Research on assets for children and youth: Reflections on the past and prospects for the future

This article evolved from a presentation on research challenges and opportunities in asset building for children and youth at a symposium on Child Development Accounts in late 2008. Our presentation was part of a panel entitled “Reflections and Conclusions” on the final day of the symposium. We believe the presentation was well placed because, together, we have many years of experience as asset scholars. We are also able to reflect on where the field has been, and imagine some of the challenges ahead, from diverse perspectives since we have played different roles in the work to introduce and study asset-building policies and programs in local, state, tribal, national, and international contexts. We do not believe, however, that we leave readers with “conclusions” so much as a list of pressing theoretical questions and a review of some methodological challenges for asset researchers that must be tackled as we take asset scholarship into the future.