40 Developmental Assets

EHE 300 Kathy Fowler Brian Lewis

 What are Developmental Assets? Where does the idea of 40 Developmental Assets
come from?

Why might it be a good idea for teachers and other

adults to understand the idea of the 40 Developmental Assets?

Research-based, and developed by the Search Institute, the Developmental Assets

are defined as positive experiences, qualities, behaviours, and characteristics that children and youth need in order to grow up to become healthy and successful adults.

 Search Institute research tells us that youth with more The more Developmental Assets young people have, the
more successful they become. They have more school and relationship success, live healthier lifestyles and make better choices.
Search Institute has found that the young people average only 18.6 of the 40 Developmental Assets.

assets experience more success in life and participate less in risky behaviors.

The philosophy of the 40 Developmental Assets promotes a strength-based approach identifying and building on positive attributes in children and youthas opposed to the common problem-based approaches, such as programs that target at-risk children and youth.

The philosophy of the 40 Developmental Assets encourages the need for adults to genuinely try to understand children and youth perspectives and to recognize the importance of young people in our communities.

Applying the 40 Developmental Assets involves viewing and interacting with children and youth on a daily basis through lenses that: value, respect and care about every child and youth, as opposed to viewing them as potential risks or troublemakers shift our mentalities from fear and frustration to genuine care and support view youth as resources, not as problems create stronger community bonds disintegrate the generational divide between the age groups.

The 40 Developmental Assets can be used as a guideline for how we interact and build relationships with children and youth.

Building Assets offers an opportunity to meet the needs of children and youth in a way that will support them in making positive and healthy choices throughout their lives.

Why might it be a good idea for teachers and other adults to understand the idea of the 40 Developmental Assets?

The 40 Developmental Assets are divided into two groups (internal and external assets) with eight subcategories:
Internal Assets: External Assets: support commitment to learning empowerment positive values boundaries and expectations social competencies constructive use of time positive identity

The DAP (Developmental Assets Profile) is a purchased survey tool that is administered to a group of children and/or youth which then provides data for adults to consider when making action plans to support children and youth.

However, adults can implement strategies to build Assets without have the specific Assets data!

The print resources provided today were retrieved from: http://www.lethbridge.ca/living-here/Our-Community/ Pages/40%20Development%20Assets.aspx