Clark Montessori Junior and Senior High School was the first public Montessori high school in the US. Marta Donahoe and Dean Blase outline the roots and founding principles of Clark Montessori in the context of Montessori pedagogy. Woven throughout this discussion of the Montessori high school environment are guiding principles that Clark adopted…

Agency is a particular concern for ministry with adolescent girls because they rarely see themselves as subjects of their own lives. Human agency is often emphasized in churches as a way to explain human sinful action. As a population treated as objects by society, it is important for young women to embrace and exercise their agency in order to be…

Spiritual wellness, much like resilience, is a multidimensional protective factor for students. This article reviews the relevant literature linking spiritual wellness and thriving in the adolescent population. Assessment and intervention methods that can be used in secondary school settings to promote spiritual wellness are provided.

The death of a loved one has serious implications for adolescent growth and development. The authors review relevant research on the grief process and spirituality in adolescence, and they give a rationale for integrating spirituality into adolescent grief work. By way of a case illustration, they draw implications for counselors' use of…

The field of youth development, long given over to discussions of youth as a time of storm and stress, raging hormones and problem behavior, has increasingly turned to look at the "sunny side" of youth--at their agency, insights, capabilities and contributions. Youth, we are now regularly told, are not problems but resources and assets. In this…

Spirituality is a universal phenomenon and an inherent aspect of human nature that unfolds during adolescence as the individual searches for transcendence, meaning, and purpose in life. Recently, spirituality has received attention as a source of resilience for adolescents. Theoretical perspectives and empirical research suggest that spirituality…

Discouraged youth need caring adults who employ both traditional and creative strategies to help them develop character and positive life goals. Caring adults can help youth realize that they are worthy of love and possess great potential. There is great promise and hope for troubled youth if they connect with adults who are convinced that every…

This article offers suggestions for strengthening school-based grief support following an adolescent's death. Such interventions must be considered within the context of: (a) development during adolescence; (b) the role of peers in adolescent development; and (c) the fact that an adolescent peer's death is a non-normative life crisis in developed…

Camps have long addressed multiple components of young people's development, including spiritual development. In particular, transcendental communion with nature and the outdoors may provide one pathway for young people's spiritual development. The physical, mental, social, and spiritual growth of young people has been at the core of camps for…

In this article, the author writes lyrically of the struggle of young people to find meaning and hope in an increasingly secular world, and focuses his discussion on potential roles for adults "who are in serious life-shaping relationships with young people. . . to recognize and respond to the spiritual development of young people." The…

Bereavement researchers have made some significant advances in the understanding of the dynamics and the processes of managing grief. In this article, the author presents three of these advances that are central to a discussion of adolescent grief and of preventive interventions: (1) Increasingly, both clinical and research evidence indicate that…

Spirituality is an important force during a period when institutional religion seems to be losing its hold on adolescents. To enhance the spiritual development of adolescent girls in the school setting, the group experience described addresses authentic identity, relationships and boundaries, managing pain experienced in life, and discovering and…

Increasing violence and suicide among adolescent boys is attributed to a lack of security in our fast-changing society and a lack of direction and value for young men. Rites of passage constructively channel the undirected energies of youth to initiate a purposeful and responsive adulthood. Nine British programs are described, and recommendations…

Adolescents are objects of recruitment for religious cults. Identifying new religious movements, cults, and dissenting religious groups, understanding their practices, and discovering reasons for their attractiveness to some students are helpful to the school counselor. Suggestions are offered as to how to identify which cults are destructive, and…

Ongoing discussions about spiritual awareness and values in British outdoor education address their role in helping adolescents develop a strong positive identity; definition of values and spirituality; and assessment of client needs, especially with respect to cultural differences. Collaboration with the fields of transpersonal psychology and…