Practical Exploration of the Design of a Drop-in Program for Brokering Relationships Between Youth Center Participants and Local Adults.

Abstract

  Youth centers are informal educational spaces in which adolescents can spend their time freely while also benefiting from the staff’s educational intentions. This study identifies a practice that can broker relationships between youth and local adults without the compromising the spatial characteristics of the youth center or forcing interaction. To achieve this, a loosely structured drop-in program, instead of traditional lectures or workshops, was designed and implemented. This study was conducted as an action research in collaboration with university researchers and youth center staff, together with the support of graduate students who acted as local adults who have expertise in specific fields.

  The design of the resulting drop-in program involved graduate students engaging in research activities in the free space of the youth center, naturally attracting the youth’s attention. The space design principles included the presence of familiar staff, the visibility of their activities, and open seating arrangements. Activity design adhered to the principles of contributing to graduate research, including potential contributions from youth, the feasibility of being conducted solely by adults, and flexible program execution. This program encouraged focused interaction between the youth and the graduate students, leading to spontaneous conversations concerning future career paths and subsequent visits to university labs. These outcomes indicate that drop-in programs can connect youth with society in the informal environment of youth centers.