Drawing from possible selves theory (H. Markus & P. Nurius, 1986), this study explored the roles of peer beliefs about school and gender differences in the development of academic and occupational visions of the future among 216 urban youths of color. Peer beliefs were not related to career and educational possible selves. No gender-based…

Objective: To determine whether a suspicion or diagnosis of child abuse during hospitalization influences parental perceptions of hospital care in families of children admitted with traumatic injuries. Method: Parents of children younger than 6 years of age admitted with traumatic injuries to a large urban children's hospital were recruited to…

We consider young children's construals of biological phenomena and the forces that shape them, using Carey's (1985) category-based induction task that demonstrated anthropocentric reasoning in young urban children. Follow-up studies (including our own) have questioned the generality of her results, but they have employed quite different…

This article provides a rationale for integrating folk art in an urban K-12 art classroom to provide meaningful instruction for all students. The integration of folk art can provide a safe, nurturing environment for all students to learn by acknowledging the value of art in the community. It can prepare students for participation in a democratic…

This paper explores rehearsals as a central learning structure of an urban youth organization. Drawing on research in participation, expertise, activity, multiliteracies, and situated cognition, it seeks to understand the extent to which the infrequently studied activity of rehearsal provides a space for cognitive growth. Using thematic coding and…

Urban youth in the United States often experience daily human rights violations such as racism and violence. Therefore, Human Rights Education (HRE) can strengthen their understanding of these issues and unleash their power to act toward positive change. This qualitative study attempted to gain a deeper understanding of the use of performance arts…

In her ethnographic study of Lao American students at an urban, public high school, Bic Ngo shows how simplistic accounts of these students smooth over unfinished, precarious identities and contested social relations. Exploring the ways that immigrant youth identities are shaped by dominant discourses that simplify and confine their experiences…

Television, advertising, the Internet, music, and the proliferation of chain stores have had a homogenizing effect on children. Regardless of what type of environment they live in, the style of youth's dress, the way they talk, and how they respond to a wide range of stimuli are surprisingly similar. In spite of these similarities, the challenges…

Drawing upon expectancy value, hope, and self-determination theories, this study explores the contributions of work-based beliefs and autonomy support as predictors of adaptive achievement-related beliefs. Two hundred and one urban high school students who were enrolled in a work-based learning program completed measures of work hope, autonomy…

Many adolescents, both rural and urban, are not meeting the recommended levels for physical activity (PA). This investigation was designed to elicit socioecologic barriers and facilitators for PA in rural and urban middle school youth and their parents. Thirteen focus groups were conducted with 41 youth and 50 parents from eastern North Carolina.…

Drawing on perceptions, behaviors, and experiences of students at an urban high school--both high and low achievers--this timely book demonstrates how urban youth can be meaningfully engaged in learning mathematics. The author presents a "potential" model rather than a "deficit" model, complete with teaching strategies and best practices for…

From 2005 to 2011, the Gateway Institute for Pre-College Education partnered with three public entities in New York City--the Department of Education, the City University of New York and the Health and Hospitals Corporation--to introduce, educate, and prepare urban high school students for careers in the health professions. Gateway was launched in…

The high-school seniors drifting in and out of the office in New York should be weighing financial-aid offers and deciding where to go to college. But some of them have yet to begin the process of applying for student aid. This article describes a nonprofit group in Harlem which gives last-minute help to students uncertain about applying for…

Background: Multiculturalism has been purported to be supportive of positive youth development and outcomes. This study examined the relationship between perceived school multiculturalism--whether youth felt and thought that their school and teachers supported and provided activities for diverse intergroup interactions--and serious interpersonal…

This article reflects on outcomes of a playmaking project conducted with 14-20-year-old urban students in the USA. The playmaking experience was part of a larger research project designed to facilitate students' understandings of the ways in which their own experiences of discrimination are reflected in pervasive inequity at the societal level,…