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This paper presents the argument that climate change should be taught in schools as a sociopolitical and scientific process, and that students should be able to use their science knowledge to think critically about climate change as a social justice issue. A necessary and achievable outcome of science education is critical climate awareness--an understanding of the systems and structures that create and sustain climate change inequities. Through a participatory design research partnership, a high school chemistry course was designed and studied that focused on this outcome. Data from a single group, mixed method pre/postdesign show how a group of Black and Latinx urban youth appropriated critical climate awareness from the curriculum they experienced and how they used this awareness to explain climate change as a scientific and sociopolitical process. The findings show that students became concerned about climate change, if they were not already, and that they improved their knowledge of scientific concepts specific to climate change. In their explanations of climate change, students foregrounded sociopolitical processes that result in changes to physical systems, assigned agency for carbon emissions to diverse social actors in ways attentive to power dynamics, and articulated differences in consequences and solutions based on the racial and socioeconomic demographics of communities. This work has implications for transforming science classrooms into incubators for climate justice.

The goal of the present study was to explore the relations between social avoidance, peer preference, loneliness, and social sensitivity among urban Chinese children. Participants were 951 children attending primary and middle schools from grade 3 to grade 7. Cross-sectional data were collected using self-report assessments and peer nominations. Results indicated that: (1) social avoidance positively predicted loneliness; (2) peer preference partially mediated the relation between social avoidance and loneliness; (3) social sensitivity moderated the mediating path through peer preference. The findings not only explain the mental health problems of avoidant children from the standpoint of social sensitivity and peer preference, but also have illuminating implications for guiding individual adaptation and mental health intervention.

This article explores multilevel governance networking and innovation to better understand how nature-based public health can be promoted at a grassroot level within an urban context. Hence, the leading research question examines the "extent of networking and collaboration within state and municipal policymaking and the implementation of socially inclusive nature-based activities among urban youths conducted by local volunteer organisations." Multilevel networking and collaboration represent an analytical alternative to bottom-up and top-down strategies, which dominate the socio-political policies of outdoor studies in several countries. The exploration draws on empirical research conducted in 2020 based on a qualitative design. A website review was carried out to analyse facilitated nature-based health innovations embracing educational activities, leadership, and organisation run by local volunteer organisations targeting youth aged 6-19 across Oslo, Norway's capital. The investigation was substantiated by twenty-eight interviews with leaders of volunteer organisations and primary healthcare coordinators in five of Oslo's fifteen city districts, exploring their organisational experiences and reflections on nature-based innovations as a measure to promote health. The governance approach revealed several paradoxes and ambiguities in policy and practice. For example, there is a gap between the policy vision and available resources. There is also a need to understand better the complex networks and collaboration of public agencies and dedicated volunteers, their organisations, and interests. Furthermore, the continuous professionalisation of the voluntary sector and its significance in building a governance infrastructure that increases the capability of ongoing nature-based activity innovations need to be developed to meet policy goals and young people's needs and interests. Social inequalities were reported among those participating in nature-based activities and those who were not engaged. This pattern follows the well-documented spatial distribution of socioeconomic disparities.

Critical pedagogies often prioritize critical thinking and social awareness at the expense of preparing urban youth for social action. Though sociopolitical efficacy is argued to bridge critical reflection and social action, this relationship is undetermined. We argue that critical reflection and sociopolitical efficacy are independent predictors of sociopolitical action. We surveyed 158 high-school students and found that critical reflection and sociopolitical efficacy were positively related to sociopolitical action. Additionally, participation in transformative student voice (TSV) and classroom leadership opportunities positively influenced sociopolitical efficacy. We argue that educators and community organizers should promote leadership development and TSV activities to encourage youth sociopolitical efficacy and action.

Despite the desirability of working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), Black and Latinx people are underrepresented in these fields. Sustaining engagement in STEM is central to addressing the representation gap. This qualitative study examined whether and how a STEM-based after-school program (Changemakers) impacted students' sense of engagement in STEM. Changemakers incorporates the basic tenets of STEM engagement and a purpose curriculum to increase students' sense of engagement. Purpose is an aspiration towards future-oriented goals, active engagement with one's goals, and intention to contribute to the world. The sample was composed of students, ages 15-17 years old (N=10, 5=M; 5=F), from a public, low-income high school. Findings suggested that three elements helped engage participants with STEM material: challenging and novel curriculum, experiential learning, and supportive relationships. These findings underscore additional STEM programs can enhance their student's learning and connection to the field by ensuring that their program encapsulates these identified components.

Background: Creativity is an important ability for problem-solving in both personal life and academic learning. Few creativity studies have investigated the development of children's creativity in disadvantaged rural areas or compared the rural-urban differences through digital game-based creativity learning. Understanding such differences can help provide resources for promoting learning equality in creativity. Aims: This study aimed to compare the rural-urban difference in elementary school children's creativity performance and their learning effect through digital game-based creativity learning. Sample: Participants were 261 3rd and 4th graders and 194 5th and 6th graders from 6 elementary schools. Method: Two digital game-based creativity learning systems were employed to conduct a five-class experimental instruction. A creativity test and a questionnaire were also used. Results and Conclusions: The results indicate that the urban middle graders, but not the upper graders, outperformed their rural counterparts in the creativity test before game-based learning. Nevertheless, all children got a higher score on the creativity test after the game-based learning, suggesting the employed creativity learning systems could be vehicles for improving elementary school children's creativity. However, the rural children gained less from the learning than the urban children, which may be due to weaker competencies in self-regulated learning. Further studies can employ an inventory to verify this and also consider providing more scaffolding of self-regulated learning to more disadvantaged students during digital game-based creativity learning. Additionally, the results of this study reflect the importance of self-determination and rewards in learning motivation. Appropriate rewards may encourage persistence in taking on challenges.

This study explored adolescents' reasons for involving themselves, or not, in risktaking behavior, in two vulnerable areas of North Jakarta. The sample was purposively selected among households with adolescents ranging from 12 to 18 years old living in the two areas. The study involved 401 parents (8% female; 92% male; mean age 45.3 years) and 414 adolescents (57.49% female; 42.51% male; mean age 14.9 years). Parents' demographic data included educational level, employment status, family income, and expenditure. Adolescents were asked about their perceptions of their relationships with their parents, whether they had been involved in eight risky behaviors (smoking, consuming alcohol, substance use, brawling, crime, physical fighting, heavy petting, and premarital sex), and reasons for engaging in risky behaviors or not. The comparison of proportions of eight risky behavior was tested by different test procedures, namely Z test, Chi-Square and Marascuillo multiple comparison. Results revealed that older adolescents were more likely to be involved in risk-taking, and boys were more likely to engage in risky behaviors than girls. The study also indicated that curiosity and peer pressure were the main reasons adolescents engaged in risky behaviors. Advice from family members, fear of God, and fear of being sinful were reasons adolescents did not engage in risky behaviors.

Community violence exposure is associated with increased depressive symptoms in adolescents. This study examined whether coping style moderates this relationship over time. Eighty-four low-income, urban adolescents (M[subscript age] = 13.36, 50% female, 95% African American) participated in two waves of a longitudinal study. Youth reported on their community violence exposure and coping style at Wave 1, and their depressive symptoms at Waves 1 and 2 (17 months apart). Problem-focused coping attenuated the effect of community violence exposure on depressive symptoms ([beta] = -0.47, p < 0.05), whereas avoidant coping amplified the effect of community violence on depressive symptoms ([beta] = 0.63, p < 0.05). Adolescents exposed to community violence are at an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms if they use low levels of problem-focused coping or high levels of avoidant coping. Interventions targeting coping strategies may improve psychological adjustment of urban youth exposed to community violence.

This study explored the relationship between social interaction anxiety (SIA) and problematic smartphone use (PSU) among Chinese adolescents. Further, the roles of online basic psychological needs satisfaction (online BPNS), nature connectedness (NC), and related differences between urban and rural adolescents were examined. We recruited 840 Chinese adolescents to complete a questionnaire. Results showed that online BPNS mediated the relationship between SIA and PSU after controlling for sex, age, duration of smartphone use, and rural-urban differences. NC moderated the mediating effect of online BPNS as a second-stage moderator, and the mediating effect was stronger for adolescents with lower NC. The indirect effect of SIA on PSU through online BPNS depended on NC. Our findings suggested that reducing SIA and online BPNS levels, enhancing connection with nature, and training adolescents (especially rural adolescents) on methods to seek social support and develop social abilities can effectively deal with PSU.

This study aims to develop a standard instrument for measuring mental health among urban adolescents in Indonesia. The objective is to produce valid and reliable school adolescent mental health instruments to be used by agencies or schools to identify students' mental health. The survey was conducted in Jakarta and South Tangerang with a total of 1007 respondents divided into two experiments where the first trial was conducted on 597 students and the second trial was conducted on 410 students. Measurements were made using a Likert scale questionnaire. Instrument testing begins with a theoretical validity test by 4 experts and 20 panelists who test the instrument material in terms of construction, content and language. Experts analyze and correct the instrument qualitatively. The instrument was then reviewed and analyzed quantitatively by panelists using the Aiken index. At this stage, 44 items, 9 indicators and 3 variable dimensions were obtained. The next test is done by testing the validity empirically, by analyzing the measurement model using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with the LISREL 8.80 Full Version program. By using the criteria for the SLF value [greater than or equal to]0.30 and t-value [greater than or equal to]1.96, and calculating the reliability with the construct reliability (CR) at the level> 0.70, the results of the second trial showed that 35 items were valid. The observations of the model fitness through Goodness-of-Fit test showed that there is a fitness between the theoretical model and the empirical model for the mental health instruments in this study.

This study recentres the sociocultural in culturally transforming pedagogic settings whilst foregrounding culturally responsive teaching (CRT). Through a protracted anthropological excavation, teachers' experiences in a culturally diverse integrated high school were explored and interpreted vis-à-vis tenets and precepts of CRT. Findings from observation and interviews indicate that the pedagogic settings as structured by the teachers were not attendant to the aspirations of CRT and teacher practices were not reflective of dispositions of CRT. Teachers professed negative experiences of the pedagogic setting, demonstrated and professed limited knowledge of the cultural being of their learners. The findings highlighted the need for micro-context cultural excavations to remedy socioculturally detached teaching. Cognisant of the emergent need for a learning tool, the LEAP model is proposed premised on centering the humanistic world of the learners and the inherent currency in their culture for progressive teaching and learning engagements.

Children in urban environments tend to have limited exposure to environmental education programs for many reasons. This paper describes the development of a short-session after-school program, created to introduce children in an inner-city school to the concept of urban ecology. In this program, we met with a class of 20 fifth graders once a week for four weeks and evaluated students' perceptions of nature with a pre-post-intervention activity that asked students to draw a picture describing "nature." Researchers evaluated the drawings together. The results indicated an increase in the instances of animals and insects in drawings with fewer anthropic influences, such as people, buildings, and vehicles. Overall, the program achieved its goal of exposing urban children to the ecology all around them.

Background: In the USA, lower income minority ethnic children and teenagers report high consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, which cause dental erosion and dental carries, and play a significant role in overweight, obesity and diabetes. Objective: This study aimed to examine urban adolescents' beliefs about sports and energy drinks to identify factors for health messaging to discourage youth consumption. Design: Focus group study involves 34 adolescents in urban areas (12 women, 12 men and 10 unreported sex; 19 Hispanic, 11 non-Hispanic Black, 2 Asian and 2 unknown race or ethnicity). Setting: Four focus groups were conducted with adolescents in urban areas. Method: Each on-time moderated group discussion was structured to generate an inventory of attitudinal, normative and efficacy beliefs associated with sports and energy drink consumption and reduction. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Attitudinal and normative beliefs were more positive towards sports drink consumption and energy drink reduction. Misperceptions about the need for sports drinks to avoid dehydration during physical activity were evident. Product accessibility and advertising pervasiveness were facilitators influencing consumption and barriers to reduction for both products. Conclusion: Results highlight important differences in perceptions about sports and energy drinks that indicate the need for different approaches and messages for interventions designed to curb consumption of these products. Recommendations for message design are provided.

This study examines often-overlooked youth perspectives on the sociospatial changes happening in a community experiencing Black displacement, mass Latinx immigration, and impending gentrification. To date, studies of complex urban change rarely consider the ways in which young people perceive and produce place differently from adults. Drawing on Critical Race Spatial Analysis and related literature, this critical phenomenological study centers the experiences youth of color living and learning in South Central Los Angeles. In doing so, this article draws on walking interview data from a larger place sensitive study. This study found that youth of color in South Central derive keen, intersectional insights into the dialectical relationship between the social and the spatial just by living their lives. They learn to "read the world" around them and in doing so, develop complex understandings of the sociospatial phenomena that surrounds them. The article concludes with a call to value the intellect of urban youth in research and public policy.

Since 1999, the Kansas K-12 Initiative has generated almost $21 million from university, school district, private foundations, and federal sources to support the development of multiple STEM programs in Kansas City, Kansas. Program goals were to engage urban minority youth in STEM education, increase college readiness, and provide motivation for STEM careers. Over the 20-year period, these programs had 3,547 participants. Ninety percent of program graduates were racial and ethnic minorities. Almost all seniors (98% on average) enrolled in college, and 70% of students who declared a major, declared a STEM major. Programmatic findings demonstrate that STEM programming is widely supported, feasible, and effective on the measure of post-secondary education matriculation. This program description highlights the necessary evolution of programming over two decades with multiple funding sources, giving insight into sustained partnerships, commitment of staff, and long-term engagement of students.

The relevance of this article is the need to study the leisure sphere of modern youth, since free time is one of the important means of forming a young person's personality. The use of free time by young people is a kind of indicator of culture, the range of spiritual needs and interests of a particular personality of a young person. The aim of the study is to analyze the strategy of youth leisure in the cultural space of the modern city. Research methods: as a research method, we used the questionnaire method, which allows us to analyze in detail the main forms and dynamics of the development of modern youth's leisure practices living in an urban environment. Results of the research: the article considers the problems and prospects of leisure strategies' development of young people living in the city. The features of organizing youth leisure in the city are described. The preferences of young people in leisure activities are revealed. The degree of satisfaction of young people with forms of leisure is analyzed. The article considers the respondents' awareness of the work of institutions of the social and cultural sphere in organizing leisure activities for young people in the city. The reasons that prevent young people from spending leisure time in accordance with their needs are identified. Alternative forms of leisure activities are considered. The novelty and originality of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the reasons why young people do not have the opportunity to build their leisure strategy in accordance with their needs are investigated: external reasons (lack of places, disinterest of organizers, certain forms of leisure are unattractive or unprofitable for entrepreneurs); internal reasons (strong employment at work, lack of energy after work, laziness). The reasons for the lack of interaction of young people with leisure and cultural organizations (lack of time; ignorance of where to address on this issue; unwillingness of the organizers to change the situation that is, ignoring the position of young people) are determined. It is revealed that young people show little interest in leisure activities organized by the authorities, since they are formal in nature and do not correspond to the leisure preferences of young people. For the first time, the main strategies for leisure activities for young people living in the city (meetings with friends, relatives, walks, computer games, viewing content, relaxing in silence, and reading) were identified. The strategies of leisure activities that are used to a lesser extent (visiting the cinema, theater; active recreation (cycling, skating, various sports); attending concerts, exhibitions, master classes; learning foreign languages) are considered. It is revealed that young people are not satisfied with the available leisure opportunities in the city. The reasons for discontent are determined (limited material resources in the city for interesting forms of leisure; lack of cultural and leisure institutions in the city that would meet the requirements of young people; limited choice of institutions where you can spend your free time). There is a gap between the needs of young people in the field of leisure and the activities of the city's youth policy Department, which conducts events according to its own plan, without taking into account the opinion of young people. Young people's knowledge about events is examined and the problem is determined about unawareness of cultural and entertainment events that are associated with the lack of interest of young people and lack of desire of the organizers of the Department of culture to find out what interests this age group. Alternative forms of leisure that young people would like to see in the urban environment, as well as take part in them, are identified (such as cinemas, theaters, restaurants; amusement parks, attractions, water parks, bowling; master classes, courses, exhibitions; interest clubs (language, discussion, computer); Bicycle rental, roller skates, Quad bikes, go-karts; paragliding school; industrial tourism). Practical significance: the data Obtained in this work can be used in social psychology, pedagogy, age psychology, as well as for further theoretical development of this issue.

In my inquiry, I explore Chinese urban youth culture under the one-child policy through analyses of two Chinese Internet subcultural artifacts--"A Bloody Case of a Steamed Bun" and "Du Fu Is Busy." Using Douglas Kellner's "multiperspectival cultural studies" (i.e., cultural studies, critical theory, and critical media literacy) as the theoretical framework, and diagnostic critique and semiotics as the analytical method, I examine three general themes--resistance, power relations, and consumerism. The power of multiperspectival cultural studies, an interdisciplinary inquiry, lies in its potentials to explore Chinese urban youth culture under the one-child policy from multiple perspectives; explore historical backgrounds and complexity of cultural artifacts to understand contradictions and trajectories of Chinese urban youth culture; recognize alternative medias as a space for urban Chinese youth to express frustrations and dissatisfactions, to challenge social injustices, and to create dreams and hopes for their futures; recognize that the intertexuality among cultural artifacts and subcultures creates possibilities for Chinese urban youth to invent more alternative media cultures that empower them to challenge dominations, perform their identities, and release their imagination for the future; invite Chinese youth to be the change agents for the era but not to be imprisoned by the era; and overcome misunderstanding, misrepresentation, or underrepresentation of Chinese urban youth cultural texts to promote linguistic and cultural diversity in a multicultural, multilingual, and multiracial world.

Community violence and its physical health consequences are well known among youth living in urban settings. However, less is known about the cumulative effect of contextual and demographic risk factors on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among vulnerable youth. Longitudinal data (baseline, 9-month, 21-month) were analyzed to investigate trajectories of PTSS, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms among 188 youth (M[subscript age] 12.87, 60.6% male) treated for an assault injury in an emergency department. Youth exhibited decreased mental health problems over time. Higher levels of internalizing symptoms related to decreased PTSS over time, while higher levels of PTSS predicted increased externalizing symptoms over time, thus underscoring the importance of understanding comorbidity. Gender and stressful life events were significantly associated with initial levels of symptoms and trajectories. These findings suggest the importance of understanding PTSS in the context of environments and personal factors to support appropriate treatment.

Concentrated pockets of under-resourced neighbourhoods and schools exist in urban areas in which there are overwhelming numbers of children labelled 'at-risk.' Structural equation modelling was used to predict the associations between family social capital in kindergarten and third-grade learning and development outcomes for low-socioeconomic children in urban areas. Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 were analyzed. Child outcomes included third-grade language/literacy, cognitive development/problem-solving, and approaches to learning. Findings indicate that family social capital has a significant longitudinal impact on children's development and learning. Early factors influencing children's later development and learning can inform intervention strategies, potentially moderating gaps in these areas between socioeconomic groups. Findings can be used to inform practice and policy for children and families.

This study aimed to examine the effects of rater, age and gender on the relationship between theory of mind (ToM) and preschoolers' social competence with peers (SCP). A sample of 152 Chinese urban children aged 4 to 6 years (78 boys and 74 girls) were given ToM scale. Their SCP was measured by teacher report and parent report. There were three main findings: (1) teachers rated children's SCP higher than parents; (2) teacher ratings of SCP were more closely associated with children's ToM than parent ratings after controlling for age and gender; (3) the significant associations between ToM and SCP from cross-informant ratings were only found in the boys and the younger subsamples (aged 4) rather than all preschoolers. These divergent associations indicated that the effective intervention, would require individual and varying ToM training to improve children's SCP.

Research Findings: The goal of the present study was to examine the moderating role of child effortful control (EC) in the relation between shyness and social-emotional adjustment difficulties among young Chinese children. Participants included 195 children (117 boys, 78 girls, Mage = 4.28 years, SD = 0.31) enrolled in 6 classes attending kindergartens, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Mothers provided ratings of their children's temperament (shyness, EC) at Time 1, teachers and mothers rated children's social-emotional adjustment at Time 2 (one and a half years later). Results from SPSS PROCESS MACRO revealed several significant interaction effects between shyness and EC in the prediction of outcome variables. Follow-up simple slope analyses indicated that among children with higher levels of EC, shyness was negatively related to mother-reported social-emotional adjustment difficulties, while among children with lower levels of EC, shyness was not associated with mother-reported social-emotional adjustment difficulties. However, among children with lower levels of EC, shyness was positively associated with teacher reported social-emotional adjustment difficulties. In contrast, among children with higher levels of EC, shyness was not associated with teacher-reported social-emotional adjustment difficulties. Practice or Policy: The findings provide evidence to suggest that the combination of shyness and EC may contribute to children's social adjustment, which in turn may promote or attenuate socio-emotional adjustment difficulties.

Adolescents from urban communities are at risk for unhealthy snacking behaviors. Youth advocacy interventions are shown to improve certain adolescent health behaviors, such as substance use. However, it remains unclear if youth advocacy is a feasible method to promote healthy snacking. As such, the aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of a youth advocacy program promoting healthy snacking among adolescents in New York City by conducting a mixed-methods process evaluation. Adolescents (12-18 years) at a Boys and Girls Club in New York City were recruited to participate in a 12-session adaptation of the Youth Engagement and Action for Health! program to advocate for the promotion of healthy snacks in corner stores. A mixed-methods process evaluation was conducted to assess recruitment, reach (attendance), dose delivered (amount of intervention delivered), fidelity (degree to which intervention was implemented according to curriculum) and dose received (participant engagement/satisfaction). Satisfaction was also evaluated through focus groups. Descriptive statistics were calculated for quantitative data, and focus groups were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participant retention (94.74%), attendance (93.52%), dose delivered (98.94%), fidelity (98.5%), engagement (4.97/5) and program satisfaction (4/5) were high. Focus groups (n = 6; 28 participants) revealed that participants learned about nutrition, enjoyed being advocates and improved snacking behaviors.

Research indicates that youth, especially those facing injustice, such as youth of Color in urban settings, are essential participants in educational decision-making. However, due to adultism and intersecting forms of oppression, their inclusion is not the norm. Grounded in the concept of adultism and the tradition of storytelling, we address the following question: How can educational researchers and practitioners challenge the adultism that constrains youth's participation in school- and district-level educational decision-making? We share stories about our experiences in urban schools, considering adultism at the interactional, institutional, and curricular levels. Our implications center on using critical reflexivity to challenge adultism.

The Growing Recruits for Urban Business (GRUB) is an urban agricultural education program in Lubbock, Texas with a focus on youth development. The mission of the program is to provide at-risk youth with the opportunity to learn technical agricultural skills and leadership skills through the management of a 5.5-acre farm. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how the program fosters prosocial decision-making in at-risk youth participants. Using grounded theory, a model was created to illustrate the transition youth experience when developing prosocial behaviors through participation in the program. The model that emerged identifies four main antisocial constructs youth exhibited when they began the program and four prosocial constructs they developed during their participation in the program. The results yielded information regarding participants' individual prosocial behavioral development as well as examples of the long-term benefits experienced at the individual and societal levels as a result of prosocial decision-making. Implications for the role of agricultural education and agricultural educators in transforming marginalized communities are discussed.

Literature on the physical design of counseling spaces suggests that calm and comfortable school counseling offices support students' emotional disclosure. However, many counseling environment design studies fail to consider the perspectives of clients. Scholars have called for school counselors to invite youth to co-create interventions as a means to promote cultural responsiveness and honor students' cultural knowledge. The goal of the current exploratory action research was to bring visibility to the experiences of students who participated in a classroom-based school counseling intervention in which they co-created a hip-hop studio as a social and emotional support space. Specifically, focus groups on the value of the co-creation of a hip-hop studio for urban youth were employed. Results suggested students experienced the studio as a shared space for inclusivity, comfort, and belonging; a place to make their own design choices; and a practice space to garner peer support, engage in personal self-development, and support others.

To better understand STEM interest development during adolescence in an urban community, we examined how "STEM Interested" youth differed from disinterested youth and how interest changed over time from age 11/12 to 12/13. We surveyed youth to measure interest in four components of STEM, used cluster analysis to categorize youth based on STEM interest, and examined how interest profiles and pathways differed for several explanatory factors (e.g., parental support, gender). Three STEM interest profiles emerged from the analysis: Stem Interested, Math Disinterested, and STEM Disinterested. Only STEM Disinterested youth lost interest in science, technology/engineering, and mathematics while the remaining 76% of youth remained at least somewhat interested in science and technology/engineering. Girls were just as likely as boys to identify as STEM Interested. Participation in out-of-school STEM activities and positive parental attitudes toward science were significant predictors of persistent STEM interest. Decreases in STEM interest were associated with declines in science self-concept and perceived parental attitudes toward science. Results suggested that declining STEM interest may not be the norm for urban youth. The findings also revealed factors that may influence declining STEM interest and reinforced the importance of out-of-school factors in developing and sustaining STEM interest during adolescence.

Background: Youth of color from low-income urban communities are crucial participants in research, as their involvement can shape effective, culturally responsive interventions and policy to promote youth health and well-being. These young people, however, are an often-neglected research population, due in part to perceived challenges associated with their inclusion as well as marginalized communities' justifiable mistrust of research. Objectives: Based on our experience conducting a school-based randomized intervention trial in Baltimore, Maryland, we present strategies for conducting research with low-income, urban youth of color. We discuss strategies in three domains: university-community partnership development, participant recruitment, and participant retention. Methods: We reviewed partnership building and recruitment strategies employed by our team across four years of trial implementation and evaluated success of participant retention at our final survey timepoint. Results: Partnership building was facilitated by selection of a study design that maximized benefits for all participants, promotion of capacity building at partner institutions, and attention to research staff hiring and training practices. Effective study recruitment strategies included personal contact with parents and close cooperation between school personnel and study staff. Providing incentives and collecting multiple types of participant contact information contributed to increased retention rates. On average, those who participated in the final survey timepoint were less likely to be male and Latinx and exhibited more favorable baseline mental health than those who did not, suggesting differential attrition based on youth characteristics. Conclusions: Lessons learned from this school-based trial can be applied more broadly to research with low-income urban youth of color. Researchers should strive to maximize scientific rigor, minimize harm to vulnerable adolescents and their communities, promote positive research experiences for young people, and provide concrete benefits to those who participate.

This phenomenological case study examined the emergence of critical scholar identities among five urban youth who participated in a 2-year critical research fellows program. The program was grounded on the theoretical framework of Social Justice Youth Development, which included the development of self, social/community, and global awareness leading to critical consciousness and social action. Findings depict the personal and programmatic components of nurturing urban youth's critical scholar identities and contribute to the growing body of literature in critical youth studies and scholar identity development with marginalized urban youth.

Internationally, there is a gap in high-school completion rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In Australia, gap estimates are commonly based on lag indicators, precluding examination of underlying mechanisms. Using two longitudinal representative samples of Australian youth, we explored differences in high-school completion between Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous rates, and whether the gap varies for students of similar academic ability. Using an intersectional approach, we show the Indigenous gap is significant, is mostly a function of differences in academic achievement, but varies by socioeconomic status (SES) and location. Specifically, high SES and living in urban settings are protective factors for non-Indigenous students, but not for Indigenous students. Conversely, rural and poor non-Indigenous students appeared to have dropout rates as large or even larger than similarly poor and rural Indigenous youth. Overall, the results suggest the need for a more nuanced perspective on 'Indigenous gaps' in educational attainment.

Early alcohol use places youth at risk for adverse health, academic, and legal consequences. We examined the content of the total array of self-cognitions in urban youth to determine whether specific self-concept profiles were associated with early drinking, drinking-related self-cognitions, and conduct problems. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional study with 9- to 12-year-old predominantly Black and Hispanic youth (N = 79) who attended urban school and summer youth programs. Measures included an open-ended self-description task and questionnaires to measure presence/absence of a drinking-related self-cognition, alcohol use, and conduct problems. We content analyzed 677 self-descriptors; cluster analysis revealed six unique self-concept profile groups. In a cluster group distinguished by negative self-content, 37% drank alcohol and 42% had a drinking-related self-cognition. Youth in this group also had conduct problems. School nurses are in prime positions to identify and intervene with youth who have at-risk self-concept profiles.

Although there is plethora of studies on goal setting skills, there is paucity of experimental studies on this field. This study examined the comparative effectiveness of Mental Contrasting Therapy (MCT) and Self-Regulation Strategies (SRS) on enhancing goal setting skills of students in urban Nigeria. A group of 120 students (male=52, female=68) with age range of 14-17 years and mean age of = 13.5 years were purposively drawn from secondary schools in urban Nigeria. Each of the intervention groups was exposed to 10 sessions of therapy designed to improve their goal setting skills. The control group served as comparison group. The result revealed a significant main effect of treatments on goal setting skills (F[subscript (2,105)] =14.958, p<0.05) with the intervention groups demonstrating greater ability to utilize the acquired skills than the comparison group as evidenced on the mean score. The effect size reveals that treatment accounted for 22.2% (?[superscript 2]=0.222) change in the participants' goal setting skills. Participants treated with SRS reported higher mean score at post-test (x-bar =69.09) when compared with their counterpart in MCT group (x-bar =66.93). Self-efficacy and gender have significant interactive effect with treatments F[subscript (4,105)] = 6.375, p<0.05, ?[superscript 2]=0.195 and F[subscript (2,105)] =13.561, p<0.01, ?[superscript 2]=0.205 respectively. The researchers concluded that though the two therapies were effective, SRS was more potent in enhancing goal setting skills of the participants.

Additional research is needed on ways in which urban youth report their civic engagement. Existing research indicates that federal legislation has resulted in reduced instructional time and resources in social studies and civic education in many states, which has led to a civic education opportunity gap that resonates through many urban communities (Kahne, 2008; Maguire, 2007). This intrinsic case study explored how third through seventh-grade urban youth (N=544) positioned civic engagement in a constructed "significant circle," an employed arts-based data collection instrument. Findings indicated that 3% of the students included at least one idea related to civic engagement and responsibility in their circle, and less than 1% of the students demonstrated balance across three program goals that included civic engagement, academic success, and leading a healthy lifestyle.

Western liberal conceptions of democratic citizenship require the state to be "neutral" by separating the political from the social. However, this is often at odds with the realities of socio-political organization in many former colonized countries. In this paper, I draw on empirical data from photo-elicitation interviews with eight Buddhist youth in Yangon to illustrate the socio-political realities of everyday citizenship and citizenship education in Myanmar. Findings show that, for Buddhist participants, their political identity as Myanmar citizens and their religious identity as Buddhists are deeply enmeshed. Rather than force-fit postcolonial states into the Western democratic model, I propose that the notions of relationality and radical democracy offer a means of indigenizing democracy and draws on Myanmar's Buddhist democracy to illustrate the political potential of relationalism.

The college and career readiness movement figures prominently in the nation's educational reform and policies, including strategies to increase graduation rates among disadvantaged students in urban schools. As part of a multi-pronged approach to help youth transition to post-secondary education and the workforce, the present study evaluated a new career intervention, Making My Future Work, designed to serve as a comprehensive, flexible career curriculum. Based on a quasi-experimental design among a sample of urban youth (N = 429), multilevel modeling revealed promising evidence for its impact across a range of outcomes, including grade point average, school engagement, career preparation, self-determination, and self-awareness. The implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.

Self-regulation is a well-known construct in educational and psychological research, as it is often related to academic success and well-being. Drawing from criticisms of a lack of context applied to the investigation of this construct, the current study examined the multi-dimensional role of social support (teachers, parents, peers) and coping skills as predictors of self-regulated learning among a diverse sample of urban youth (N = 229). Based on a cross-sectional and longitudinal design, structural equation modeling was used to test two models. Social support predicted self-regulated learning at Time 1 and Time 2 after controlling for grades. Results further indicated that coping skills did not predict self-regulated learning in either model. The implications for practice, limitations of the study, and future directions for research are discussed.

People who regard nature as important and personally meaningful are often compelled to conserve it. This compulsion is increasingly vital in a world where global climate and biodiversity crises are worsening, with younger generations set to bear most of the resulting ecological burden. By understanding why children and adolescents value nature, we can gain insights into how they might act for its benefit. In this study, we asked over 1000 Australian students (aged 8-14) to explain why 'nature' was--or was not--important to them. Qualitative responses were gathered via a survey methodology using an online questionnaire, with thematic analysis used to identify key findings. Results show that respondents valued nature for its ability to keep humans alive and resourced, also appreciating nature as beautiful and relaxing. Respondents frequently commented on how nature made them feel: happiness, love, freedom, and calm featured prominently. A small number of students reported ambivalence about nature, or even feelings of fear. These results demonstrate substantial depth to students' understandings of nature and the ways they choose to engage with their surroundings. Encompassing a diversity of perspectives on nature allows us to better engage with youth on environmental matters.

Social work scholars have increasingly adopted community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches to center community voice in research and action to promote youth's healthy development. While valuable contributions have emerged to engage in further dialectical learning processes, limited research has examined in depth the participation, critical reflection, and training of social work graduate students pursuing CBPR. This article emphasizes the role of critical reflexivity and collaboration by presenting four social work doctoral students' efforts designed to engage community and youth in CBPR to enhance health promotion initiatives. We conclude by discussing the importance of engaging graduate social work students in CBPR, the influential role faculty and mentors play in providing opportunities for students to gain experience in CBPR, and recommendations and potential strategies for future social work education and training.

This study describes a program developed with the coordination of four agencies to reconnect urban youth to nature by combining the best of each partner. Many urban youth are disconnected from nature. Recent studies show that youth only spend about 15-25 minutes daily outdoors recreating. Youth are now exposed to high-arousing stimuli from technology. Youth who spend time in nature have demonstrated improved test scores, self-discipline and have become more environmentally aware. Out of school time (OST) programs can provide an effective setting for outdoor-based programs. The Leave No Trace for Every Kid educational initiative focuses on educating youth about nature through a values and asset development. Partnering with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, the YMCA, a public school, and a local university, an innovative program was launched using the stewardship curriculum in an after-school program.