Around the globe, communities are grappling with the same challenge: how can we best prepare young people for a future defined by rapid change? At Bon Education, we believe in the transformative potential of young people, especially when they are equipped with the support, encouragement, and meaningful opportunities they deserve.

This belief has led us to explore the field of Positive Youth Development (PYD), a theory- and evidence-based framework established in the 1990s by researchers such as Dr. Richard Lerner, director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University, Massachusetts. PYD is an approach to working with young people that focuses on building their strengths so they can thrive as confident, capable, and caring individuals who contribute positively to their communities. Today, the PYD framework remains highly relevant, guiding educators, policymakers, and youth programs worldwide in fostering holistic development and resilience in young people across diverse social and cultural contexts.

In this article, we discuss both the merits and thoughtful considerations of PYD as a framework that has become a guiding approach in youth program design.

Why PYD?

In an era marked by unprecedented social change, rising anxiety, digital isolation, the principles of PYD have never been more relevant. Many young people today are struggling to develop a sense of identity and belonging in a fast-paced world that often emphasizes performance over connection. PYD offers a counter-narrative that focuses not on fixing what is broken but on nurturing what is possible.

At its core, PYD aims to foster what Dr. Lerner identifies as the "5 Cs":

Competence

This is the ability to successfully navigate academic, social, and practical challenges. This includes developing strong problem-solving skills, learning to collaborate effectively, and gaining the knowledge needed to make informed choices in diverse situations.

Confidence

The development of a healthy sense of self-worth and confidence in one’s abilities. It goes beyond mere self-esteem; it is about cultivating resilience, self-efficacy, and the courage to take initiative in the face of uncertainty.

Connection

This is when the importance of supportive relationships with peers, family, mentors, educators, and institutions are highlighted. These bonds create a network of belonging and trust that reinforces positive choices and provides guidance when young people face difficulties.

Character

This dimension speaks to the formation of moral integrity, responsibility, and respect for others. It is about learning to act ethically, make decisions grounded in values, and contribute positively to society.

Caring

This is when empathy, compassion, and concern for others drive charitable behavior. It encourages youth to look beyond themselves, engage in service, and develop a sense of responsibility toward the broader community.

Proponents of PYD believe that when these five dimensions are supported, a sixth – called Contribution –  emerges naturally. Youth begin to see themselves not just as beneficiaries of support but as active agents of change in their communities and societies.

A Proven Framework for the Future

Positive Youth Development originated in the United States in response to the limitations of deficit-based programming that was prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s. These programs often targeted single issues, without addressing the broader context of a young person's life. In the early 1990s, Dr. Lerner collaborated with leading developmental scientists such as Peter Benson, Karen Pittman, and Reed Larson to challenge deficit-based approaches in youth policy and research. This work led to the publication of America's Youth in Crisis: Challenges and Options for Programs and Policies (1994), in which he made a strong argument for focusing on young people's strengths and supporting them through community-based programs.

Dr. Lerner's landmark 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development emerged in the early 2000s – a large-scale research project that followed 7,000 young people from different parts of the U.S. between 2002 and 2010. The study demonstrated that participation in youth development programs that provide mentoring, skill-building, leadership opportunities, and supportive relationships is associated with higher levels of the Five Cs of PYD, greater civic and community contribution, reduced engagement in risky behaviours, and increased school engagement.

Today, PYD is widely implemented across sectors such as education, health, youth employment, gender equality, and humanitarian work in diverse cultural contexts. From the United States to the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, PYD provides a universal yet adaptable roadmap for helping young people transition into thriving adulthood.

Youth Development Across the Globe: Key Lessons

As PYD frameworks are implemented worldwide, researchers are discovering that young people's assets manifest differently across cultural contexts. Assets in the PYD context are the strengths, supports, and resources that young people need to thrive and reach their full potential. They are typically grouped into two categories:

• External assets, which are the nurturing influences and opportunities provided by families, schools, communities, and society, such as support, empowerment, boundaries, and meaningful use of time.

• Internal assets, these are the personal qualities, values, and skills that youth develop within themselves, such as commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and a strong sense of identity.

Cross-cultural PYD studies have revealed fascinating insights related to assets and different cultures. Research by Scales (2011) comparing young people in Albania, Bangladesh, Japan, Lebanon, and the Philippines revealed notable differences in reported developmental assets. Bangladeshi girls showed marked gains in empowerment, confidence, and commitment to learning, even in disadvantaged settings. Filipino youth, despite some of them living in conflict-affected areas, reported strong improvements in learning, identity, and empowerment. Lebanese youth benefited most from strong family support and boundaries, while Japanese youth – contrary to expectations – scored lowest overall, with particularly weak results in commitment to learning and community engagement. It is worth noting that the researcher acknowledges that cultural norms in Japan that discourage self-affirming answers could have had an influence on survey responses, and could have contributed to the low score. Across all contexts, support, boundaries, and positive values were relatively strong, while community connection and meaningful time use were consistently scarce.

An interesting observation from research by Holsen et al. (2017) in Norway suggests that in some contexts, high levels of empathy or concern for others may come with emotional costs. The data showed that young people who scored high in Caring were also more likely to report anxiety and depression. It could be inferred that in some cultural settings, heightened empathy may make youth more vulnerable to emotional strain, perhaps due to social pressures or the weight of responsibility they feel for others.

Research by Wiium et al. (2019), comparing Italian, Norwegian and Turkish youth, found distinct cultural patterns. Italian youth reported fewer internal assets such as confidence and commitment to learning, as well as fewer external assets like support and empowerment, compared to peers in Norway and Turkey. Norway’s grassroots youth work and Turkey’s strong family focus helped strengthen assets including boundaries, positive values, and community connection. 

These findings demonstrate that while the 5 Cs model offers a valuable lens, its expression varies significantly across cultures. The same characteristic can look different depending on context and may even carry unexpected challenges. These variations highlight the importance of adapting PYD frameworks to local realities rather than applying universal models.

PYD in Practice: Bon Education's Experience

Bon Education's programs offer an interesting case study in how PYD principles can emerge organically in well-designed youth initiatives. Our Bon for Work and Bon Discovery League programs weren't originally designed around the PYD framework, yet many activities reflect PYD characteristics in practice.

• Bon for Work, which helps young people gain professional skills and prepare for the workplace, clearly builds Competence in real-world contexts and fosters Confidence as students apply learning in professional settings.

• Bon Discovery League, our career and industry discovery program, helps students take charge of their future by exploring their interests, values, and strengths while moving toward paths that inspire them. This develops Character through self-reflection and goal-setting, and encourages Caring by helping participants consider how their future contributions might benefit their communities.

The alignment between our programs and PYD principles wasn't planned, but it speaks to how thoughtful youth programming naturally tends toward strength-based, holistic approaches that support young people's flourishing.

Thoughtful Considerations About PYD

While PYD offers valuable insights, thoughtful practitioners have raised important considerations about its application. One observation is that the Five Cs model, while comprehensive, can sometimes feel too broad to capture the nuanced realities of how young people develop in specific contexts. Youth development is complex, and universal models, however appealing, may miss important details about growth in particular environments.

A key consideration is the balance between individual and environmental factors. Positive approaches like PYD can sometimes focus heavily on building personal traits while giving less attention to environmental changes that may be needed. If programs only work on developing individual characteristics like self-esteem or perseverance, young people might internalize responsibility for challenges that actually stem from systemic factors beyond their control.

This raises an important question: should youth programs focus on universal traits, or should they adapt closely to local contexts? Cross-cultural research suggests that the Five Cs don't manifest identically everywhere. In more collectively oriented societies, for example, harmony and group belonging may be valued differently than individual identity development. Programs that don't account for these differences risk missing outcomes that matter most to the communities they serve.

Additionally, youth programs represent just one influence among many in a young person's life. Family, school, peers, and community all play significant roles, which means program outcomes may not always show up clearly in standard PYD measures.

These considerations suggest that while PYD offers a valuable framework for thinking about youth development, it works best when balanced with careful attention to local context, culture, and environmental factors. Programs that thoughtfully adapt PYD principles to their specific contexts are more likely to create meaningful impact.

A Call to Invest in Youth Potential

Despite these considerations, the core insight of PYD remains powerful: when young people are given supportive environments and meaningful opportunities, they flourish. The challenges facing today's youth are complex, but so are their strengths. Research consistently shows that strength-based approaches help young people develop the skills, confidence, and sense of purpose needed to make positive contributions to their communities.

At Bon Education, our programs are designed to help youth explore their potential, connect with others, and prepare for futures of contribution and growth. We've seen firsthand how young people thrive when programs honor both their individual strengths and their cultural contexts.

The future belongs to young people who are confident in their abilities, connected to their communities, and committed to making a positive difference. By investing in approaches that build on youth strengths while remaining responsive to local needs, we can help create conditions where all young people have the opportunity to flourish.