The youth club as a strategy for the prevention of drug use and juvenile delinquency. Barrancabermeja case

Abstract

The article presents the results of a descriptive case study, which was developed in the Municipality of Barrancabermeja Department of Santander-Colombia. It assumed as a central objective to describe the usefulness of the application of an experiential learning strategy (youth clubs), as a method and / or maneuver for the prevention of drug use and youth violence. The program was developed through the methodological design of a case study, which allowed to systematize for 12 months the experience of development of youth clubs that sought to develop values, life skills and pre-work competence in 100 adolescents and / or young people between the ages of 12 and 21 years, from stratum one in a situation of vulnerability and risk in the face of drug use and juvenile delinquency. The results of the research work revealed that the implementation of preventive programs that involve experienced, active and/or participatory methodologies are a pedagogical strategy that keeps adolescents and/or young people motivated. It was also evidenced that the youth club takes the prevention of drug use and juvenile delinquency to a level that goes beyond information, generating processes of metacognition and / or reflection that allow the exercise of life skills. As a general conclusion of the work, it is possible to affirm that participatory methodologies that involve action/reflection as a pedagogical principle achieve greater motivation in young people and guarantee a greater expectation in the face of behavior change.