Interest and Participation Pathways of Tweens in Rural Communities

• In Event: Asset-Based Ecosystem Learning Research: Toward Just Education Renewal?

Abstract

Objective
In this paper, we explore the interest and participation pathways of tweens in rural communities as they navigate their local learning ecosystem.
Framework A learning ecosystem involves varied stakeholders, including schools, informal learning institutions, content experts, families, and peers, working synergistically to support learning for all community members (Bevan et al., 2010; NRC, 2015; Traphagen & Traill, 2014). The learning ecosystem model views learning as a system of multidirectional, nested influences that are unique to a specific sociocultural context ranging from the personal, to the family and community, through to the cultural influences of society. At each level, these contexts shape an individual’s development. This dynamic process is especially apparent during pre-adolescence, as youth explore their interests and identities. In addition, the community in which youth live and the resources they find and can access influence their developing interests. More importantly, at this age, family, peers, and other community members play varying roles, for example, assisting youth in navigating their ecosystem and brokering access to community resources, or impeding their access (Colleagues & Authors, 2021). By focusing on the sociocultural contexts of youth, this study explores how they navigate and interact with the local learning ecosystem, what factors play a role in supporting or hindering their interest and participation pathways, and how their perspectives and navigation of the ecosystem evelopmentally.

Methods
We utilized data from a validated baseline survey administered to youth as foundational information which we further contextualized during subsequent interviews. Each interview was approximately 30-45 minutes and transcribed. Each set of interview transcripts was coded and analyzed to investigate changes in youth participation in interest-based activities over the 9-12 month-period, especially in relationship to family and peer support. Each analysis is presented in an individual case study.

Results and Significance
Youth case studies illustrate how their perceived learning ecosystems help to shape their interest and participation pathways. Several factors emerged as playing key roles in this dynamic process at the youth level: family members and peers (their interests and the degree to which they broker opportunities), community members such as school teachers, as well as teachers in out-of-school settings e.g., ballet, pet store/zoo, the availability and accessibility of resources and opportunities to engage in their interests, the degree of collaboration and coordination among local resources and organizations, the availability and redundancy of resources across contexts, and the availability of opportunities that can extend youth’s developing interests. Findings also demonstrate how the significance of different factors changes developmentally, as they intersect and influence youth’s developing identities. The paper also discusses factors that emerged as key in this dynamic process (e.g., adults/peers brokering connections), and how the significance of these factors vary developmentally.

Author

• Nicole Claudio, Institute for Learning Innovation