In the 1995 legislation establishing charter schools in the state of Louisiana, the Louisiana Legislature indicated their intention "that the best interests of at-risk pupils be the overriding consideration in implementing the provisions of this Chapter" (Charter School Demonstration Programs, 1997). Furthermore, the legislation required…

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2020), in 1999, 84% of teachers were white, and 8% of teachers were African American. Unfortunately, these statistics have not changed much in two decades. In 2018, 79% of teachers were white, and 7% of teachers were African American. In order to change the experiences in our schools for…

Pre-college access programs operating in high schools commonly focus on assisting underserved and historically excluded populations of students in preparing for, applying to, and enrolling in postsecondary education. Through two analyses, this study examines the efficacy of two types of access programs in facilitating postsecondary enrollment and…

A socioeconomic status (SES)-related achievement gap in mathematics emerges prior to school entry, and increases in elementary school. This gap makes implementation of demanding mathematics standards (e.g., the Common Core State Standards) an ongoing challenge. Early educational intervention is a strategy for addressing this challenge. A…

The current study (1) characterizes patterns of mental health service utilization over 8 years among youth who received psychotherapy in the context of a community implementation of multiple evidence-based practices (EBPs), and (2) examined youth-, provider- and service-level predictors of service use patterns. Latent profile analyses were…

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…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a plethora of problems globally for school boards, administrators, and teachers of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics (STEAM). From the beginning of 2020, marginalized students--those who live in low-socioeconomic environments or come from traditionally underrepresented communities or…

STEM pipeline programs often include research experiences for youth, but fewer focus on youth as shared decision-makers or leaders in research efforts. Youth participatory action research (YPAR) and community-based participatory research (CBPR) orientations suggest that the quality and relevance of research will benefit from youth partnership.…

Building on existing relationships with international youth development colleagues, we created the 4-H International Camp United Program (4-HICUP) as a leadership opportunity for international and U.S. teens. In 2019, teenagers from Azerbaijan, Italy, Russia, and the United States came together to build personal cross-cultural relationships,…

This article explores the impact of German Jewish youth educational travel in Israel on changing attitudes toward Israel. The travelers are engaged in direct interaction with the host country, directly experiencing the environments and interacting with members of the host society while touring places with symbolic meaning. The encounters with…

Traumatic experiences are common among adolescents and can negatively affect learning and increase the risk of early pregnancy, parenthood, and sexually transmitted infections. Little is known about how current sexual health interventions address trauma. A scoping review was conducted to gain insight into how trauma is addressed in adolescent…

In this paper, six adult allies (comprised of four academic scholars, one in-service teacher, and one community-based teaching artist) reflect on what it meant for them to learn from the wisdom of eight years of intergenerational inquiry led by youth. The authors examine how youth researcher-activists make meaning of their realities within this…

Grounded in the traditions of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and Hip-Hop culture, Cyphers for Justice (CFJ) youth work alongside college students (undergraduate and graduate), professors, and community-based teaching artists to conduct research and present their findings on relevant social issues. As a critical approach that privileges…

Digital communication technologies play an important role in the social development of young people, but can create vulnerabilities to cyberbullying and other negative online experiences. The "Blurred Lives" project aimed to tackle cyberbullying innovatively using a co-participatory approach, collaborating with 14-16-year olds living in…

The satellite city of Elizabeth, located 30 km north of South Australia's capital Adelaide, was established in the 1950s as an experiment in urban sociological planning, populated with new arrivals and hailed as the 'City of Tomorrow'. By the 1970s, it had declined into one of the most disadvantaged communities in South Australia, with…