2022 Positive Youth Development Survey | The Ismaili Canada
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2022 Positive Youth Development Survey

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The Positive Youth Development team will be conducting the Developmental Relationships Survey to gain a wide range of information about our youth, such as our youth’s experience of the Ismaili community, the quality of developmental relationships they have or lack thereof, youth perceptions and participation in substance use, as well as thriving indicators and behaviors including character strengths and social-emotional competencies. With this information, we can engage in purposeful and informed programming for the youth in our Jamat.

 

In January, we will be rolling out a new edition of this survey to gain insights into how our youth are thriving, and where we can provide better resources and support. This is a confidential survey filled out by youth in grades 7-12. It is designed and conducted by the Search Institute, a 60-year old organization focused on improving outcomes and success of youth.

 

Participating is easy:

  1. If you are the parent/guardian of a youth between grades 7-12 register below (register multiple youth at one time)
  2. When the survey is launched you will receive a link to the email address you noted in the registration form (1 unique link per registrant)
  3. The registered participant will only need 15 – 35 minutes to complete the survey and can save their spot and come back to it at a later time 
  4. The survey is completely anonymous, and results will be analyzed and shared with the Jamat as soon as possible

 

We are currently accepting registrations so that we are able to deliver the survey in the most convenient and effective way for families, starting January 15, 2022.

 

Register your child(ren) now!

Frequently Asked Questions
About The Survey

What is the Search Institute?

Search Institute is a non-profit organization that studies and works to strengthen youth success in schools, coalitions, youth and family organizations, and the faith community.

Throughout their 60-year history, they have focused on improving the outcomes and success of youth. By leveraging strong partnerships and sharing quality research through publications, workshops, and surveys, Search Institute has been a highly regarded thought leader.

Search Institute’s mission is to partner with organizations to conduct and apply research that promotes positive youth development and advances equity. They function with core values of diversity, equity, curiosity, scientific rigor, youth focus, and relationships to pursue their vision that all young people have what they need to thrive.

To learn more, please visit the following website: https://searchinstitute.org/ 

 

What is the Developmental Relationships Framework (DRF) Survey?

Search Institute has embarked on a major initiative to understand and document the day-to-day actions within relationships that contribute to a young person’s development. They propose that relationships are developmental when they help young people:

  • Discover who they are;
  • Develop abilities to shape their own lives; and
  • Learn how to engage with and contribute to the world around them.

Their research team has identified five critical elements of developmental relationships. These include, expressing care, challenging growth, providing support, sharing power, and expanding possibilities. These elements are further expressed through 20 specific actions. Research shows that each element matters in young people’s development and that they work together to influence young people’s learning, growth, and thriving.

Hence, DRF is a measure to understand young people’s experience of developmental relationships in their lives and how these can be enriched to support the young person thrive. 

To learn more, please visit the following website: https://www.search-institute.org/developmental-relationships/development...

 

Will asking questions about topics actually encourage risky behaviors? 

There is no evidence that supports the idea that simply asking youth about risky behaviors will encourage them to engage in such behaviors. The Search Institute™ has conducted extensive research in the formulation of appropriate questions.

 

Which is more important: finishing the survey or answering truthfully? 

Youth will be encouraged to complete as many items as truthfully as possible. 

 

What if a youth cannot finish the survey? 

Youth will be encouraged to make their best effort to complete as much of the survey as possible and results will be ascertained from the answers provided. Since this survey will be administered virtually, they will also have an opportunity to save and go back to complete the survey at another time.

Confidentiality

Will anyone know how a youth answers the questions? 

Anonymity is a very important issue for surveys such as these. In its 40 years of work in this area, the Search Institute™ has created careful procedures to ensure that no results can be traced back to an individual youth. All findings are reported in aggregate form only, by combining youth responses by grade, geographical region, and gender. No individual youth responses are reported. 

 

Do youth tell the truth on the DRS? 

Experience has shown that youth give truthful answers, if they perceive the survey to be important and have confidence that procedures have been developed to protect their privacy. Facilitators will be trained to help convey this to all participating youth. In addition, there are several methods for looking at each survey to determine whether youth are answering truthfully. 

Logistics

Who will be completing the survey? 

Youth in grades 7-12 will be asked to complete the survey. 

 

Are we assessing Grades 7-12 by BUI or by secular school standards? 

Students in secular Grades 7-12 are eligible to complete the survey. 

 

Where and when will the surveys take place? 

The survey will be administered virtually beginning January 15th, 2022. Once registration is complete, the youth will receive an email with the link of the survey from pydsurveys@iicanada.net. Youth enrolled in BUI will also have a chance to complete the survey during class time. 

 

If a youth has questions or concerns about the survey afterwards, whom can they ask? 

A youth can speak with their Facilitator before or after completing the survey if completing in BUI or can email pydsurveys@iicanada.net for any questions or concerns. 

 

What if a youth has to leave early before finishing the survey? 

If a youth needs to leave early, they can save their responses and complete it at another time within the given deadline.

The Results

What are the Jamati Institutions looking for? 

The DRS will provide our Jamati Institutions with a wide range of information about our youth, such as our youth’s experience of the Ismaili community, the quality of developmental relationships they have or lack thereof, youth perceptions and participation in substance use, as well as thriving indicators and behaviors including character strengths and social-emotional competencies. 

 

What will be the outcome of the survey? 

The DRS will assist the Jamati Institutions in identifying the needs of Ismaili youth by providing a baseline of the quality of developmental relationships they experience currently. As a result, institutions will be able to develop more robust responses to address the needs of our youth with better precision by enhancing existing institutional programming and/or creating further programming. 

 

How will the DRS results be used in the future? 

As mentioned above, the results will be used by the institutions to engage in purposeful and informed programming for the youth in our Jamat. Furthermore, education and awareness on positive youth development (PYD) tied to the results of the survey will be created for stakeholders engaging with our youth. Finally, progress will be tracked over the years using this systematic approach.  

 

What results from the DRS will be provided to Parents? 

A final report will present findings by the total group, by geographic region, grade, and gender. As parents, you can expect that key high-level information will be shared. This includes the quality of developmental relationships of our youth, their broad developmental needs, and the key priorities for our Jamat. This information will be provided in both written form in Jamatkhana as well as through Jamati announcements and awareness raising workshops. 

The Ismaili

Contact Us

His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Canada

49 Wynford Drive Toronto, Ontario M3C 1K1 CANADA

Tel: +1-416-646-6965

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