Center for Positive Youth Development
Championing the Potential of Every Young Person
The Center for Positive Youth Development (CPYD) is a research and practice center at the University of Kansas dedicated to understanding how adolescents grow, learn, and thrive - in school and beyond.
Who We Are
The Center for Positive Youth Development (CPYD) is housed within the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Kansas. We investigate adolescent development with particular attention to afterschool and out-of-school time contexts—spaces that are critical to young people's growth but often underexamined by research. CPYD is led by Center Director David Hansen, whose scholarship on adolescent agency, motivation, and identity formation shapes the center's research agenda and programmatic direction.
Mission
CPYD bridges research and practice in the youth development field. The center exists to serve young people, the organizations that support them, and the communities they call home—by connecting what we learn in research to what happens on the ground every day.
