Examining Youth Bicycle Programming through the Empowerment-Based Youth Development Model

This study evaluates Momentum Bicycle Clubs (MBC) through the empowerment-based positive youth development framework (EMPYD). Data were collected through eight cross-sectional focus groups of MBC youth participants (ages 10-17). Sessions included three topics: the MBC program, the mentors, and the bicycle, all of which elucidated elements of an EMPYD program for analysis. The data were analyzed utilizing an interpretative phenomenological approach. The results of the focus groups revealed how MBC empowers its youth participants. MBC displayed characteristics of the EMPYD model by providing youth with opportunities to develop mastery and moral identity in addition to the 5Cs of positive youth development. Interactions with a diverse set of mentors and peers allowed program participants to gain mastery of physical, social, and emotional skills. These connections also provided avenues for the development of empathy, caring, and character. MBC empowered its participants by fostering a sense of community that was dependable and consistent. However, the data did not reveal how or if MBC empowers youth to participate in active and engaged citizenship. MBC represents a programmatic model that utilizes many aspects of the EMPYD framework. MBC provide youth with the opportunity to develop mastery over the bicycle and to develop their moral reasoning through relationships with a group of adult mentors. With some adjustment, the program can further empower youth by providing intentional programming that focuses on culturally specific community building and by providing program participants with the opportunity to engage in culturally specific citizenship.