This article presents a thematic and bibliometric analysis of articles (n = 222) published in the "International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning" from 2018 to 2023. The thematic analysis revealed eight key themes on which the work integrated learning (WIL) research community has focused. An analysis of research methodologies shows a…

The present moment is beset by many complex challenges. Young people face living with the consequences of decisions being made largely without their consent or involvement. Centering youth voices may be part of the solution. But we need to go beyond liberal, individualist and rights-based models that pay insufficient attention to the enabling…

This document is the first of a semi-annual "stocktaking" publication to analyze various political trends impacting education and young people. Bellwether hopes to help the field separate signal from noise and provide context around various issues and trends affecting the sector. The impact of COVID-19 school closures on schools and…

Widespread access to digital and social media has drastically altered the nature of youth's interpersonal connections. In this context, the opportunities children and adolescents have to help people around them are rapidly evolving. In this article, we review emerging literature on how digital media influences youth's prosocial development in new…

The accessibility of new media combined with emerging patterns of migration are challenging current definitions of community as we see a shift from close-knit face-to-face interactions to more diverse 'glocalized' networks that defines community as a social rather than a spatial dimension. These changes mean that social connections, and…

This case study presents a problem-based learning (PBL) model that guides general education history students to practice and acquire more advanced problem-solving skills -- those found in postformal thinking systems -- and to apply these thinking skills to develop and share solution alternatives both to periodized historical issues and to current…

Popular culture exists as an expression of cultural history. It speaks to who we are, what we aspire toward, and where our generation stands in relation to the major issues of the day. This article is a conversation about the myriad perspectives offered in this issue of "New Directions for Student Leadership," exploring the contributions…

Social skills play a central role in shaping individuals who are able to adapt and contribute to society. This article analyzes the comparative social studies curriculum in Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), focusing on how students' social skills are developed through their approach to learning. The research method used is a…

In 2021, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) implemented its recognition standard on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), identifying their combined importance in assuring quality in higher education, and recognizing their essentiality in realizing the vision of higher education as a public good. Recent Supreme Court decisions…

This paper offers an analysis of Modern Studies, a school subject unique to Scotland. First taught in the 1960s, Modern Studies was originally conceived as an option for students discontinuing their studies in history and geography. Since then, though, Modern Studies has carved a distinctive curricular niche and has become one of the most popular…

Overwhelmingly, elementary social studies standards focus on Native Americans in past tense. If elementary teachers follow state curriculum for social studies, students are often not provided the opportunity to learn about Native people in the present. The purposes of this study were to (a) determine the number of current state elementary (K-5)…

The coronavirus pandemic has presented an opportunity to rethink how social studies education is framed. Using global citizenship education to teach about the pandemic properly places global health within the purview of all people and builds an onramp for teachers and students to make this kind of theoretical framing a mainstream part of social…

Research conducted in the twentieth century found urban Catholic schools in the U.S. had a legacy of providing high quality educational opportunities for low-income students and students of color. In an era of declining Catholic school enrollments, urban Catholic school advocates have argued that urban Catholic school closures would deny these…

Open classroom climate for discussion (OCC) is consistently associated with positive civic outcomes for students, but research on the determinants of OCC primarily focuses on individual- and school-level indicators or uses qualitative or non-representative samples. This study considers how teacher instructional practices influence the presence of…

An increasing number of school districts encourage discussion of current events in classrooms. However, teachers' ability and willingness to manage these conversations may be hampered by concerns about what they are or are not allowed to disclose, especially because their First Amendment speech protections do not fully extend into the classroom.…