The Youth Experience Survey (YES)
Description of the Research with the YES
In this study, we employed the Youth Experience Survey to ask a representative sample of eleventh graders about their learning experiences in youth activities and programs. The survey was conducted in 19 schools across Illinois, which were selected to obtain a sample of approximately 2,200 students with representative numbers of lower/working class and middle/upper-middle class youth across ethnically diverse urban, suburban, and rural communities. A mobile computer system was employed to administer the survey and its branching routines permitted the sampling of a comprehensive range of youth programs.
The objective of this study was to “map” youths’ learning experiences- to inventory how regularly adolescents report 23 types of developmental experiences across the full variety of voluntary organized youth activities: from sports to arts to service groups, and from school-based to community-based programs.
For updated information and questions about the YES project, please contact:
David Hansen, University of Kansas
Email: dhansen1@ku.edu