This article reflects upon the potential mediation of medical and social interpretations of disability through informing instrumental tuition with the strengths recognised in the learning profile of children with Down Syndrome. The learning profile is explored and critically discussed, and its reductionist, deficit-based potential identified;…

Background: Developing sex and sexuality education programmes for adolescents has proved challenging in many parts of the world, especially in contexts where the importance of these programmes is not valued. In such settings, educating about sex and sexuality may also require dealing with detractors who are active in spreading misinformation.…

In recent years there has been growing awareness about teenage motherhood, a phenomenon constructed as an economic and social concern in South Africa. This article presents a narrative inquiry undertaken with seven teenage mothers on their experiences of schooling and motherhood at a rural secondary school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study…

For adolescent schoolgirls in Cambodia, remaining in school entails negotiating social expectations of the dutiful, domestic-bound daughter and personal desires for educational attainment, independence, and empowerment. Dominant discourses of girlhood in Cambodia construct girls as weak, ignorant, and quiet, and confine girls' possibilities to…

We surveyed New Zealand parents of autistic children to identify their perceived barriers and facilitators to accessing support services, including the influence of a family's level of financial resourcing. A total of 173 completed surveys were analysed. Service pathway factors were the greatest barrier experienced by participants, whereas…

This research explores the eco-systemic factors impacting on the educational inclusion of young carers (UK) that defines a young carer as anyone under the age of 18 years old who provides, or intends to provide, care for another person of any age. The literature has indicated that young carers with additional needs are a population more vulnerable…

As educators and service providers in urban schools encourage student college going at higher rates than ever, policy and practice on school improvement discourses would benefit from incorporating students' perspectives underlying family-based, "college-going dilemmas" that frame their college preparation. This qualitative article…

Research focused on adolescent pregnancy reports that this event acquires significance and has different consequences according to the context and social subjects who experience it. In this study, by means of a sample formed by adolescent women and men who are socially vulnerable in Mexico, with and without a history of pregnancy, we can see how…

This mixed-methods study examined urban adolescents' perceptions of gender and racial/ethnic barriers to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) success, and their meaning-making and coping regarding these experiences. The sample includes surveys from 1024 high school-aged students and interviews from 53 students. Logistic…

"Kids Count in Colorado!" is an annual publication of the Colorado Children's Campaign, which provides the best available state- and county-level data to measure and track the education, health and general well-being of the state's children. "Kids Count in Colorado!" informs policy debates and community discussions, serving as…

The economic, social and educational needs of rural youth in England and Wales are not being met. Rural youth are defined as all young people between the ages of 10 and 25 living in areas more than 30 miles from towns of 250,000 inhabitants, or 20 miles from towns whose population is between 50,000 and 250,000. The rapid decrease in the…

In spite of the popular misconception of life in rural England as a rustic idyll, social and economic conditions there have created many issues which result in deprivation for rural youth. The major issues which affect employment, schooling, social, and domestic situations for rural youth are: (1) accessibility--lack of transportation; (2)…

Whether adolescents from immigrant and ethnic minority families will make a successful transition to adulthood hinges on their educational achievement, their acquisition of employable skills and abilities, and their physical and mental health. This article focuses on the extent to which diverse adolescents are prepared for adulthood according to…

Today, many immigrant neighborhoods are plagued with poverty, inadequate schools, family disruption, single parenthood, teenage pregnancies, youth gangs, violent crimes, drug abuse and alcoholism, and anti-intellectual youth subcultures. Such unsettling environments put immigrant children of the inner city at greater risk than those living…