This issue brief is focused on state efforts to improve education in science, technology, engineering, and math--collectively known as the "STEM" disciplines. The brief is largely based on a March, 2009 American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) field trip to Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, and describes Ohio's success in advancing STEM education…

The current policy intention, that all young people remain in some form of accredited education or training to the age of 18 by 2015, poses significant challenges. The jobs without training (JWT) group includes young people who are in full-time work and not in receipt of training leading to National Vocational Qualification level 2 (or above);…

Empowerment of youth, particularly in urban settings, is critical to addressing issues of social injustice. Programs that support the development of empowerment, or action taken by an individual to facilitate his or her own ability to act in the face of oppression, have demonstrated great promise in dimensions such as creating stronger group…

This paper presents the annual report of Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) for 2009-2010. This annual report documents the journeys of several participants in their programs who have gone on successfully to college and careers, and demonstrates the potential of young Philadelphians to begin to reach their goals. In telling these stories, they build…

Bootstraps is a 12-week program designed for rural youth, ages 18-21, who are not working and not in school. The program goal is for participants to develop skills and motivation to find meaningful work, which is accomplished through a combination of classroom learning and practical fieldwork. The environmental fieldwork on public lands, funded by…

Constructivism theory (Crotty, 1998) served as the framework to investigate the reciprocal nature of a service-learning project that involved physical education pre-service teachers and urban underserved youth. Participants included three physical education teacher education (PETE) candidates and 15 youth between the ages of 6 and 13 who were…

The scope of lifelong learning in Japan covers school education and informal learning. Japan faces large social changes: severe child population decline could ease competition for entrance examination but students are pushed to win in the society; cyber communication changes the human relationships more invisible and atomized; the gap between…

In 2007, the presidents and chancellors of nearly two dozen public postsecondary systems created the Access to Success Initiative to pursue two goals: (1) increase the number of college-educated adults in their respective states; and (2) ensure that their institutions' graduates included more young people from low-income and minority families by…

In this essay, Joe Robert Gonzalez describes the process of his own growth as a Mexican American from Brownsville, Texas, who attended Villanova University. Coming from a majority-minority town, Gonzalez identifies the importance of safe spaces for Mexican American youth, many of whom doubt their own potential to thrive within university settings.…

This article examines how an ethnically diverse group of youth critically debriefs their facilitation of diversity workshops for other youth. Using naturally occurring tape-recorded conversations and a critical ethnographic and discourse analysis perspective, the article examines youth's contributions towards a participatory process of learning,…

This article describes several community colleges across the country that provide services tailored to immigrant learners. The majority of colleges offer basic English as a second language (ESL) classes, but many programs strive to do more than simply breach the language barrier. The most successful programs teach important job skills with a focus…

We conducted semi-structured interviews with family members of 45 young adults with significant intellectual disabilities who were enrolled in or had graduated from transition-focused programs designed for students ages 18-21. We examined the types of community and social activities in which the young adults engaged. We also explored the resources…

From a sport and exercise psychology viewpoint, this article describes the increasing professionalization of youth sport and how many well-intentioned people are using misconceptions or myths to organize and administer youth sport programs. For example, professionalization has led to specialization and year-round training, while playing multiple…

Forum Syd (Forum Syd Balkans Programme [FSBP]--Organizations Co-operating for Global Justice) is an umbrella organization for 200 member organizations in Sweden. It has worked in the Balkans for more than a decade. FSBP believes that community based youth work is a valuable tool for building and sustaining peaceful communities and its mission is…

The perceptions of students, school and technical and further education (TAFE) staff involved in V Tracks, an early intervention program for Aboriginal school students are explored in this paper. The study identifies outcomes, challenges and recommendations for future program design. Overall, V Tracks was found to improve student engagement in…