Analysis on Youth Development Status and Conditions in Elbasan Region, in Albania

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to provide an overall descriptive analysis of key psychological dispositions related to resilience and well-being of youths in Elbasan region in Albania. The strength-based approach presented by Search Institute’s Development Asset Framework was selected to better serve this purpose. In this framework the institute has produced the Development Asset Profile. DAP is a research-based framework that identiies 40 elements of young people’s positive growth and development. DAP will be used as an assessment tool that seeks to picture how youths in Elbasan are experiencing those 40 Developmental Assets. Assets are considered to be crucial “building blocks” of a healthy development for all youth. In this article we will present the assessment results by stressing the power of development assets and the role that everyone may play in building these assets. This article summarizes the extent to which youth experience the Developmental Assets within schools in the targeted geographical area. Therefore, the data analysis and interpretation will provide a detailed overview of the state of development assets among young people, aged between 12 and 18 years old, in schools in Elbasan area, in 2 different moments in time. The purpose of this mixed methods triangulation design study was to explore how “non-formal education” methods and life-skills curricula has affected targeted youth`s overall level of Developmental Assets over time. Actually, to accomplish this longitudinal study, around 300 youths has been engaged twice in answering DAP survey questions: once during the first cohort of measurement in 2011and then after 3 years, during the second cohort of measurements that took place during November –December, 2013. This longitudinal study seeks to provide a general analysis according to the development of eight assets categories (support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies and positive identity) before and after a 3 year programme intervention targeting youths in Elbasan area. The article concludes by analyzing and interpreting findings and DAP scores and at the same time is trying to analyze pros and cons of using DAP for a longitudinal study.