Given that input-based language and literacy environments provide socioculturally-enriched contexts for bilingual and biliteracy acquisition, the current study aims to explore the contribution of early input in various sociocultural contexts to later biliteracy development among ­college-level Chinese heritage language (CHL) students. A group of…

According to the authors, we live in a society that is deeply influenced by technology, and social studies classrooms are ideal places for students to conduct inquiries into timely and relevant technological issues. In this article, the authors describe an approach that can be used across many situations to teach students to think critically about…

Accountability mandates linked to state education standards and assessments have largely replaced play in early childhood classrooms. This approach limits educators' opportunities by preventing them from using play as a means of identifying and expanding children's diverse range of competencies. In this ethnographic case study, we explore how…

We present an analysis of three 9th grade integrated mathematics lessons in which a group of teachers and researchers redesigned a sequence of lessons with the goal of engaging a linguistically diverse group of students in productive and powerful discussions (Herbel-Eisenmann et al. 2013). The three lessons were part of a design experiment. Two…

This paper presents an overview of some of Michael Cole's work, starting with his pioneering research in Liberia with the Kpelle (and later, with Sylvia Scribner, studies of literacy with the Vai, 1981), which was formative of his version of a cultural-historical psychology, his translation and interpretations of the work of L. S. Vygotsky and…

This study contributes to the emerging research literature on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) support and persistence activities among urban teenage African American and Latina girls. We present three case studies of girls who participated in an afterschool STEM curriculum. Our within- and cross-case analyses focused on…

Analysis of data in an after-school writing workshop wherein resettled refugee teens were reading and writing identity texts to prepare for achieving their postsecondary goals suggests that a discursive practice of the connective press was productive in helping teens develop cohesion in their writing. Although true communicative competence in an…

This paper presents four projects in which mobile devices are used to support authentic learning in an afterschool technology club, "La Clase Mágica" (LCM@UTSA), designed to motivate underrepresented elementary school children in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The implementation of mobile devices into our LCM@UTSA is…

This article describes and evaluates an 8-week photography workshop, FotoLab, conducted in Italy at an afterschool-tutoring program for students acquiring Italian as an additional language. Seventeen students, age 8-17 and originating from 9 countries, participated. Co-facilitated by three international educator-researchers, FotoLab's purpose was…

The "Research & Action Report," published twice a year, is a window on the activities and initiatives at the Wellesley Centers for Women. The report typically features news about the Centers, interviews with researchers, commentary on recent events or social trends affecting women and girls, announcements of new publications, and much more.…

Rahm sought to illuminate how children and youth make meaning of science in three out-of-school time programs, and the identity work that is done through the trajectory of their youth toward their young adulthood. Through using multisited ethnography, she asserts that we can learn more about what the youth say about their science learning and…

The "Research & Action Report," published twice a year, is a window on the activities and initiatives at the Wellesley Centers for Women. The report typically features news about the Centers, interviews with researchers, commentary on recent events or social trends affecting women and girls, announcements of new publications, and much more.…

Through two stories of youth voice, learning, and identity development in an afterschool science program for girls only, we show the ways in which such programs can be understood as important identity-building practices. We describe key dimensions of a socio-cultural approach to youth voice, learning, and identity, situated also in the context of…

This case study explored how adolescents were empowered through afterschool media production activities and, in the process, re-imagined themselves as active and engaged citizens within their community. Through analyzing interviews, participant observations, and media artifacts of 14 participants (aged 15-19) over a period of 18 months, three main…

Through a multimodal media production literacy intervention in an extended-day program, culturally and linguistically diverse youth developed valuable information and communication technology literacies, including: (1) Specific how-to skills useful in future academic, professional, social, and civic contexts; (2) Abilities to critically interpret…