Caucusing, as a social justice activity, is traditionally implemented to provide an insider space for marginalized persons to share experiences and build a space for belonging and safety by excluding those who hold privileged identities. Within a particular event that combines privileged and oppressed, experiences are uneven, with insiders…

This ethnographic case study examines how a social justice-based after-school (AS) youth leadership development program became a space for youth participants to develop a critique of social oppression and motivation for social justice action. Research demonstrates that youth development programs and models that cultivate agency among Youth of…

There is a tremendous need to enhance the cultural competency of teachers working in PK-12 schools. Research indicates that culturally competent teachers who utilize transformative and justice-oriented curriculum and pedagogy provide classroom spaces that are more welcoming and engaging, and that showcase diversity, inclusion, and democracy in…

This article unpacks existing laws and disciplinary policies like "zero tolerance" and "disturbing schools" that criminalize youth behaviors in public schools and explores their roots in U.S. racialized histories using a critical carceral studies framework. Carceral studies scholars critique the punitive capitalist apparatus…

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…