Citation
Grant, N. (2011). Adolescent perspectives of the ecological impact of a summer youth employment program. Doctoral dissertation. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University. Available at http://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/5056.
Highlights
- Using personal stories of youth who participated in the Area IV Kansas Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), the author sought to describe the ecosystems of urban youth, their relationships with adults, and the impacts of their participation in SYEP.
- SYEP was a summer program funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It provided disadvantaged youth with summer employment and job skills training over two summers.
- The author interviewed 10 participating youth and analyzed their personal stories using ecological systems theory and a social capital framework. The author also analyzed documents containing the youths’ demographic and employment records.
- The author concluded that programs such as SYEP helped disadvantaged youth to make networking connections, learn ways of interacting in the workplace, and open doors to job opportunities that historically have not been available to those with lower socioeconomic status.
Intervention Examined
Summer Youth Employment Programs (Area IV Kansas)
Reviewed by CLEAR
April 2014