Identity is a foundational element in a person's development and can influence all aspects of a person's life. Although research on adolescent identity development is a growing field, there are opportunities for additional research on this stage of development, with specific focus needed on the role of asynchronous development. This study utilized…

Adolescent pregnancy is a significant societal issue that results in lost opportunities for teenage girls in both developed and developing countries. This phenomenological research study explored the lived experience of adolescent mothers during their college years. Eight participants were asked, via unstructured interview, to share their…

Schools can play an important role in adolescents' identity development. To date, research on the role of school in adolescents' identity development is scattered across research fields that employ different theoretical perspectives on identity. The aim of this literature review was to integrate the findings on the role of school in adolescents'…

While there is growing research supporting the benefits of purpose development to adolescents and the communities of which they are a part, research about specific practices to support purpose development, specifically in high schools, remains scarce. Grounded in theories about teacher knowledge, the research team relied on a dimensional…

Background: The transition from lower-secondary to upper-secondary education marks a critical period for adolescents that impacts their academic achievement. Objective: Based on Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework, we examined associations between math achievement as measured by PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and PYD…

Since the emergence of middle schools as distinct educational settings in the 1960s, proponents of the model have advocated for structures and approaches that best meet the particular developmental needs of young adolescents. Middle school researchers have developed frameworks of best practices for schools that have been widely, if not uniformly,…

We examined the relationship between high school and collegiate organizational involvement and their differential and collective effects on the development of leader self-efficacy, motivation to lead and leadership skill. Our goal was to better understand how the student leader development process unfolds at different points in time over young…

Changes in their brains, combined with a greater awareness of peers and events around them, make adolescence a key time for students to figure out who they are, what they aspire to be, and what they want to do in the world. This Alliance for Excellent Education report explores how human identity and self-regulation develop during adolescence and…

Shifting demographics among racial and ethnic groups within the United States are reflected in the diversity of the middle grade student population, as they are members of longstanding racial groups or members of biracial or multiracial groups that have emerged. These diversities are causes for celebrations, but at the same time offer challenges…

In contrast to the focus on short-term, extrinsic goals in our society (e.g., wealth, prestige), positive youth development scholars have highlighted the need for parents and schools to help youths cultivate and plan for long-term, intrinsic, and meaningful goals (i.e., envisioning a meaningful future), arguing that envisioning a meaningful future…

The purpose of this study was to understand how schools address two specific criteria of the Schools to Watch® (STW) program: Social equity and developmental responsiveness. Descriptions of replicable practices, program/school characteristics, and initiatives created by each of the STW sites in Pennsylvania were analyzed. The data also includes…

This article presents a mixed-methods case study of Diego, a bilingual teen who completed public school in Florida. During adolescence, Diego negotiated multiple identities: successful student, Mexican American, bilingual, and typical U.S. teenager. Diego provided interviews and bilingual (English/Spanish) writing (narrative/expository) in 2008…

Out-of-school time (OST) settings are powerful contexts for youth development when programs and services are intentionally designed. "Youth Development Principles and Practices in Out-of-School Time Settings" increases the capacity of students and professionals to facilitate youths' optimal transition to adulthood through maximizing the…

This study examines the developmental trajectories of ability and trait emotional intelligence (EI) in the Portuguese secondary school. Within a three-wave longitudinal design, 395 students (M[subscript age] = 15.4; SD = 0.74) completed both the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ) and the Vocabulary of Emotions Test (VET). Results…

The primary theoretical tradition in the study of college retention has been sociological. A review and synthesis of common themes of development among traditional-age, college students suggests that a developmental perspective on the retention of youth in college may have more to offer than the dominant sociological paradigm. This article argues…