Engaging young people as partners in community change is a compelling idea, but translating that idea into effective practice requires focused attention to a range of issues. The principles described in this paper emerged from the commingling of research and practice that occurred when the Forum for Youth Investment merged with Community IMPACT!…

Examines attitudes of Scottish youth toward the Youth Training Scheme (YTS), a program of reduced-wage training and employment. Attitudinal differences toward the program attributed to social class, gender, and area unemployment rate are discussed. Findings reveal mixed attitudes toward the program. (Author/GEA)

In January 2005, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) was awarded a three-year ITEST grant (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) through the National Science Foundation (award #04-23417). This "AMNH-ITEST High School Science Research Program" aimed to target 120 urban high school youth, grades 10-12, from…

This article reviews the literature on community service and activism, particularly in youth, using the theoretical approach provided by an identity projects framework. This framework allows for an examination of the contextual and experiential factors that contribute to the emergence and maintenance of an identity project of service or activism.…

Community development partnerships for youths offer valuable resources for school improvement. Unfortunately, these resources may not be tapped because school leaders have not been prepared to understand these partnerships. The evaluative research reported partnership-related understanding, aiming to prepare leaders to contribute to, and benefit…

Teenagers enjoy being involved in community service; all we have to do is ask and provide the opportunity. The 101st Congress passed the National and Community Service Act of 1990, which will fund programs enabling students from kindergarten through college to serve their communities. A sidebar lists national resources for service-learning in…

This article considers ways for schools and community-based youth organizations to build on each other's strengths, respond explicitly to youthful realities, and incorporate the attributes of learning environments found most effective. Over the past decade, CBOs have been creating and maintaining institutions that are highly educational and keenly…

This report summarizes the efforts and successes of the Youth as Resources (YAR) initiative, a program that offers youth empowerment and leadership in community service. It utilizes all youth in an effort to address any social or community issue deemed important to a local area and provides opportunities for a wide range of agencies to host or to…

Very few studies have specifically addressed the formation of self-concept in the Alaska Native, or how the relationship between culture and education ultimately impacts its development. Most often, this phenomenon is mentioned in passing and is contained within the context of a larger study (e.g., an ethnography). While the discussion of the…

The Department for Education and Skills (Replace by the Department for Children, Schools and Families as of June 28, 2007) commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to conduct an evaluation of the Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund (YOF/YCF). This summary presents the main findings from the interim report of…

Discusses factors that hinder and facilitate the implementation of a youth participation strategy in the United States and evaluates four demonstration projects carried out to this end. (Author/GC)

In the summer of 1991, 24 students, members of an I Have a Dream (IHAD) program, took part in a pilot program to introduce them to the work force through internships augmented by a training program. The Coro Foundation was contacted by IHAD to run the training program, which was adapted to the needs of disadvantaged students entering 10th grade.…

The Youth Opportunity Grant program (YO) represented an innovative approach to improving education and employment opportunities for at-risk youth by targeting resources in high poverty areas and incorporating strategies that experts have identified as effective for serving this population. The Department of Labor (the Department) awarded 36 grants…

Mentoring programs attempt to foster a relationship that is too often missing from the lives of disadvantaged children and youth. However, in view of both the power and the limitations of mentoring programs, it is important to understand how mentoring occurs naturally. Assuming an ecological perspective, we examine mentoring in four contexts:…

This exit report chronicles the last 20 months of the 3-year demonstration phase of the New York City Volunteer Corps (CVC), whose members worked in teams at various sites to either provide human services or do physical work. These final months were characterized by the following factors: (1) a change in Corps leadership; (2) concern about…