Extension has a role to play in workforce development by preparing the next generation to be successful communicators. While Extension 4-H youth programs have contributed to public speaking development since their inception, there has not been a validated instrument to assess young people's public speaking self-efficacy. We utilized an…

Families of youth with disabilities often access services to promote youth's transitions to adulthood. Such services can be oriented toward the youth or family. Using descriptive statistics and regression modeling of survey and administrative data, we explored patterns of service use and the association between outcomes for 9,013 U.S. youth with…

The academic and economic benefits of school spending are well-established, but focusing on these outcomes may underestimate the full social benefits of school spending. Recent increases in U.S. child mortality are driven by injuries and raise questions about what types of social investments could reduce child deaths. We use close school district…

Youth development programs often provide young people with science learning experiences. We argue for reframing youth science learning from a focus on individual scientific literacy to an emphasis on collective scientific literacy--"community science"--to support young people in using science to address issues in their lives and…

Youth with disabilities experience bullying at rates much higher than those who do not identify as having a disability; however, they are often underrepresented in national measures of bullying due to a lack of accessibility. This study was set to evaluate (1) how individuals with disabilities define "bullying," (2) the prevalence of…

Parts of California, and the nation, are in the midst of a teacher shortage that adversely affects communities, schools, families, and students, and especially Students and Families of Color (California Department of Education [CDE], 2022b; Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017a, 2017b; Carver-Thomas et al., 2021; Commission on Teacher…

The University of California (UC) 4-H Mindfulness Retreat was developed on the basis of current research of positive youth outcomes associated with mindfulness. Curricula, resources, and programming were developed to introduce participants to mindfulness to improve overall health. The UC 4-H Mindfulness Retreat provides training and opportunities…

Background: As of September 2020, more than 300 state and local jurisdictions restrict the sales of flavored tobacco, with some including menthol. Aims: To evaluate the impact of local ordinances restricting the sale of flavored tobacco, we surveyed Californians regarding policy support and perceived access to flavored tobacco. Methods: In 2019,…

This study comprehensively analyzed extant data from the 2016-2017 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) secondary core and Social Emotional Health Module (SEHM) to explore the ability of the CHKS to measure subjective well-being (SWB), a critical component in the assessment of youth mental health (MH). Research has validated the significance and…

Continuing to negate deficit framings of youth sexuality and amplify youth voices, this critical queer ethnography understands California high school students' experiences with comprehensive school-based sex education. Findings make visible the detailed account of youth voices in the space of sexual health education, highlighting their agency,…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth of color experience high rates of mental health disorders, yet they experience challenges to accessing mental health services. Community health worker (CHW) models of care have potential to promote equitable mental health services among LGBTQ youth. Our aim was to understand how CHW…

The mythology of liberal anti/racism endures in U.S. mainstream educational discourse as the rational approach to address white supremacy, with college-going positioned as "the" pathway to a better life. Liberal logics suppose that once racialized peoples enter positions of power, society will improve. Drawing upon pláticas and…

The literature on mentorship centralizes formal mentoring programs with hired and trained staff and volunteers to work with at-promise youth of color at school- or community-based sites such as Big Brothers Big Sisters or smaller localized programs; however, these programs are not always available in rural areas. This multiple case study explores…

The COVID-19 pandemic and shifts to virtual learning drastically altered school environments, often leaving students without a say in the many changes happening in their lives. To understand how diverse adolescents experienced their school's climate during the COVID-19 pandemic and elevate youth voice in school decisions, we conducted a…

This brief presents Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) as a transformative exploratory tool for critical and curious educators. YPAR has been defined as a collaborative method of youth, with the support of caring adults, participating in research to explore social issues that impact them, with the end goal of taking action to improve the…