Youth Worker Professional Development Participation,Preferences, and Agency Support

Using a Web-based survey, this study examined youth workers' professional development participation, preferences, and levels of agency support and the relationships between these variables and youth worker characteristics. Results revealed a positive relationship between participation in professional development opportunities and youth workers' self-reported job competency but also indicated low levels of agency support for participation in continuing education. Though perceptions of critical training topics varied among program staff from different geographic areas, most youth workers reported similar training experiences and interests regardless of their individual characteristics. Collaborative approaches to training and professional development may result in increased exposure to a broad range of professional development opportunities and significantly enhance the quality of youth programming.     

Thangka Making in Beijing

正I first heard of the term"thangka"when I moved to my present neighborhood near Beijing’s Yonghegong,the site of an imperial Buddhist temple of the same name which was established during the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911).Today,Yonghe Temple is one of Beijing’s biggest tourist attractions,popularly known as the Lama Temple.There I got to learn more about thangkas,     

A Spring Festival Encounter

正In January,I acted in a short movie called I’m spending Spring Festival in China.The dialogue was almost exclusively English,about a Western family with a Mom,played by myself,a Dad played by a Russian who had no lines,their 20-year-old daughter Meghan,played by a vivacious Australian intern at the company