© 2023 The Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate.
All rights reserved. All trademarks are registered property of the University. Used by permission only.
You will be able to access online materials for the course beginning on February 2, 2022.
Social justice youth development combines intentional anti-oppressive practice with and for young people, with knowledge and skill-building from youth development to support youth as they negotiate and disrupt the misuses of power in their lives. During this seven-week course, participants will be expected to critically analyze how power, privilege, and oppression operate in their own lives and participate in conversations regarding how they can disrupt systems of power that oppress young people. This course will offer a mix of critical reflection, skill-building, applied practice, and tools and resources that will enable participants to be an advocate for and with youth.
This online course simulates an in-person training environment by having all participants on screen via video. This allows for an engaging and interactive learning environment where you get to know the instructor and the other participants. Participation via video is required. We use the Zoom platform, which is free and easy. You can join via a computer with a webcam, a laptop, tablet, or your smartphone. We’re here to help - we’ll provide instructions and our session support team is available to walk you through setup if you’re new to this!
WHAT TO EXPECT
This course will take 9 weeks to complete.
Online course materials
Live Sessions
Communication
Technology
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
Summarize key social justice youth development practices from the literature.
Describe “adultism” and the way that operates in our culture and system.
Critique your organizational setting’s practice of community youth development and offer evidence-based recommendations for more youth participation.
Disrupt adultism through practicing being an ally for young people within your organization and community.
Execute lessons that are designed to engage youth in discussions related to social and health inequities and systemic approaches to community social action.
Heather is a youth engagement activist and scholar. As an activist, she has created over a dozen youth leadership groups and engaged teens in local, state, and federal policy advocacy. As a scholar, she is involved in a variety of community-engaged research and teaching activities. Heather earned her PhD at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. She has several peer-reviewed publications advancing the knowledge base for high-quality youth-adult partnerships. At 17, Heather learned the power of her own voice, and ever since she has been a stalwart advocate for supporting adults to engage youth authentically.