The proportion of teenagers engaging in sex has declined in recent decades, and rates of teen births in the United States have reached a historic low (Osterman et al., 2022). However, risky sexual activity, which can result in teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), remains a concern. To help reduce teen pregnancies and STIs…

This paper argues that after-school programmes need to be considered an essential part of lifelong learning infrastructure, particularly in light of the dominance of the economic discourse in both lifelong learning literature and the initial schooling literature. The paper, which is based upon existing literature, begins by providing an overview…

This article presents an in-depth case study of the Healthy Options for Prevention and Education Coalition's Teens Tackle Tobacco initiative, a 3-year community-based participatory research (CBPR) project about the distribution of tobacco vendors and tobacco advertising in Worcester, Massachusetts. Using two theoretical frameworks, positive youth…

There is a wise proverb that insists it takes a whole village to raise a child to adulthood. In light of the expanding convolution of contemporary values, it is especially important to attentively nurture the inherent desire in each developing human person to seek good and avoid evil, especially during the critical years of adolescent formation.…

The authors provide a selected review of mental health and educational concerns evident in U.S. middle schools and describes promising and important strategies to ameliorate the high rates of students with mental health and academic difficulties. Despite some promising and important strategies, service systems are fragmented, and comprehensive…

Defines youth development programs and reviews the program evaluation literature. Discusses (1) positive-behavior focused competency/asset enhancing programs, (2) problem-behavior focused competency/asset enhancing programs, and (3) resistance skills-based prevention programs. Includes an appendix of detailed summaries of 15 program evaluations.…

Describes a school prevention program that emphasizes normal developmental needs of middle school students. The School Families groups, comprised of middle school students, teachers, and adults, met weekly during the school day to discuss issues related to academic performance, decision making, self-esteem, and social skills. Evaluation results…

This four-part report provides both a theoretical framework and empirical data concerning effective programs for the marginal high school student. Part 1 addresses the problem of adolescent social development as a broad educational goal. Part 2 presents a set of six case studies describing special programs in Wisconsin designed for the marginal…

Based on the view that programs with a strong academic component may reduce the substantial educational disparities for American students from disadvantaged backgrounds or in chronically underperforming schools and school districts, this synthesis of research on academic achievement programs describes how such programs may help children and…