When an adolescent receives critical feedback from adults on what they should change, they may feel discouraged; however, such feedback can be key to learning. This study explored how adolescents attending project-based youth programs experienced critical feedback from adult leaders and the strategies these leaders employed when providing feedback. Qualitative analyses of interviews with 49 youth and 24 leaders indicated that youth participants found critical feedback to be useful because leaders intentionally provided straightforward, clear, and balanced feedback in a manner that was empathetic and involved dialogue that privileged participants’ ownership of their work. Using extant literature, we discuss why the features identified may be especially important during the period of adolescence.

当青少年从成年人那里收到关于他们应该改变什么的重要反馈时，他们可能会感到灰心。但是，此类反馈对于学习至关重要。这项研究探讨了参加基于项目的青年计划的青少年如何从成年领袖那里获得重要的反馈，以及这些领袖在提供反馈时所采用的策略。对49位青年和24位领导人进行的访谈的定性分析表明，青年参与者发现关键反馈是有用的，因为领导人有意识地提供了直接，清晰和平衡的反馈，这种方式具有同理心，涉及对话，可以使参与者对自己的工作享有特权。使用现有文献，我们讨论了为什么在青春期识别出的特征可能特别重要。