We investigated environmental supports, an understudied aspect of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), with rural Appalachian youth, an understudied population. We developed a new measure of proximal influences that bolster the pursuit of postsecondary education, the Assessment of Postsecondary Supports (APSS). Across 3 studies, we develop and…

Although much of the national opt-out movement is parent driven, the Colorado opt-out movement involved considerable efforts from high school students. This study explores the geography of the Colorado opt-out movement among secondary students, drawing upon social movements theory. We utilize the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) as a…

Background: Internationally 18% of youth are obese. Fitness testing can be used to establish fitness surveillance, which can inform policy and targeted interventions aimed at addressing obesity. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and low fitness in Idaho school-aged youth through a pilot study.…

Despite barriers to educational attainment, low-SES youth often maintain strong academic intentions and performance if they continue to view school as important for obtaining the desired futures they envision for themselves. We undertook three related studies to examine the importance of one aspiration central to the desired futures of many…

In this paper, the authors argue for novel, less mimetic, ways to harness "the real" in drama practices. They study particular youth theatre-making practices in a Toronto secondary classroom, both successes and failures, to make the case for an untethering of "the real" from realism's representational aesthetics. They further…

In this research, we examined the construct of a school engagement scale using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). This study involved a translated measurement model that was originally developed by Li and Lerner for U.S. youth, and data from a sample of eighth-, ninth-, and 11th-grade Chinese adolescents (N = 364). First, the results…

This study aims to compare the youth guides' speaking scores before and after learning through English for Geotourism Instruction Innovation at Khorat Geopark Area in Nakhon Ratchasima, investigate the differences among their tasks' mean scores and their speaking components. The sample group consists of 109 youth guides who are Grade 11…

This dissertation research explores the pedagogical approaches of exemplary content area teachers (ECATs) working with Latina students in a public high school context. Research has shown that educators are the leading agents in preparing immigrant youth, and that teacher support and prejudice directly affect students' academic outcomes. This…

This study compared bullying experiences between ethnic minority youth and Korean majority youth in South Korea, and examined whether the student-teacher relationship is associated with their bullying experiences. Participants comprised 148 ethnic minority students and 165 Korean majority students in Grades 4 to 11 in South Korea. Bivariate…

Teenage pregnancy among school-going youth is a concern worldwide, but in socially-economically challenged environments it is a result of, and contributory factor to, a complex web of social injustice. In South Africa, most of the school-based prevention interventions to date have been adult-designed and imparted, with the voice of the target…

In this paper I describe and analyse how critical pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning that encourages students to reflect on their socio-political contexts, may stimulate critical consciousness and dialogue at a youth radio show. The participants, who attended four diverse Cape Town high schools and predominantly lived in poor…

Noncognitive characteristics are gaining importance in addressing the persistent challenges facing youth in diverse settings. Measurement invariance of two youth developmental assets, Support and Positive Identity, is evaluated across grade levels and English language learner (ELL) subgroups of Latino students in 6th through 12th grade.…

This study evaluates the Youth Development Program (YDP), a component of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA). We examine whether the YDP reduced dropout rates among youth in secondary schools in seven school districts in the impoverished Mississippi River Delta in southeast Arkansas. Initially, the program seems to have an impact. Students…

The coherence of adolescents' self-reported learning experiences between subgroups of organized youth activities within five commonly used categories was evaluated. Data for the present study come from a representative sample of eleventh grade adolescents' reports on learning experiences in an organized youth activity using the Youth Experience…

We report on a survey of 942 grade 10 and 11 students from 10 urban and "rurban" boards in 5 Canadian provinces that takes stock of multicultural education three decades on in the context of youth's multiple, multimedia spheres of learning. This survey is presented as an innovative research instrument measuring "what young people…