The purpose of this study was to analyze the narratives constructed by urban youth in a summer program for future educators of color. In particular, we asked, "In what ways do students use texts to create counternarratives of urban education?" Utilizing visual counternarratives and counterstorytelling as theoretical frames, and through…

The present study explored the influence of psychological stress on the development of purpose among youth of color living in urban, low-income communities. A qualitative approach based on grounded theory was used to understand how stress-related experiences influence the development of youth purpose in participants' own words. Findings revealed…

Current scholarship suggests that many youths identify with hip-hop, especially youths of color. Study of this artistic form has been suggested as a means of helping youths acquire and become fluent in literacy practices. This article explores how the use of a hip-hop literacies curriculum addressed the literacy skills of urban ninth-grade English…

Breaking down the social, political, and cultural processes through which race, class, and gender worldviews are established, ideological literacies help students look closely at the intricate, contradictory meanings in texts. The purpose of developing ideological literacies in urban youth is so they become more socially conscious of the…

This qualitative study examined the educational and career plans of a sample of urban minority high school students who voluntarily participated in a dual enrollment program at a private, technology-based community college in a metropolitan center in the northeastern United States. This program allows students to take college courses in science,…

This article provides a rich representation of how in-school practices that recruit students' "out-of-school" literacies, such as hip hop, can be used as critical bridges in students' learning. Hip hop, conceptualized in this article as an "out-of-school" literacy, works as a vehicle for curricular change at Eastview School for Pregnant and…

Hip hop culture is typically excluded from conventional educational spaces within the U.S. Drawing on the experiences of an educator who works with urban high school students and university level pre- and in-service educators, this article examines the role of hip hop culture for student engagement in two settings--an alternative high school…

Youth who experience either LD or teenage motherhood often drop out of school. Further, about 50% of young girls with LD become mothers by their early 20s compared to 28% of young women in the general population. There is therefore a high likelihood that teenage mothers with LD will drop out of school. Dropping out of school is of concern because…

The current study is a formative evaluation of an integrated, school-based program for urban minority youth transitioning into high school. The design of this pilot project was quasi-experimental in nature, with one freshman physical education class assigned to receive the intervention and one to receive no program or "treatment as usual." The…

This empirical study investigated three mechanisms of protection (preventive, compensatory, buffering) for two factors (emotional social support, sense of personal control) in the relationship between exposure to community violence and psychological distress among 947 diverse, older adolescents. Findings indicate that social support and sense of…

This article examines an after-school program entitled Silk City Media Workshop. Briefly, the workshop engages youth in digital storytelling as a means of enhancing both their technology and literacy skills. Transcending these goals, this workshop also provides opportunities for youth to reveal multiple aspects of their unfolding identities as…

Despite the digital saturation of today's youth across demographic groups, students of color and females remain severely underrepresented in computer science. Reporting on a sequential mixed methods study, this article explores the ways that high school computer science teachers can act as change agents to broaden the participation in computing…

This article is intended to dispel the myth that Latinas and Latinos and other urban high school youths of color are not capable of performing at high academic levels. Much research shows that youths of color are underrepresented and underserved in gifted education programs. The authors describe the four success factors to which 10 working-class…