Today's adolescents have grown up with technology as a main element in their lives and are particularly susceptible to experiencing mental health challenges, so-called nature-deficit disorder, and eco-anxiety around the climate crisis. This unique developmental context may necessitate a reconceptualising of adolescents' relationships with the…

Summer camp programs provide adolescent counselors with opportunities to work alongside adult staff, aiming to develop critical skills such as communication, responsibility, independence, and teamwork. Growing research supports the value of camp-based developmental relationships through youth-adult partnerships. However, tensions often arise as…

Introduction: This mixed-methods study examined self-determination at a summer sports camp for youths with visual impairments (i.e., those who are blind or have low vision). Educators of students with visual impairment have reported that the expanded core curriculum should be taught outside of the school day and have reported placing a lower…

This study presents the first within-program, within-tutor experimental evidence comparing the impact of in-person versus remote tutoring. Based on results from an early literacy tutoring initiative delivered by university students over Summer 2023, we find no statistically significant differences in students' literacy outcomes by instructional…

Research shows that Summer Bridge Programs (SBPs) are essential in supporting undergraduate students' first-year college transition experiences from underrepresented and historically marginalized backgrounds. A key component of SBPs is cultivating deeply supportive relationships participants establish with adults and peers on a college campus. The…

Introduction: Albinism is a genetic condition caused by a lack of pigment in the eyes, with some forms of albinism also affecting pigmentation in the hair and skin. Individuals with albinism experience some degree of visual impairment as well as hypopigmentation. Both visual impairment and physical appearance may contribute to students with…

Many researchers have debated potential differences between male and female students' mathematical performance. One important factor that can impact performance is perception of the content. The purpose of the study is to investigate factors that impact high-ability male and female students' perspectives of mathematics. Participants (n = 12;…

Background: STEM participation is often associated with the disenfranchisement of historically marginalized individuals. Disrupting these standing injustices to establish "rightful presence" with equitable opportunity, access, and cultural standing to shape and pursue STEM endeavors in ways that are inclusive of individuals' identities…

Residential medical specialty camps provide short-term psychosocial benefits to youth with health conditions during summer camp, yet extinguishing effects are commonly seen in follow-up data as campers return to home and school settings (Dawson, 2017; Knapp et al., 2015; Moola et al., 2014; Plante et al., 2001). Innovative year-round support…

This article aims to illuminate the perceptions of a pilot grief- and trauma-informed empowerment arts summer program for adolescents who lived in an at-risk Southern, urban neighborhood identified by the city in question as having a high percentage of street violence. The study it is based on was grounded in qualitative techniques, which…

Scholarship on youth digital media literacy programs has focused on how adults practice restraint as a means of allowing young people to exercise agency in decision-making experiences. Yet youth also practice restraint, as we found in a digital storytelling program involving 16 early adolescents (ages 11-14) from economically precarious…

Objective: We examined how mentorship, remote participation, and COVID-19 challenges were associated with the mental health of college students participating in summer research programs. Participants: Participants were students participating in 78 National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) Sites during Summer…

Gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are well documented, yet little is known about how women and men students establish social relationships with research mentors and peers and how that shapes their experiences in STEM. We conducted a series of interviews with 17 undergraduate students from a Hispanic…

Assets for a Healthy Adolescence - Experiential Outdoor Service Learning (AHA-EOSL) Program, provided by Rocky Mountain Youth Corps-CO (RMYC), engaged 165 youth during summer 2021 in Youth Crews (ages 14-18) who worked together in 8-10 member for two or five weeks while performing meaningful conservation and service projects. RMYC focused on…

Assets for a Healthy Adolescence - Experiential Outdoor Service Learning (AHA-EOSL) Program, provided by Rocky Mountain Youth Corps-CO (RMYC), engaged 165 youth during summer 2021 in Youth Crews (ages 14-18) who worked together in 8-10 member crews for two or five weeks and performed meaningful conservation and service projects. RMYC focused on…