanza Case Study, p. 28)
[After Cartagena] In this section I suggest that we add this commitment with youth
and provide answers to questions we pose ourselves: Why are we interested in
knowing what youth will do after participating in the JCC project? How would we
achieve this? What opportunities do youth have to enter the labor market or school?
What duties belong to the State and how far does our “duty” go? This strategy about
followup that we proposed to continue to train and teach graduates should [use]
an action research methodology. In other words, apply the principles of action
research: detect the symptoms and needs, open process to knowledge and approach
the problem with what has been studied, and add efforts of the other actors, negotiate
and develop concrete proposals. In other words, apply the principles of action
research without forgetting the direction: a service to the community. (Jóvenes
Constructores de la Communidad Case Study, Francisco Almanza Aguaya, p. 36)
An organizational issue that attracted a great deal of attention during the Dissemination
Conference is how to sustain non-profit organizations such as these. Network building was
the chosen approach, but clearly that is only part of what staff and stakeholders need to do to
keep the programs operating and build their capacity.
The importance of the substantive issues incorporated into our initial conceptual framework
was confirmed by the project. They appeared in some form in all four programs. Pursuing
this line of research in the future, we would strive to use terms identifying those issues that
our partners recognize and can readily use themselves. Rather than human capital, we might
refer to competencies, including academic, technical (or vocational), personal, and social.
Rather than social capital, we might refer to social networks. Ideally the terms would be
jointly decided.
5 | Conclusions
Reflections on Action Research
The Cornell investigators found engagement in action research to be informative and
engaging. It was the right choice to achieve our goals. Some aspects of our project were
distinctive and deserve comment. Action research is commonly conducted in a single site.
Our simultaneous inclusion of four programs from different locations posed challenges but
also proved productive. In addition, professional action researchers normally work directly
with the community-based action research team. Recognizing the distance separating us, we
devised the role of local researcher as a more readily accessible source of technical expertise
and an intermediary between us and the teams for research methodology. The Search
Conference is often a part of action research, but our followup Synthesis and Dissemination
Conferences are less common.
Ideally engagement in action research has an enduring impact on an organization,
changing the way staff do their work and the way participants experience the program. It is
self-sustaining because the new perspectives and new skills are put to use on new challenges.
Describing the critical reflection they had engaged in, the Bariloche team noted the positive
impact of this process on their operations:
As a final thought, we think it’s important to highlight the invitation for continuous
reflection, leaving behind in this way the secure places of dogmatic knowledge,
giving a place to the voices of others that make it possible to think again and review
practices. In this sense, the richness of action research is the process completed, the
knowledge shared, and the questions generated. (Por un Mañana Case Study, p.32)
The JCC, Casas Francisco Esperanza and Terminalidad teams as well wrote in their comments
after Cartagena about how the reflection process caused them to reconsider program
structures related to building youth competencies. Demonstrated commitment and capacity
to carry through on this level of reconsideration and program improvement varied.
In our judgment, most of the choices we made about how to conduct action research worked
well. Exchanges among people in the four programs added information and ideas and made
the entire process more interesting. It is useful, we concluded in retrospect, to provide some
social comparison; one motivation for doing good work was to share it with “peers” working
on related programs. Scheduling the two conferences set a firm deadline for having case
studies ready to share. The participation of Jacobs Foundation representatives and the stature
of the public/private sector representatives raised the stakes of the November conferences and,
we believe, added to program teams’ motivation to do their work well. The local researchers
proved essential to the conduct of action research. As we anticipated, the need for technical
expertise and skilled work (e.g., designing questionnaires, analyzing data) was too great for
us to have met it from afar. We also learned some lessons that we would draw on if we did
something like this again.
5 | Conclusions
1. Criteria for selecting partners: Evidence of self criticism
To engage effectively in action research, partner program staff must be willing and able to take
a critical view of their own program. We recognized throughout the project and especially
in preparation for the Dissemination Conference that program staff are accustomed to being
advocates for their programs, as they should be. We strongly advised them to set aside this
approach and make full use of both the data they had collected and the expertise of the other
conference participants (including the other program teams and the four external academic
commentators) to bring to the table and work on critical issues facing their programs,
including weaknesses and failures. Most teams trusted the process enough to take this risk
and, we believe, benefited from it. When teams or team members resisted criticism and
possible changes, the process was ineffective. In the future we would probe more during the
selection phase for willingness to acknowledge problems and unfulfilled hopes and for the
acuity to diagnose and discuss problems and possible solutions.
2. Expectations about communication, timeliness
Communication between the Cornell investigators and the teams was frequent and
constructive. Sometimes, however, it was not as frequent as it should have been. Upon
reflection, we recognize that building trustworthy mutual expectations takes time. Regular
and frequent communication was established more quickly with some sites than others.
We would work in the future to set quite specific expectations about how quickly replies
should be received when questions are asked and how frequent video and Skype conferences
should be. Team members worked hard to follow the project’s schedule, but sometimes late
completion of work placed great pressure on the Cornell investigators.
3. Communication about the nature of action research
Despite our best efforts to make sure our program partners knew what they were agreeing to
do, some reported that they were unsure for the first few months of the project. Some of this
uncertainty is built into action research: because it is not pre-determined, no one can spell out
in advance exactly what will happen. Alerting partners to this uncertainty in advance might
reduce their anxiety. But advance knowledge of what is going to happen is impossible with
action research; it is an emergent process.
At the outset, we presented action research as a multi-faceted conjunction of its two
components, not simply as research that leads to action but as a seamless process of
investigation, reflection, and change. Some teams grasped this quickly. The team leader for
Bariloche declared that action research had become their normal mode of operation. But
it continued to seem to others that research only meant formal data collection and analysis
(e.g., using interviews or a questionnaire). For the investigators, realizing that the Synthesis
and Dissemination Conferences were a continuation of action research, not simply a time
5 | Conclusions
to report on it, embodied our growing understanding of action research as non-linear. The
inclusion in case studies of data collected from observing regular staff meetings and the
integration of action research into multiple program activities demonstrates that the working
definition broadened as teams moved the process forward. Critical reflection combined with
a willingness to look for empirical evidence to answer questions (and pose new ones) are
hallmarks of action research as we understand it.
We cannot say that action research has produced visible results, but we can say that
it has strengthened the conditions that allow the program’s objectives to be achieved.
We know that achieving the expected results requires adjustments on the development
of actions that are taking shape, and in this sense the research accomplished that the
tutors could be more involved and that their role made more sense to the educational
community. This doesn’t mean that it had not before, but instead that their role took
a new dimension. (Terminalidad Case Study, p 28)
4. Role clarity
We produced “scope of work” statements for the partners and local researchers and tried
to be clear about the Cornell investigators’ roles, but role definition required continuous
effort, including within teams. The Bariloche team reported that they engaged in extended
arguments over the first few months before developing a way of working together. The
local researchers’ roles were central to that negotiation. In Cali the team leader was careful
to bring the two youth members into all major activities. Some tension surfaced when the
local researcher referred to some youth participants as gang members, a sensitive designation
that the program staff insisted be handled differently in the case study, as the program youth
rejected the stigma of this term. The proposal to conduct an additional survey initiated by
university researchers who did not have the long experience with the program that the local
researcher had also created tension about team membership and roles. The dispersal of the
Mexico team left much of the work in the hands of one staff member and the local researcher,
with participation by the youth team member and occasional participation by other staff
members located elsewhere. Determining who should do what and who had authority to
make certain decisions posed challenges. The Buenos Aires team appeared to function quite
smoothly, with the acknowledged continuing tension about involving youth consistently. This
tension resulted in part from working in six schools rather than in one neighborhood. The
smoothness may have resulted from the staff members’ experience with research. Much of the
work of Fundácion SES involves evaluation and information exchange in support of youth
programs. Terminalidad is exceptional in being a program for youth that it operates directly.
Involving professionals (teachers and administrators) at multiple schools took time but was
necessary and advantageous. In the following reflections after Cartagena, the team reconsiders
the position of youth in their program model.
5 | Conclusions
The challenge of this program is to increase “terminalidad” [graduation/completion]
rates to include more youth. At the beginning of the investigation we thought that
it was the adults who should be more involved with it; we did not see clearly what
young people could do in action research. We thought we had to “do for them.” We
believe and we are convinced that we have a responsibility as adults and this made
us assume a protective role, giving them the chance to speak, listening to them, but
not involving them in the research in an active role. For example, at the beginning
some members had foreseen that students organized a forum along with teachers
and directors to discuss institutional norms. This was discussed by the tutor group
and did not take place for fear that it would generate resistance and rejection from
teachers and authorities, and it would end up being a negative action towards
inclusion. A more gradual incorporation of actors was chosen instead. We do not
regret having chosen this, but we have learned that young people have to speak out
and need to have a greater involvement. The participation of young people in each
meeting in Cartagena revealed the strength of their voice among adults in charge of
the program and multiplied the program’s strength among the young people upon
their return to Buenos Aires. Then, why wait for meetings in faraway places?
Today we are more convinced of our challenge: to achieve the inclusion of more
young people. And while we are strengthened in our proposal, major challenges
remain: to advance the teacher-tutor relation to work on the issue of students and
build a more active role for them. We think that working on the responsibilities of
students in their school can improve the construction of their autonomy to decide, to
assume the responsibility for oneself as part of their life plan.
We are determined to move away from the role of tutors as “links”, “mediators”,
“center” between students and teachers. We believe in working with teachers to
instill new mechanisms, new practices, where the “center” is the students, the youth.
(Terminalidad Case Study, p. 28-29)
The roles of the Cornell investigators also evolved during the project. Mary Agnes served,
as planned, as the project director and key contact for all participants. Davydd served as
an internal action research consultant, but principles and practices associated with action
research must be interpreted and adapted in specific situations and this fell to Mary Agnes and
Steve. After selecting the programs and establishing working relationships with the program
partners, they concentrated on aiding and encouraging the refinement and implementation of
the partners’ action research. However, as time went on they were reminded that they chose
programs related to their substantive expertise and had contributions to make on the design
and implementation of programs as well as on action research. As a result, they began to offer
substantive advice, notably on issues related to employment and mentoring, despite concerns
5 | Conclusions
that this might muddy partners’ conceptions of their role. The role of university researchers
is a fundamental challenge inherent in action research. Defining that role was a continuing
struggle in this project; we have more to learn about recognizing the issues and resolving that
struggle.
Action research places in dialog the scholarly expertise of the external researchers and the
expertise other participants bring to the process by virtue of their formal credentials, lived
experience, and personal qualities (intelligence, sensitivity, etc.). Overvaluing or undervaluing
any source of expertise weakens the process. Confronting and building on the tensions among
different sources of expertise generates more useful and valid knowledge.
5. Case studies
Writing is another skill that university researchers bring to action research. We
underestimated the challenge posed by the expectation that program teams write case studies.
In retrospect we realize that diverse teams of people, most of whom do not regularly write
complex pieces, should be expected to struggle with this assignment. Sharing well-done drafts
in advance of the due date helped. Additional models might have been helpful as well. We
urged team members to keep journals to draw from in writing case studies, but few did so.
However, some local researchers kept observation notes, which proved to be a rich source for
the case studies.
Next Steps
Abriendo Caminos reports and project materials. Reports and partner case studies are
available in English and Spanish on the web at Cornell Youth in Society Program publications.
Practitioners’ guide to action research. We hope to produce a practitioners’ guide to the use
of action research with youth organizations, drawing on experience and accessible resources.
Academic publications. Following are topics for three articles:
Opening Pathways for Marginalized Youth in Patagonia (Journal of Research on
Adolescence, submitted letter of intent January 15, 2011 for special issue on youth in
“the majority world.” The two local researchers from Bariloche, Lucia Bianchi and
Jacquie Brand, will be co-authors with the Hamiltons.)
Action Research with multiple remote sites (Action Research Journal)
Evidence-Based Programs and Action Research (American Journal of Community
Psychology)
5 | Conclusions
We will prepare a book proposal for a more extended report on the project. It will include
a revised version of the conceptual framework that draws on our 2009 chapter adding
refinements introduced by this project. Each of the partner programs and its action research
will be described, drawing on their case studies and on our field notes and reflections from
site visits and subsequent communications. Common themes and differences among the
partner programs will be discussed. Conclusions and implications of the project will be
developed, with recommendations for policies, programs, and further research.
Create practitioner networks. The discussions and ideas that grew out of the Dissemination
Conference were very valuable and very stimulating. Future action on these ideas by any
of the conference participants would demonstrate the value of the project. Our own ideas
for next steps reflect out interests and expertise as they could intersect with those ideas. All
participants were impressed by the results of the action research. Continuing in some way
and including more organizations in the process were strong recommendations. One of the
final groups focused on how to improve action research methodology and support the efforts
of people without formal research training. This is something our team has expertise in, but
we are also conscious of the limitations imposed by distance. Therefore, we are considering
how to link action research with more specific topics that we know about, focusing our future
action research activities on those topics more than on methodology suitable for all purposes.
The two topics identified in the conference, growing out of the partners’ action research, are:
the creation and maintenance of the role of tutor (or promoter), which, in out terms, is a
mentoring role; and enabling youth to find employment (including self-employment). We
plan to develop a proposal to create a network of practitioners working on these topics, and
to promote and support action research by network members as a means of addressing the
issues.
Latin American university faculty members would be invaluable members of such a network.
Cornell University has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pontifica
Universidad Javeriana-Cali, which provides a basis for such work. In addition, the two
Latin American scholars who served as commentators (Silvia Koller, Brazil; Silvia Giorguli,
Mexico) are likely collaborators. Several of the public/private sector representatives at the
Dissemination Conference expressed interest in working with us. The representative from the
Inter-American Development Bank offered assistance in organizing conferences and access to
an existing network of more than a thousand youth-serving organizations.
We envision building a network of practitioners and researchers to engage in three kinds of
activities.
1. Identify and share “best practices” in relation to each topic. Locate exemplary
programs, practices, and policies and make information about them available.
One function of the network is to build a knowledge base as these best practices
5 | Conclusions
are tried in new locations. This will require developing an operational definition
and criteria for what can be considered best practices and then instituting a
process of review and selection. It may prove advisable to develop a protocol for
the kind of information to provide to those who wish to learn about and try out
these practices.
2. Identify, summarize, and synthesize research relevant to the topic. Evaluation
studies will contribute to the best practices component, but academic research is
part of the background that practitioners (and policy makers) should know about.
The product will be a regularly updated source for good research that can inform
policies and practices, including original sources and brief accounts written for
non-researchers. To the extent that this activity can incorporate research from
both North and South America, it will also increase international communication
of research.
3. Training, technical assistance, and mutual support for action research on the
topics. Some of this may be done regionally, some with individual programs, and
some remotely. The goal will be to aid practitioners in designing and conducting
action research. Results will be incorporated in the best practices and relevant
research activities.
Electronic technology is essential to this plan, including text, audio, and visual communication
(Skype, video-conference). Some in-person face-to-face contact remains essential.
Conferences along the lines of the Search, Synthesis, and Dissemination conferences will
be used in some form. We created a Google Group after the Search Conference to facilitate
sharing of materials and to encourage direct communication among our partners. However,
this medium proved cumbersome. We sent instruments and case studies to all partners via
e-mail, which assured their distribution. New technology (e.g., Facebook) offers rich and
user-friendly opportunities for collaboration at a distance, but more work is needed to take
full advantage of those opportunities.
Appendices
APPENDICES
Appendices
A |Case Study Template
60
B |Synthesis Conference Participants
62
C |Synthesis Conference Agenda
63
D |International Dissemination Conference Participants
66
E | International Dissemination Conference Agenda
67
60 | APPENDIX A | Case Study Template
Case Study Template Draft #4 / Una Planilla para el Estudio de Caso
August 13, 2010
The purpose of the case study is to provide an account of the action research each program has done, that will be
both interesting and informative to others. Readers may include: people in the other programs participating in
Abriendo Caminos; people in other programs for youth in Latin America and elsewhere; government, foundation,
and NGO officials who support such programs; scholars and students interested in youth development. One way to
think about what to put into a case study is to include what you would like to know about the other programs.
Your case study will be reviewed by our Cornell team and returned to you for suggested revisions. We will try for a
quick turnaround, to allow you enough time and repeated cycles as needed. Our deadline to receive your final
revisions before the conference will be October 20. We will then translate your case studies and send them to the
Commentators so they can read them before the conference.
This template is a suggested outline. We do not expect every case study to follow exactly the same format. Please
note we have inserted a suggested page length (typed, double-spaced, 1” margins) for each section. This is intended
to give you guidance on the relative importance of each section. You may need to deviate somewhat. Try to remain
close (not double the suggested length, for example).
Writers for different sections should include the participants in the action research: local researchers, your team
members (including youth and young adults), as well as stakeholders in your community. Writers may work
together on different sections. It is your choice.
5-8 pages
1. Program Profile1
Name
Location (geographical)
Community Characteristics: nation, city, neighborhood(s)
Demographics, economics, social/political, environmental, cultural
Larger foundation or organization of which the program is part (if any)
Organizational structure/leadership (primarily the specific program, but including larger organization, if
any)
Funding
Mission of the organization and objectives of the program
Participants
Characteristics (including ages, gender, education, marital/parental status,
Professional training (beneficiaries or staff?)
Number in program(s)
Partnerships and stakeholders
Who are they?
How are they involved?
Principal Activities
What do participants do?
For what period of time?
How often?
2. Your Action Research Plan 2-3 pages
Objectives (latest version)
Evolution of the action research activities (You may want to write sections of this narrative as events occur,
to capture points of view and impressions while they are still fresh.)
1
The focus of the profile should be on the specific program that is part of Abriendo Caminos. However, the profile should include information
about the larger organization of which it is a part; e.g., Para un Mañana is part of Fundación Gente Nueva; JCC in Chiapas is part of JCC Mexico
and includes components not involved in action research.
APPENDIX A | Case Study Template | 61
Challenges in getting started
Turning points, critical incidents, dilemmas
Rationale
Forces impeding and promoting achievement of objectives
Resource needs
People participating
Other organizations involved
3-5 pages
3. Data2 Collection
(Describe each data collection activity. We assume that this process will continue in different forms as
your action research evolves. Therefore, you will probably conduct multiple data collections over the life
of the project. Again, we suggest you write the narrative close to the time when it happens rather than
waiting until the end of the project and trying to recall.)
Question(s)
Types of Data collected
Community meetings
Interviews, questionnaires, focus groups using Cornell IRB approved instruments, (to be posted
on the web, not in case study)
Other?
Who was involved in decisions about data collection?
How and why were major decisions made as they were?
How were youth involved?
Who collected what data? How were youth involved?
What were the data /information sources for each type of data collected?
Describe the pool, that is, the number and characteristics of people who might have been included
(e.g., graduates).
Who was questioned? How many responded?
4. Data Analysis Process
5- 10 pages
How was the data analyzed?
e.g., How did you code or make sense of your data? (from all sources)?
Who analyzed data?
What were the key findings?
Who participated in making the decisions about identifying the key findings?
How did the team members respond to the findings?
Any surprises?
Any disagreements?
5. Actions Taken
5 Pages
Describe what happened after each data collection and analysis.
How were the findings communicated? To whom?
What kinds of thoughts, reflections, did different participants have about what to do?
What did the team decide to do as a result of the findings? What actions were taken?
Results: What happened after the actions were taken?
6. Learning, Reflections 5 Pages or more
(may be testimonials by different people –in team, from community, youth, teachers, or others who
participated in the project, local researcher)
What did you learn from the action research process?
You may want to describe these insights by inserting “boxes” into text describing what you were
doing at the time. For example, you may want to share debates, new insights, and changes in
plans that occurred; or have individuals give their own accounts.
What has participation in action research meant to your program and its participants?
2
“Data” includes non-numerical information, such as responses to interview questions.
62 | APPENDIX B | Synthesis Conference Participants
Conferencia de Síntesis
Cartagena, Colombia | Noviembre 10-11, 2010
Comentadores
Connie Flanagan,Professor, U of Wisconsin
Silvia Elena Giorguli Saucedo,Director DEDUA,Colegio de
Mexico, Mexico City
Silvia Koller,Professora, U Federal do Rio Grande do Sul,
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Xolela Mangcu,U Johannesburg, Exec Chair, Platform for
Public Deliberation
Jóvenes Constructores de la Comunidad
Jacobs Foundation
Kenia Cogollo,Profesora Asociada
Alix Cecilia Padilla Castro,Estudiante, traductor
Verónica Barboza Robles,Estudiante, traductor
María Emma Marrugo Hernández,Estudiante, traductor
Jaime Paternina Llanos,Estudiante, traductor
Bernd Ebersold,CEO
Claudia Guimarães,Latin American Process Consultant
Constanze Lullies,Latin American Program Officer
Simon Sommer,Program Officer
Fundación Gente Nueva, Por un Mañana Juan Carlos Cabrera Calderón,Facilitator
Gustavo Gennuso,Team Leader, Foundation Director
DaiAna Matamala,Tutora
Alicia Monacci,Coordinación Operativa
María Sol Sánchez Tamer,Tutora
Lucía Bianchi,Investigadora
Fundación Paz y Bien, Casas Francisco Esperanza
Alba Stella Barreto Caro,Foundation Director
Jenny Mora Bonilla,Team Leader
Dreider Ortiz Quiñones,Egresado del programa
Alexis Longa Murillo,Egresado del programa
María Teresa Riascos Vásquez,Coordinadora del programa
Jorge Ordóñez Valverde,Investigador
María Clara Cuevas,Investigadora
Teresita Sevilla,Investigadora
Fundación SES, Terminalidad
Dana Borzese,Team Leader
Emiliano Chamorro, Estudiante
Daniela Devoto, Tutora Socio Laboral
Alejandra Solla,Directora Adjunta de Fundación SES
Graciela Misirlis,Investigadora
Francisco Almanza Aguayo,Team Leader, Program
Director
Eliezer Homá Toquiantzi,Promotor
Ana Isabel León Ramírez,Coordinadora Área Social
Bertha Rivera Lona,Coordinadora
Laura Saldivar Tanaka, Investigadora
Universidad de Cartagena
Cornell University
Davydd Greenwood,Professor, Co-PI
Mary Agnes Hamilton,Senior Research Associate,
Director, Co-PI
Stephen Hamilton,Professor, PI
Diego Ríos Zertuche,Graduate Research Assistant
APPENDIX C | Synthesis Conference Agenda | 63
Synthesis Conference
Cartagena, Colombia
AGENDA | November 10-11, 2010
Purposes
ExpandanddeepentheworkofAbriendoCaminosthroughmutualcommentary,critique,and
ongoingplanningabout“Howcanwemakeourcommunityabetterplaceforyouthandyoung
adults?”
• Reflectonlearningfromactionresearch
• Developandrefinestrategiesforfutureaction
Planhowtorepresentthisworktoaninternationalaudienceofpublicandprivatesector
representatives
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10
Opening
........................................................................................................................................... 9:00 – 9:30
Greeting
ReviewPurposesandActivitiesofSynthesisConference
Contents For Team Posters
1. ActionResearchObjectives
2. HowteamsusedActionResearch,successfullyandnot
3. Majorfindings:successes,issues,problems
4. Actiontakenorplanned;plannedbutnottaken
5. Keep,Drop,Createforfutureactions
6. ReflectionsonActionResearchexperience
Group Work – Cycle 1...................................................................................................................................... 9:30 – 11:30
Instructions
........................................................................................................................................... 9:30 – 9:40
• BarilocheandCaliformonegroup.
o Facilitator:ConstanzeLullies.
o Commentators:SilviaGiorguli,XolelaMangcu
• BuenosAiresandMexicoformasecondgroup.
o Facilitator:KeniaCogollo
o Commentators:ConnieFlanagan,SilviaKoller
1) Eachteamdiscussesissues,problemstheyarestrugglingwithnow(record
onflipchart)(15min)
a. Whyisthisanissueorproblem?Whatdoyouknowaboutit?
b. Howdidyouractionresearchleadyoutoidentifyit?
c. Actions:Haveyoutakenanystepstoaddresstheissue/problem?Ifso,
whathappened?Ifnot,whynot?Arethereactionsyouplannedbut
didnottake?Whatadditionalactionsdoyouplantotake?
2)Membersofotherteamquestionpresentingteam(20minutes)
3)Recordernotesmainpointsonflipcharts’outline
4)Commentatorsgiveremarks,identifyissues,themes(10minutes)
GroupWork—Cycle1..................................................................................................................................... 9:40 – 10:25
• BarilochepresentsanddiscussestheircasewithCaliandcommentators.
• BuenosAirespresentsanddiscussestheircasewithMexicoandcommentators.
Break ....................................................................................................................................... 10:25 – 10:45
The Cornell University research project, Abriendo Caminos: Jóvenes in América Latina, and the synthesis and dissemination conferences are
supported by Jacobs Foundation. The MacArthur Foundation has added support for both conferences.
64 | APPENDIX C | Terminalidad | Synthesis Conference Agenda
GroupWork—Cycle1–Continued............................................................................................................ 10:45 – 11:30
• CalipresentsanddiscussestheircasewithBarilocheandcommentators.
• MexicopresentsanddiscussestheircasewithBuenosAiresandcommentators.
Plenary 1 – Discussion with Commentators............................................................................................... 11:35 – 12:05
• Briefpresentationoftheflipchartsofeachteam.
• Commentatorsposequestionsandcomments.
• Wholegroupcomparescasesforsimilaritiesanddifferences.
Bridging the Gap between Ideal and Probable Futures............................................................................. 12:05 – 13:00
• Howdoprogramsempoweryouthtomovetowardsuccessfultransitions?
Hamiltonsillustratechallengesofpromotingdevelopmentalassets:
1. Senseofpurposeandagency
2. Humancapital
3. Socialcapital
Lunch
....................................................................................................................................... 13:00 – 14:30
• Teammembersfindtableswithmembersofotherteamshavingthesamerole:
programdirectors,localresearchers,staff,youth.Commentators,others
choosetables.
Group Work – Cycle 2
•
•
Break
................................................................................................................................ 14:30 – 16:00
BarilocheandBuenosAiresformonegroup.
RepeatprocessdescribedinCycle1,reviseflipcharts(45minperteam).
BarilochepresentsanddiscussestheircasewithBuenosAiresandcommentators.
BuenosAirespresentsanddiscussestheircasewithBarilocheandcommentators.
Facilitator:ConstanzeLullies.
Commentators:ConnieFlanagan,SilviaKoller
CaliandMexicoformasecondgroup.
RepeatprocessdescribedinCycle1,reviseflipcharts(45minperteam).
CalipresentsanddiscussestheircasewithMexicoandcommentators.
MexicopresentsanddiscussestheircasewithCaliandcommentators
Facilitator:KeniaCogollo
Commentators:SilviaGiorguli,XolelaMangcu
....................................................................................................................................... 16:00 – 16:20
Team Meetings – Keep, Drop, Create for Future Actions.......................................................................... 16:20 – 16:50
• TeamsmeetseparatelytodecidewhattoKeep,Drop,andCreatetoenable
futureActions.
• Whatisthetruthyouwillspeaktopower?
Plenary 2 – Discuss Teams’ Future Actions................................................................................................. 16:50 – 18:00
• EachteamreportsplansaboutwhattheywillKeep,Drop,Createforfuture
actions,usingflipcharts.
• Commentatorsandothersidentifythemes/issuesacrossprograms
(importantpointsheardandnotheard)
Free Time
....................................................................................................................................... 18:00 – 19:00
Wednesday Dinner ...................................................................................................................................... 19:00 – 20:00
APPENDIX C | Synthesis Conference Agenda | 65
THURSDAY, NOV. 11
Plan for the Dissemination Conference.......................................................................................................... 9:00 – 9:15
• BriefoverviewofplanforFriday
• WhoarePublic/PrivateSectorRepresentativescomingtothedissemination
conference
• Eachteamwillprepareapostertoportrayitsactionresearchproject,andto
getfeedback:
Panel 1: WhatdowewanttoconveytoPublic/PrivateSectorRepresentatives
4. Actiontakenorplanned;plannedbutnottaken
Panel 2:TeamReflectionsonActionResearchexperience
Panel 3:Comments:Public/PrivateSectorRepresentatives,otherAbriendo
Caminosteams,commentators,Jacobsteam,Cornellteam
Teams Draft Posters........................................................................................................................................ 9:15 – 10:30
Break
....................................................................................................................................... 10:30 – 10:50
Action Research Clinic .................................................................................................................................. 10:50 – 12:30
• Brainstormchallenges,barriers,problems,failuresinactionresearch.(15min)
• Consolidate,categorize,andprioritizelist(5min)
• Discusseachpoint.Usegroup’scollectiveexpertisetoproblemsolve.(60min)
• Distinguishproblemsthatcanberesolvedbyorganizationaldevelopmentof
theteamsandproblemsthatareoflargerscaleandrequirethesupportand
collaborationofothers.
Teams Prepare Presentations of Poster Drafts........................................................................................... 12:30 – 13:00
Lunch ....................................................................................................................................... 13:00 – 14:00
Plenary 3 – Teams Share and Critique Poster Drafts.................................................................................. 14:00 – 15:00
• 10minutepresentations,5minutediscussionperteam
Break
....................................................................................................................................... 15:00 – 15:20
Plenary 4 – Review Dissemination Conference schedule and its logic..................................................... 15:20 – 16:00
• Hopesfortheoutcomesofthedisseminationconference
• QuestionsthatPublic/PrivateSectorRepresentativesmayask
• Pointsyouwanttomakesuretheyunderstand
Teams Finish Posters..................................................................................................................................... 16:00 – 17:30
• TeamsplansfordiscussionswithPublic/PrivateSectorRepresentatives
Free Time
....................................................................................................................................... 17:30 – 19:00
66 | APPENDIX D | International Dissemination Conference Participants
Conferencia de Internacional de Difusión
Cartagena, Colombia | Noviembre 11-12, 2010
Representantes del Sector Público/Privado
Fabio Armao, Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation Representative, Turin, Italy
Lewis León Baños,Universidad de Cartagena, Professor, Social Sciences and Education (observer)
Edith Beatríz Byk,PREJAL, ILO (OIT), National Coordinador, Argentina
María Eugenia Carvajal,Fundación Carvajal, Deputy President, Colombia
Carlos Alberto Casas Herrera,Fundación Corona, Chief of Education Area, Colombia
José Iván Castellanos Nájera,UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, Advisory Group on
Youth, Mexico
Marcela Contreras Escobar,Fundaciones, Empresa Acesco, Directora de las Fundaciones de la empresa
Acesco, Colombia
Alberto Croce,SES, Director, Argentina
Gustavo Gándara,UOCRA, Executive Director, Argentina
Margarita García,Fundación Terpel, Executive Director, Colombia
Julia Gutiérrez de Piñeres,SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje), Colombia
María Eugenia Guachetá R.,Fundación ARKA, Representante Legal, Bogotá, Colombia
Fabián Andrés Koss, InterAmerican Development Bank, Youth Program Coordinator,Colombia
Tere Lanzagorta Bonilla,Servicios a la Juventud A.C., Director, Mexico
Juliana Postarini Mariño, Coordinadora Prevención del Reclutamiento de Niñas, Niños y Jóvenes,
Presidencia de la República, Alta Consejería para la Reintegración, Bogotá
Estefanía Montoya,Fundación Fútbol con Corazón Executive Director, Barranquilla, Colombia
Lorena Morales Vidal, Asociacion Colectivo Mujeres al Delrecho, Cooperative Member,
Baranquilla, Colombia
José Orejuela Olmes Mondragón, Director, Pastoral Vocations, Diocese of Cali, Colombia
Anita Pombo Gallardo,Universidad de Cartagena, Dean, Social Sciences and Education (Friday
dinner only)
Beatríz Rivera Fernández, Ministry of Social Development-SEDESOL, National Coordinator, Public
Spaces Rescue Program, Mexico
Emilia Rodríguez-Stein, Inter-American Foundation, Director, Office of Evaluation, Washington,
DC, USA
Sandra Milena Rozo Vega,Enertolima, Directora de Comunicaciones y Responsabilidad Social, Colombia
Lucía Ruíz Martínez,Fundación Promigas, Directora Ejecutiva, Colombia
Joy Searcie,USAID, Office of Vulnerable Populations, Colombia
APPENDIX D | International Dissemination Conference Agenda | 67
International Dissemination Conference
Cartagena, Colombia
AGENDA | November 11-12, 2010
Purposes
Abriendo Caminos Teams
1. ToexpandanddeepentheworkofAbriendoCaminosthroughmutualcommentary,critique,
andongoingplanningabout“Howcanwemakeourcommunityabetterplaceforyouthand
youngadults?”
2. Developandrefinestrategiesforfutureaction
3. Generateideasabouthowtouseactionresearchinthefuture
Public/Private Sector Representatives
1. Gainknowledgeaboutthefourprograms,theirstrengthsandlimitations
2. Gainknowledgeaboutactionresearch,itspromiseandchallenges
3. Considernewideasabouthowthepublicandprivatesectorscanbettersupportthetransition
toadulthoodofmarginalizedyouthes
THURSDAY, NOV. 11
Thursday Dinner | Beginning of International Dissemination Conference......................................... 19:00 – 21:00
Welcome,HopesforDisseminationConference,WhyActionResearch?
Duringdessert:Public/PrivateSectorRepresentativesreviewTeams’posters,walk
aroundtoeach,makenotesnexttothem,posequestions.Teamposterswillstate:
4. Actionstakenorplanned;plannedbutnottaken
6. ReflectionsonActionResearchexperience
FRIDAY, NOV. 12
Plan for the Day
.......................................................................................................................................... 9:00 – 9:10
Public/Private Sector Representatives and Teams Identify Topics ............................................................. 9:10 – 10:00
Public/PrivateSectorRepresentativesandTeamsformtwoseparategroups.
Nameareporterforeachgroup
Question: What are the issues/topics/questions you would most like to discuss
with the other group? EveryonewriteideasonlargePost-Itnotes.
Postonpanel(s).
Everyonereadothers,movePost-Itnotesaroundtocategorize,indicateoverlap.
Afterformingroughcategories,facilitatorleadsdiscussionanddevelopsmore
refinedversion.
Prioritizewithmulti-voting.
Agreeonfinallistof3topchoices.
Plenary 1 – Choose Topics............................................................................................................................ 10:00 – 10:30
• Discuss,categorize,relatequestions/topics
• Agreeontopicsforsmallgroups
The Cornell University research project, Abriendo Caminos: Jóvenes in América Latina, and the synthesis and dissemination conferences are
supported by Jacobs Foundation. The MacArthur Foundation has added support for both conferences.
68 | APPENDIX D | International Dissemination Conference Agenda
Break
....................................................................................................................................... 10:30 – 10:50
Mixed Groups Discuss Topics ...................................................................................................................... 10:50 – 12:05
Instructions:Formagroupforeachtopic....................................................................................... 10:50 – 11:00
Eachgroupwillhaveafacilitatorandrecorder(flipchart).
Goal:Sharecollectivewisdomaboutselectedtopics.
Questions:
What are the most significant problems or challenges regarding this topic?
What are some promising ideas, practices, programs, or institutions that address
this topic?
• Participantsworkonfirst-choicetopic....................................................................11:00-11:35
• Participantsmovetosecond-choicetopic...............................................................11:35-12:05
o Facilitatorbrieflyexplainswhatgroupdecidedinpreviouscycle
Plenary 2 – Identify 6-12 Promising Ideas, Practices, Programs, Institutions........................................ 12:05 – 13:00
• Facilitatorsreportondiscussionsingroups.
• DiscussionGoal:Arriveatanunderstandingofchallenges,capacities,
issuestoimproveyouths’transitiontoadulthood
• Identify6-12issuesforfurtherdiscussion
Lunch
....................................................................................................................................... 13:00 – 14:00
Plan for afternoon ....................................................................................................................................... 14:00 – 14:10
Groups – Develop Strategies for Promising Ideas, Practices, Programs, Institutions........................... 14:10 – 15:30
• Participantsselectagroupbasedontheirinterest
• Conferenceorganizersselectadiscussionleaderforeachgroup
• SelectRecorder
• Discussandagreeuponaplanforhowtheselectedstrategycanbeactedupon
• Recordkeyelementsofplanonflipchart
Break and Reading of flip charts.................................................................................................................. 15:30 – 16:00
• Duringbreaktime,participantsviewothergroups’plansandindicate
whichtheyfindmostpromising,usingstickydots.
Plenary 3 – Discuss Strategies for Action.................................................................................................... 16:00 – 17:00
• Discussionleadersexplainingreaterdetailthepart(s)oftheirplan
thatreceivedthemostdots
• Opendiscussion:Whatshouldbedone?Whocandoit?
• Formalclosingofsubstantiveportion,including:
o Organizers’summaryofcriticalstrategiesandideas
o Commitmentsfordocumentationandfuturecommunication.
Free Time
....................................................................................................................................... 17:30 – 19:00
Friday Dinner | Closing and Celebration................................................................................................... 19:00 – 20:30

Opening Pathways: Youth in Latin America

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