This paper explores the social media literacies of Dakari, a 16-year-old Black teen reader, writer, and activist, within a broader 3-month multi-case study on diverse teens' online literacies. The focus is on Dakari's multimodal literacy practices related to social justice activism and civic engagement. The study highlights how social media…

The contemporary #MeToo moment has led to renewed concern about issues of masculinity and gender justice. This moment provides a strong warrant for critically analyzing different programmes for boys and men in relation to their capacity for gender transformation. This paper presents three such programmes located in Victoria (Australia) as case…

Racism is a systemic issue that works alongside white privilege, a system of unearned benefits, such as obtaining financial breaks and loans, being reflected consistently in classroom curriculum, and being assumed as the "norm." Assumptions about people with light skin include their being honest, responsible, and safe. Thus, white…

This article shares processes and practices which foster students' critical consciousness. Critical consciousness, the core of social justice teaching, is a heightened awareness of the world and the power structures that shape it. Teachers can become forces for equity and change by: challenging students to reflect critically on their beliefs and…

In this article, we examine diverse forms of youth participation among Black girls through an analysis of 390 application responses for a leadership and empowerment conference. Using a counternarrative methodological approach and intersectional analytical lens, we illustrate how Black girls (a) view participation as an empowering avenue for…

During the process of conceptualizing the school of which she is the founding principal, Denver Montessori Junior/Senior High School, Katy Myers' driving question was, "What exactly is Montessori high school?" Her answer to this question gets to the heart of the mission of many Montessori high schools. She concluded that her high school…

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…

The exploration of social networking sites (SNS) offers great potential for understanding novel forms of youth civic engagement within the 21st century. SNS can foster a young person's social capital by connecting them to others with different backgrounds, thereby exposing them to alternative perspectives and lived experiences within a growingly…

In this essay, Roderick L. Carey draws from social-psychological perspectives on mattering to argue that Black boys and young men have yet to achieve comprehensive mattering in social and educational contexts. Positing that Black boys and young men find their social and school lives framed by marginal mattering, which is realized through social…

This chapter outlines mobile phone use among African (particularly South African) adolescents. With an estimated 350 million active mobile phone subscriptions, improving network infrastructure, low-cost Internet-ready handsets, innovative programs and applications, mobiles in Africa, and their increasingly younger, increasingly poorer, and…

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, this edition of "The State of the World's Children" calls for brave and fresh thinking to address age-old problems that still affect the world's most disadvantaged children. The report is inspired by the work of innovators around the world--who are pushing…