How can youth clubs be strengthened to provide better services for young people? From 2025, we will follow the five-year initiative "A Boost for Youth Clubs" to develop knowledge about quality, framework conditions, and the club’s role in the local community.
Youth clubs play a crucial role in young people’s well-being, mastery, and sense of belonging. A previous survey conducted by Youth and Leisure in collaboration with Save the Children highlighted the need for more high-quality clubs.
Challenges such as uncertain framework conditions and a variable reputation have limited the clubs' potential. This project aims to enhance the status of youth clubs, improve operational conditions, and develop knowledge about what constitutes a high-quality youth club service.
The project, a collaboration between the research institutes NOVA and AFI at OsloMet and the Institute for Social Research (ISF), will provide important insights into how youth clubs can be strengthened as inclusive and meaningful arenas for young people across the country.
More about the project
The research project’s work packages:
1. Development and evaluation with young co-researchers
AFI leads this part of the project, where young co-researchers from pilot clubs actively participate. Using the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) method, they will contribute to developing and evaluating initiatives, as well as analysing how the project can become an inclusive process for young people, staff, and municipalities.
2. The role of youth clubs in municipalities
This section examines how youth clubs are perceived by political and administrative leaders in municipalities and how they function within local communities and among young people. Researchers will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, and young co-researchers from Work Package 1 will also be involved.
3. Measuring quality and impact
This part explores how the quality of youth clubs can be measured and documented. Researchers will develop quantitative quality indicators and investigate how the initiative influences young people's use of and attitudes towards youth clubs. Data will be sourced from registry data (KOSTRA) and new surveys, with young co-researchers helping to assess relevant indicators.
Participants
Partners
- Institute for Social Research
- Ungdom og Fritid (Youth Work Norway)
