It is widely believed that assisting young people to participate in community affairs is a potent way to contribute to both youth and community development. One way in which youth can become involved in their communities is through participatory budgeting (PB) processes. This study investigates young people's understanding of, and experience with,…

This study examined the moderating effect of youth-adult partnerships (YAPs) on the relationship between youth empowerment in the community and youth's creative self-efficacy (CSE). A survey was administered to 2,653 youth recruited from youth service centers in Hong Kong, which measured youth empowerment in the community, perceived YAPs in youth…

This chapter discusses key findings from two recent studies that examine transformative learning experiences in a restorative practices-based graduate program at the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP). Restorative practices is a new interdisciplinary social science that studies the development and maintenance of relationships…

Social scientific research has demonstrated that increasing racial or ethnic diversity can reduce overall levels of social solidarity in a community. Yet many community development organizations, including Extension, are deeply committed to creating a broader sense of cohesion in rural communities. This article highlights a recent interagency…

While active citizenship education programs are assumed to have positive benefits for the active citizenship practice of participants (UNESCO, 2009, p. 4), there is actually little evidence that programs do (de Weerd, Gemmeke, Rigter & van Riji, 2005, p. vii). This paper discusses a research project that aimed to determine and increase the…

As a requirement for a federal neighborhood revitalization grant, the authors trained resident interviewers and coordinated the conduct of more than 1000 door-to-door interviews of a stratified random sample. The targeted area was a multiethnic, lower income neighborhood that continues to experience the effects of past segregation. Monitoring and…

When academics, who occupy a traditional position of power and privilege, engage with community members whose thinking, attitudes, and responses have been shaped by ongoing sociohistorical oppression and disadvantage, democratic participation is not easy to attain. Yet, unless community members feel able to participate freely, the valuable local…

In this paper, four qualitative case studies capture the complex interplay between the social and structural relations that shape community - academic partnerships. Collaborations begin as relationships among people. They are sustained by institutional structures that recognize and support these relationships. Productive collaborations centralize…

Poor community-company relations in the Niger Delta have drawn attention to the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the region. Since the 1960s, transnational oil corporations operating in the Niger Delta have adopted various CSR strategies, yet community-company relations remain adversarial. This article examines community…

The purpose of having fun in the English language arts (ELA) classroom is twofold: (1) build community; and (2) alleviate the monotony, drudgery, and anxiety that reading, speaking, and writing often produce, especially in struggling students and any and all who are future members of Garrison Keillor's Lake Woebegone Professional Organization of…

The UK's coalition government wants to build a "Big Society." The Prime Minister says "we are all in this together" and building it is the responsibility of every citizen as well as every government department. The broad vision is welcome, but everything depends on how the vision is translated into policy and practice. The…

Much of the earlier research on women in leadership has told the stories of White women. Since there are very low numbers of superintendents of color both male and female nationwide, there have been very few stories reported of women leaders of color (Brunner & Grogan, 2007). This article describes the leadership issues involved when one Black…

Youth-adult partnership (Y-AP) in community decision making and collective action has gained momentum as a key element of prevention programming. There is now a solid body of evidence demonstrating that these partnerships have developmental benefits for youth. There is also an increasing awareness that Y-AP may also produce positive…

This paper offers an insight into the development, use and governance of e-repositories for learning and teaching, illustrated by Eric Raymond's bazaar and cathedral analogies and by a comparison of collection strategies that focus on content coverage or on the needs of users. It addresses in particular the processes that encourage and achieve…

Strategic development planning encompasses the setting of communitywide objectives; appraisal of external forces; analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; and development of a community-owned strategic plan. As an appropriate method transferred from business, it overcomes criticisms of other community participatory planning…