The Circle of Courage: Critical Indicators of Successful Life Outcomes

In the behavioral science literature, successful childhood socialization is termed Positive Youth Development (PYD). Young people themselves are active agents in charting their own life course (Jackson, in press). However, the responsibility for socialization begins with families and is shared by neighbors, faith communities, educators, youth professionals, policy leaders, and all who impact young lives (Eccles & Appleton, 2002). development, simpler principles are needed to make sense of this mass of information (Small & Memmo, 2004). The most parsimonious paradigm is the Circle of Courage (Heck & Subramaniam, 2009) which integrates evidence from positive psychology and neuroscience with child care philosophies from traditional Native "cultures of respect" (Bolin, 2010; Brendtro, Brokenleg, & Van Bockern, 1990). The Circle of Courage applies across all settings including the family (Brokenleg, 2012a), school (Van Bockern & McDonald, 2012), peer group treatment (Quigley, 2004; Steinebach, Jungo, & Zihlmann, 2012), mental health and juvenile justice (Brendtro & Shahbazian, 2004), and faith-based programs (Larson & Brendtro, 2000). Since the Circle of Courage incorporates research from Native cultures, it has particular relevance with indigenous populations worldwide (DeJong & Hall, 2006; James & Lunday, 2014). Herein, the authors describe four evidence-based principles identified by the Circle of Courage model of Positive Youth Development that are essential for young people to succeed and thrive in any setting.