This qualitative study examines how a group of Latino/a high school students living in the Southeast used youth media as a forum to promote a selective pattern of acculturation. The study explores the ways in which the students' discourse emphasised the maintenance of the students' home culture and privileged "familismo," a cultural…

Following a grounded, bottom-up approach to language policy (Blommaert 2009; Canagarajah 2005; McCarty, 2011; Ramanathan, 2005), this paper investigates available resources and discourses of citizenship in Sacramento, California to those situated within the citizenship infrastructure. It analyzes how the discursive framing of local and national…

The network of small rural schools in Finland has been radically weakened since the global recession of the 1990s. This article focuses on the social role of rural schools and the phenomenon of school closures. Our aim is to look at rural schools from the viewpoint of local residents and examine how they experience school closures. We seek to hear…

By adopting Sen's capability approach, this study explores transformative educational actions for children in poverty to develop their capabilities for learning for life. Sen's capability approach provides a framework for why it is important to foster the capabilities of children in poverty and what is required to help these children to improve…

The article draws on work in Critical Geography Studies and Photovoice methodology, to illustrate the ways in which youth in an inner city conceptualize neighborhoods and public spaces. We utilize youth's photographs, narratives, and maps to tell a story of youth's lived experiences and argue that these experiences are vital sources of knowledge…

This article examines the contribution of older adults as co-researchers to the evaluation of a gerontological social work course. The evaluation was conducted at an Israeli college as part of a collaborative project with a United Kingdom university. Here, we follow the older adults who are service users through their transition to the role of…

This ethnographic case study uses participant observation and interviewing to explore the multiple, complex relationships between language and identities in a particular Puerto Rican community. Participants included students and teachers from a K-9 school-turned-community center in a rural municipality in Puerto Rico. Participants did not think…

Objectives: To explore knowledge and attitudes about colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among African American patients age 45 and older at a community health center serving low-income and uninsured patients. Methods: We conducted 7 focus groups and 17 additional semistructured interviews. Sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed…

Falls are a major public health problem for older adults, and community-based organizations play a key role in educating seniors about falls prevention (FP). We conducted a qualitative process evaluation at six sites to report community-based centers' perspectives on adoption, adaptation, and sustainability of an evidence-based multifactorial FP…

In this article I explore through a narrative how I came to do a research project in East New York. I show how first contact was established, how local contacts were made, and how trust between my research participants and me was created. I then explore how the research topic evolved through informal conversations, open-ended interviews, and…

This study uses articulation theory to frame how social actors and institutions in an urban community in Columbus, Ohio, form linkages and understandings about computer and information literacies. Using interviews with 33 key educators (e.g., principals, computer literacy teachers, library media specialists, district integration specialists),…

Recent data suggest that the digital divide between White and minority youth persists, particularly in terms of home access to computers and the Internet. Community technology centers (CTCs) are an important alternative access point, especially for low-income youth of color. Such institutions, however, do much more, providing not just access, but…

The data and research findings for this paper were derived from two studies. The first was commissioned to the National Afterschool Partnership (NAP) by the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate effective practices at the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLCs). The purpose of this study was to develop resources and professional…

Dating behaviors and sexual attitudes of Asian-American youth were examined in a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study in the context of adherence to Asian values, measured by the Asian Values Scale (AVS). In all, 31 Asian-American adolescents (age 14-18 years old) from a Houston community center were interviewed regarding dating behaviors and…

"Afterschool Matters" had the opportunity to talk with Sylvia Lyles, Ph.D., program director of the Academic Improvement Programs Group in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC. Sylvia works in the out-of-school time and school domains to keep educators' concerns front and…