Welcome to Over 2 U in the North Okanagan
What is Over 2 U about?
Over 2 U is a research project about becoming an adult. Part of becoming an adult is learning to do daily tasks and take care of others. Babies learn to feed themselves, toddlers learn to dress themselves. Children learn to do tasks around the home or at school – usually with parents or other adults supervising. In adolescence, there is a shift. There is less supervision by parents or other adults. This shift is what we call governance transfer. The responsibility moves from parents and other adults to the teenager.
Some parents shift responsibility easily to youth who learn to act responsibly on their own. Other youth want to take on the privileges of adulthood without taking on the responsibilities. In some families, parents want to hover over their teenagers because they are concerned about their children’s success and well-being. In other families there are arguments between parents and adolescents about who is responsible for daily tasks.
What does the parenting literature say parents should do? It generally says that parents should strike a balance between giving teenagers opportunities to act their own and controlling their behaviour. But the idea of striking a balance is not followed up by concrete advice. Nor does the parenting literature take into account that teenagers differ in temperament and abilities to take on responsibilities. To correct the lack of clear guidance for parents, we intend to identify useful information about the process of transferring governance through this research project called Over 2 U.
Where is the project taking place?
We are learning how adults and teens in the North Okanagan are doing governance transfer.
Who is involved?
We are helped by School District 22 families with teenaged children who provide information about the ways they do governance transfer. We are also supported by community adults who are interested in how youth grow up in the North Okanagan.
Who is conducting the research?
The research project is being conducted by Sheila Marshall (UBC), Lauree Tilton-Weaver (Örebro University), Richard Young (UBC), and Kristen Goessling (Penn State, Brandywine). All have many years of experience conducting research with adolescents and their families.
Also involved are Research Assistants, Mauricio Coronel and Andrea Johnson. Additionally, Kelli Sullivan is a Community-Based Researcher based in the North Okanagan. All three are experienced in conducting research with families.
The Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan is our community partner who is helping with the research project and the translation of the research findings into useable information that will inform local policy, practice and programs.
Funding for the research
The research project is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
