Search Institute today announces the retirement of Senior Fellow, Peter C. Scales, Ph.D., effective June 1. Dr. Scales has spent the last 30 years at Search Institute, as a prominent researcher and author, seeking answers to address the toughest problems of practice. He played a key role in the Developmental Assets® Framework, one of Search Institute’s core frameworks that takes a strength-based approach to youth development. Originally developed by the late Peter L. Benson in 1990, Dr. Scales worked closely with Dr. Benson, and played a key role in validating and popularizing the Framework, which became the most frequently cited positive youth development (PYD) framework globally by 2010.
“I think everything I’ve done in my career has been to share a great mission with wonderful, talented, smart teams, at Search Institute and all that came before in my career,” says Scales. “It has always been about this: create a world where every child and every youth thrives, no matter the circumstances of where and to whom they were born or who they are. It’s a noble mission and it has been a privilege to work toward that with Search Institute colleagues and so many others I have worked with.”
To say Dr. Peter C. Scales has made a contribution to the field of positive youth development is an understatement, and it began well before his time at Search Institute. Throughout his 50-year career he gained national recognition for groundbreaking work regarding young people and youth thriving. He was a leading researcher and advocate in sexuality education, an executive and policymaker in child abuse prevention, a researcher and advocate for young adolescents and middle school reform, an innovator and thought leader in youth sports coaching, and an internationally recognized researcher and author in positive youth development, including Developmental Assets and Developmental Relationships.
“Peter Scales leaves a legacy that has shaped the field of positive youth development around the world. His work has influenced generations of practitioners, researchers, and—most importantly—young people,” says Dr. Benjamin Houltberg, Search Institute President and CEO. “Over the past five years, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work alongside him and learn from his deep wisdom and passion. As he steps into his next chapter—expanding the reach of the Compete-Learn-Honor approach in youth sports—his commitment to centering character, effort, and purpose will continue to positively shape the lives of young people. I’m deeply grateful for all he has given—to this field, to Search Institute, and to so many of us personally.”
As Senior Fellow at Search Institute, Dr. Scales played a key role in expanding the Developmental Assets® Framework from thirty to forty assets and was a core member of the team that developed Search Institute’s Developmental Assets Profile (DAP) survey. He led teams of international partners in the cultural adaptation and language translation of the DAP survey leading to its use in more than 30 languages across over 30 countries worldwide. Additionally, he co-led Search Institute's innovative work on adolescent thriving and sparks in collaboration with Stanford and Tufts Universities, and the Fuller Theological Seminary. He was also a senior team member for the John F. Templeton-funded global research on youth spiritual development and a senior leader in creating Search Institute’s Developmental Relationships Framework and surveys, which are now utilized by thousands of organizations and communities throughout the United States and internationally.
“Peter’s pioneering work has left an indelible mark not only on Search Institute and the research community, but also on the lives of countless young people and practitioners around the world,” says Dr. Joanna Williams, Search Institute’s Senior Director of Research. “As we celebrate his incredible career, we are inspired to carry his legacy forward with the same commitment to rigor, compassion, vision, generosity and impact that he exemplified every day.”
Peter Scales has authored more than 300 works, including 110+ peer-reviewed articles, 43 scholarly books and research reports, 38 book chapters, and 38 popular press articles, and has been a peer reviewer for dozens of scholarly journals. He has been a keynote speaker or consultant for 300+ organizations focused on youth well-being, such as the Carter Presidential Center and various national associations. He has also held board positions, including being a Trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation, and served on the National Commission on Adolescent Sexual Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Teen Pregnancy Prevention task force during the Carter Administration.
He led a collaboration between Search Institute and Progress Through Athletics to create and test brief character-building videos in youth sports, finding that student-athletes whose teams had more developmental relationships and placed more emphasis on effort, learning, and character over winning had more sense of purpose from playing sports, more social-emotional competencies, and more desire to continue in sports. At 58, he became a certified tennis teaching pro and has coached high school boys’ and girls’ tennis at Parkway South High School in Missouri for 17 years and 34 seasons. Known as Coach Pete, he is a mental game consultant for high school, college, and adult tennis and pickleball, an award-winning author, and a speaker on the mental game in youth sports. He created the Compete-Learn-Honor™ Approach (CLH), endorsed by major youth sports organizations; it prioritizes effort, learning, and character over winning in youth sports. He and his wife Martha have established the Compete-Learn-Honor Scholarship for tennis students at his Missouri high school who embody those principles. During his retirement, Dr. Scales plans to write, coach, and form partnerships to spread the CLH message, with a goal of training every youth sports coach in America, focusing on love of the game, effort, learning, and honorable conduct to enhance enjoyment and performance in youth sports.
“Over the last 50 years, during my time with Search Institute, as well as my work with many other partners, we have made life better for tens of millions of young people throughout the world, maybe hundreds of millions when you add up our collective efforts,” says Scales. "I am so grateful to have been a part of so many meaningful partnerships, and I hope to continue this work in youth sports.”
Dr. Scales will retire from Search Institute on June 1, 2025, but his impact on the organization and positive youth development will persist. His groundbreaking work in positive youth development, that combines practitioner wisdom, developmental science, and youth voice, will continue to shape and inform future research, resource development, and solutions to support youth thriving for years to come.