Since 1980, Chicago's United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) has been a major player in school reform, organising Mexican-American communities to build a neighbourhood high school, founding a local technical institute, passing radical school governance reform, and launching a major charter network. At UNO's apex in 2013, a corruption scandal…

Students involved in social justice activist groups and activities encounter several potentially negative consequences in advocating for issues that are important to them. Through duo ethnographic interviews with scholar-activists, former youth activists describe the barriers they experienced as socially engaged young people, including dealing…

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…

"Studying history will sometimes Disturb you. Studying history will sometimes Upset you. Studying history will sometimes make you Furious. But if studying history always makes you feel proud and happy, you probably aren't studying History." Author Unknown. This study occurred during a period of increased social awareness of antiracism,…

This article draws from a two-year youth-informed, multi-site ethnographic study, in which interracial anti-racist youth activist groups (IAYAG) amplified their own pedagogical leadership in their schools. The demand for curricular relevance in urban schools is at an all-time high, and the work of youth organizers is in direct opposition to a…

For lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) youth of color, the intersection of identifying as both LGBQ and a person of color results in not only managing racial stereotypes, but also heterosexism and genderism. Developing a critical understanding of oppressive social conditions and ways to engage in social action is a form of resistance…

This research study focuses on how the racialized experiences of second-generation Puerto Rican student activists in Chicago during the social movement era increased their political identity to demand structural changes in secondary and college contexts. Drawing from over a dozen interviews and 100 source materials, this research uncovers the…

This article explores the lived realities for young people growing up and learning in a climate of racial discrimination, religious intolerance, misogyny, and xenophobia, and how school-sponsored and school-supported uses of digital media can afford young people opportunities to navigate their experiences of social injustice and resist…

In this article, the authors argue that curriculum needs to change, bringing school knowledge into greater proximity to community 'problems that matter' (PTMs) and gathering students, community members, teachers and academics with relevant knowledge to work on the problem. Illustrating this orientation through a collaborative project in a local…

This article presents a mixed methods investigation of discourse about action on climate change and other socioenvironmental challenges in the context of an informal climate change and film education program. We focused on how action was framed by students, their mentors, and in their co-produced films. Students and films predominantly framed…

Background: A focus on equity, democracy and social justice in HPE is pertinent in an era where there are growing concerns about the impact of neoliberal globalisation and precariousness of society (Kirk 2020). Although there is advocacy for teaching approaches in HPE that address issues of social justice, there is limited empirical research of…

The purpose of this review is to expand understanding of the ways culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse youth have begun to reimagine urban and rural spaces using digital storytelling and photovoice, two methods that often fall under the broad field of youth participatory action research. To explain the conditions under which these methods…

While antiracist, problem-posing, and culturally relevant curriculum are effective in teaching students how to deconstruct the world, in practice, social justice education often falls short of helping students reconstruct those instances. In response, researchers in this study implemented a social justice action project for high school students…

An open classroom climate, one where diverse opinions and discussion of social and political issues are welcome, promotes civic development among youth and fosters critical consciousness. Critical consciousness, defined as the capacity to recognize societal inequity along with the motivation and action taken to challenge such inequity and promote…

Recent societal and political shifts have underscored the need for higher education programs to examine and reflect on the ways in which they address equity and social justice. As teacher-educators, we feel this call with particular urgency. In this paper, we describe our past and current efforts to engage in self-reflective inquiry and enact ways…