Purpose: This study aims to explore how youth express empathy as an aspect of social action. Social empathy was investigated among adolescents participating in a youth organizing initiative. Design/methodology/approach: This study used elements of critical discourse analysis to examine participant expression of social empathy through examination…

This article uses a framework that combines LatCrit theory, racist nativism, and liberating pedagogy of praxis (LPP) to examine how a community youth program's LPP practices countered the racist nativism Latinx youth experience in their high school. LPP practices challenged racist nativism by creating a space where Latinx youth faced each other in…

The present study uses a story constellation to explore the experiences of a group of students participating in their high school in an urban city in Central Chile. Because these experiences were motivated by the students' participation in the student movement outside of their high school, they were not considered in any school or policy…

In this ethnographic study, Alexandra Freidus investigates the dilemmas of whiteness that challenge a youth-led campaign for school integration in New York City. Analyzing field observations, interviews, and internal documents, she illustrates the ways whiteness shaped young people's identities as allies and activists, contributed to an…

Latinx youth are often engaged in critical action to transform social injustices, yet we know little about the wellbeing of Latinx youth activists. This study draws on critical ethnographic research to understand the multidimensions of wellbeing that Latinx youth experienced when they engaged in critical action toward anti-immigrant politics…

Since 1980, Chicago's United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) has been a major player in school reform, organising Mexican-American communities to build a neighbourhood high school, founding a local technical institute, passing radical school governance reform, and launching a major charter network. At UNO's apex in 2013, a corruption scandal…

This research presents a counterstory to traditional views of leadership by demonstrating how two groups of youth of color were able to draw on their community cultural wealth to engage in transformative school and district improvement. Findings illuminate the ways that youth were able to draw on the familial, navigational, resistant, social,…

In the 2020-2021 pro-democracy protests in Thailand, an unprecedented number of high school students participated on all levels: from organizing rallies to small symbolic actions. To better understand this phenomenon, we engaged 691 Thai students from diverse backgrounds to write a letter to a recipient on the other side of the political divide.…

This paper explores how minoritized Computer Science (CS) students articulate their sense of critical agency to positively impact the world around them, both for today and the future, when participating in a Girls Who Code program focused on ethics, equity, and underrepresentation in computing. Observations, interviews, and surveys were conducted…

Students involved in social justice activist groups and activities encounter several potentially negative consequences in advocating for issues that are important to them. Through duo ethnographic interviews with scholar-activists, former youth activists describe the barriers they experienced as socially engaged young people, including dealing…

Critical pedagogies often prioritize critical thinking and social awareness at the expense of preparing urban youth for social action. Though sociopolitical efficacy is argued to bridge critical reflection and social action, this relationship is undetermined. We argue that critical reflection and sociopolitical efficacy are independent predictors…

This phenomenological case study examined the emergence of critical scholar identities among five urban youth who participated in a 2-year critical research fellows program. The program was grounded on the theoretical framework of Social Justice Youth Development, which included the development of self, social/community, and global awareness…

"Studying history will sometimes Disturb you. Studying history will sometimes Upset you. Studying history will sometimes make you Furious. But if studying history always makes you feel proud and happy, you probably aren't studying History." Author Unknown. This study occurred during a period of increased social awareness of antiracism,…

This article draws from a two-year youth-informed, multi-site ethnographic study, in which interracial anti-racist youth activist groups (IAYAG) amplified their own pedagogical leadership in their schools. The demand for curricular relevance in urban schools is at an all-time high, and the work of youth organizers is in direct opposition to a…

This critical historical narrative sought to understand how secondary and postsecondary educators can best engage community partners in providing access to a college education--and the opportunities associated with it--for students who have been systemically excluded. Based on extensive archival research and 21 oral history interviews with Upward…