Extra-curricular activities, such as playing sport and participating in mentoring programmes, have physical and mental health benefits for individuals. For adolescents particularly, nurturing these interests has the potential for positive outcomes in academic attainment and personal development, an increase to self-esteem, and positive development…

More than one million U.S. students experience homelessness (National Center for Homeless Education, 2019). These youth, most of whom live in poverty, tend to face a variety of educational challenges. Community-based out-of-school time (OST) programs, which often have more flexibility to innovate and meet local needs than traditional schools do,…

Because researchers know so much more about the brain and development than they did when the 20th-century U.S. education system was designed, this knowledge can now be used to design a system in which all individuals are able to take advantage of high-quality opportunities for transformative learning and development. This playbook suggests a set…

Community-based interventions have long been seen as mechanisms via which to target marginalised youth in relation to personal development. Research surrounding such interventions has often highlighted the promotion of a range of pro-social behaviours and attributes which, in turn, facilitate an increased sense of social inclusion. This paper…

This report shares the findings from the first nationally representative survey of young people's perspectives on mentoring. While mentoring is needed and wanted by young people to help them stay on the path to high school graduation, college success, and productive adulthood, a significant mentoring gap exists in America, especially for at-risk…