Despite declines over the past few decades, the United States has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy compared to other industrialized nations. American Indian youth have experienced higher rates of teen pregnancy compared to the overall population for decades. Although it's known that community and cultural adaptation enhance program…

Challenge seeking is an important component of children's personal and academic development. Defined in this paper as a set of beliefs and behaviors that propels individuals to initiate and persist at difficult ventures, challenge seeking is a key indicator of mastery goal orientation. This orientation has been linked with a number of positive and…

This article reports findings from a study of an alternative educational program for at-risk secondary students, comparing student perceptions of their public school environment, measured upon intake in the alternative school, with their perceptions of the alternative school environment after four and eight months of attendance in the program.…

European societies rely on different models to address cultural and religious diversity in education, with different potential consequences for the experiences youth have in schools. Some prefer the term intercultural education emphasising dialogue and interaction while others have historically followed the idea of multicultural education. In…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the i3-funded SPARK program on the literacy development of students in kindergarten through third grade. The SPARK program represents a collaboration between Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Public Schools. In the study, two cohorts of students were randomly…

The RAND Corporation works throughout the Middle East to analyze complex policy problems and help policymakers create enduring solutions. RAND's work in the Middle East focuses on the issues that drive economic development. This brief report provides an overview of RAND's impact in the Middle East in the areas of supporting youth, health and…

This article examined the literature on best practices in content-specific professional development and then aligns this work with the practices of a citywide afterschool chess program run by After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP) in Philadelphia. School teachers, out-of-school time (OST) staff, and youth workers readied themselves to think…

As experience camp directors, we've seen the challenges faced by young camp counselors and inexperienced staff. Evaluations from staff at many camps motivated us to help our people be more effective with their campers. In response we created a comprehensive camp staff training. Lessons showed staff what we wanted them to do and say as they…

How can youth be educated and empowered to become responsible food citizens? Evidence from a university-community partnership with youth in Michigan is presented to illuminate participatory approaches to youth engagement in food systems. We found that youth have valuable knowledge to enhance our understanding of food environments. At the same…

This article provides a brief history of African and African-derived dance and culture and highlights the physical health, dance education, historical, and cultural benefits of a school-based program that incorporates African dance as its core component. The article also includes the phases of the programming and brings attention to potential…

There is growing interest in the professionalization of the youth work field in Australia and the United States. In this article I draw on relevant literature from the sociology of professions to explore the appeal of professionalization for youth work. The interest in professionalism is examined along with the strategies youth work practitioners…

This article examines the kinds of relationships that nonteacher educators, especially youth development practitioners working in after-school settings, have with students. It addresses the fact that these adults in schools have an explicit youth-oriented and relational approach, find out many productive and anxiety-provoking facts about their…

This article analyzes the potential of a series of Youth Action Coalition's (YAC) Arts-for-Change (AfC) youth programs for literacy and identity development, as well as for engaging youth in addressing issues of social justice. Drawing primarily on transcripts of interviews, surveys, and participant-observation fieldnotes inventorying changes in…

Most American youth hold a job at some point during adolescence, but should they work? This article presents a broad overview of teenage employment in the United States. It begins by describing which teenagers work and for how long and then focuses attention on the consequences (both good and bad) of paid work in adolescence. It then presents…

In this professional development research brief, the author sets forth the overarching considerations that should be kept in mind when conceptualizing professional development for educators working with neglected or delinquent youth (N or D). The brief begins by defining professional development and demonstrating why it is a critical support for…