This article considers contested conceptions of community and trajectories toward full participation in research-practice partnerships (RPPs) as key analytical aspects for studying a productive politics of participation. RPPs, as methodology and infrastructure for community participation, frequently surface the character of participation in…

This community-based action research (CBAR) project acknowledges and disrupts existing systemic barriers to bring teacher candidates and grassroots youth organizers together through dialogue and reflection for transformative action. The practice of community-based pedagogy is described and utilized to demonstrate how critical understandings of…

This Practice to Policy brief, based on insights from UnidosUS's Affiliate Network of community-based organizations and public charter schools in Illinois, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, highlights the critical role of Out-of-School Time (OST) programs in supporting the Latino community, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19…

Mental health challenges for youth continue to be a growing concern. Youth-serving organizations have the potential to play a significant role in recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges in youth. The Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training course is widely used to equip adults working with youth with skills to support…

This piece documents the collaboration between a team of four University of Pennsylvania students and seven youth partners from across the Greater Philadelphia area who came together to discuss, understand, and take action toward civic issues impacting their communities. As youth arrived at the Civic Engagement Summer Program, a joint Philadelphia…

During the spring of 2020, two months into the global COVID-19 pandemic, four leading CBOs in Boston--the YMCA of Greater Boston, Latinos For Education (LFE), Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA), and The BASE--came together to discuss what they can do to help underserved children in the city experiencing education disruption. In response to the…

As communities grapple with the harmful, inequitable effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been particularly hard on low-income and marginalized youth, renewed attention has been directed toward how out-of-school time (OST) programs can help youth reconnect and re-engage. In this article, the results of a systematic literature review on the…

College costs and persistent workforce shortages have prompted educators, policymakers, and employers to shift the conversation on the transition from school from a narrow "college for all" emphasis to a broader "postsecondary education" and "career pathways" perspective. This paper describes an innovative effort to…

Funded through the New York City Young Men's Initiative (YMI), the Cornerstone Mentoring Program is designed to support youth in key life and educational transitions as they progress into middle and high school, through the development of relationships with positive and caring adults. Launched in 2012, the mentoring program is implemented in…

Community-partnered research presents unique opportunities for personal and professional development among social work practitioners, researchers, and students. It is a vehicle for promoting social work values, generating and sharing knowledge, and connecting research to practice. Findings from these types of partnerships can be instructive for…

This article discusses best practices learned from a corporate partnership between Bayer, 4-H county programs in Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; and National 4-H Council. This corporate partnership has blossomed into a multi-level engagement that is offering unique opportunities for both Bayer and 4-H programs at the local and state level.…

In an effort to fully understand the impact of campus-community partnerships, and the programs that compose them, our research team has conducted action research over the course of the last 10 years. In particular, we have conducted this research on the partnership we operate, Husky Sport, focused on how its programs influence the behaviors and…

The Exploring Making Through Mobile Emergent Technologies (EMMET) program sought to disrupt the trajectory from rural high school to factory floor by introducing STEM and computational thinking (STEM+C) skills through mentorship training and hands-on activities involving creative production--often referred to as "making." The program…

Community schools respond to a variety of risk factors that impede student learning and development. School and community leaders in Canyons School District (CSD) have created community schools across one highly impacted feeder pattern to strengthen academic learning efforts, school climate and youth development opportunities, parent and family…

Although US teenage birth rates substantially decreased over the past two decades, it still remains the highest in the developed world. More innovative, community-wide initiatives are needed to combat the issue. In Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, the Central Oklahoma Teen Pregnancy Prevention Collaboration is utilizing the collective impact model to…