The Impact of Oakland Freedom School’s Summer Youth Program on the Psychosocial Development of African American Youth

Abstract

The present investigation considers the program outcomes of one community youth project, Leadership Excellence Inc., Oakland Freedom Schools. Oakland Freedom Schools are culturally relevant 6-week summer Language Arts enrichment programs for primarily inner-city African American youth aged 5 to 14 years. In this study, 79 African American youth participated. Results indicated that involvement in Oakland Freedom Schools positively influenced racial identity and youth views toward African/African American culture and precepts. The results also indicated an increase in pretest to posttest scores on social skills strategies and future commitment to social action. There were no statistically significant increases in attitudes toward reading and self-concept.