Academic Engagement and Achievement Among Latina/o and Non-Latina/o Adolescents

This article presents an exploratory study of the relation between academic engagement and academic achievement for Latina/o and non-Latina/o adolescents attending a predominantly low-income, Latina/o urban middle school in Southern California. A sample of 61 students (37 Latinas/os and 24 non-Latinas/os) participated in the study. The Latina/o students’ mean grade point average was lower than the non-Latina/o students’ mean grade point average. The study results revealed a significant interaction between academic engagement and grade point average for Latina/o students but not for non-Latina/o students. Findings are discussed in regard to the promotion of Latina/o adolescent achievement through increased levels of academic engagement.     

Fostering Authentic Problem Seeking: A Step Toward Social Justice Engagement

Because of these learners’ potential as future leaders, it is imperative that educators develop gifted students’ ability to identify and solve complex social justice problems. Nourishing students’ affective traits, including empathy for others, understanding of themselves, and the ability to connect to others in local and global society, will help students to recognize and seek out authentic problems. This article examines the nuances around the creative problem-solving process and how educators can infuse the curriculum with opportunities to develop and strengthen the skills students need to become engaged, real-world problem seekers, as we call it, and problem solvers. Through the combination of social justice issues and creative problem seeking, students can be motivated to engage with the community and promote positive change in the world.     

Teaching for Social Justice: the Promise of Transformative Expectations for Urban Chicanx/Latinx Youth

Drawing on the concept of transformative expectations—that is, the instructional practices that demonstrate teachers’ belief systems for the educational justice and empowerment of Chicanx/Latinx youth—this qualitative study explored the expectancy effects of nine classroom teachers with social justice commitments in a school district in California. Through semi-structured interviews, teacher journaling, and artifacts of classroom practices, this study points to the importance of teacher disposition and socialization in developing classroom expectations, as well as helps to conceptualize the expectancies of academic rigor, social capital, empowering curriculum, and teacher caring from perspectives of justice and their importance in supporting students to meet or exceed instructional goals. Applying figured worlds and transformative expectations as the study’s analytic frameworks, teachers reported these four expectancies as important strategies for bringing social justice into the classroom, thereby prompting discussions of the future directions of teaching for social justice.     

Immigrant Youth Involvement in School-Based Extracurricular Activities

ABSTRACT

Extracurricular activity involvement is generally beneficial toward student progress and success. Little is known, however, about immigrant youth involvement in school-based extracurricular activities. The author examined the patterns of Latino and Asian American youth extracurricular involvement by focusing on the pertinent role of immigrant generational status. Analyses, which draw from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 and logistic regression analyses, indeed reveal imperative findings. Most notably, Latino 3rd-plus generation immigrant students are more likely to participate in sports, whereas Asian American first-generation immigrant students are more likely to be involved with academic extracurricular activities. Immigrant generational status matters when examining extracurricular participation of the children of immigrants. The implications of such extracurricular involvement in the U.S. educational system are discussed more generally.     

Moving Beyond the Lecture: Inspiring Social Justice Engagement through Counter-Story Using Case Study Pedagogy

Abstract

The paper examines participant perceptions of the effectiveness of using case studies with college students (undergraduate – doctoral) to teach social justice and educational equity. Findings indicate that participants who identified with the characters in the cases were able to draw connections between the case and their own personal experiences. They felt the cases broadened their understanding of the topics and increased their sense of empathy and their commitment to principles of social justice.     

论社会保障中的社会正义

罗尔斯的正义理论建立在传统的社会契约理论基础上,他的正义原则关注资源分配的合法化和幸福的层次。罗尔斯的正义理论已将社会保障必要性置于个人主义的正义需求之上。哈耶克等思想家反对分配正义之类的理念,他们主张正义与不义只可能起因于人类行为者在适用于每个人的公平规则下所做的有意的行为。尽管正义的争议不断,但通过社会保障制度的建立和完善,由再分配来实现社会正义仍是十分必要的。     

Teaching Toward Justice: Reflections on Collaboration,Engagement, and Social Action in Uncertain Times

ABSTRACT

Recent societal and political shifts have underscored the need for higher education programs to examine and reflect on the ways in which they address equity and social justice. As teacher-educators, we feel this call with particular urgency. In this paper, we describe our past and current efforts to engage in self-reflective inquiry and enact ways to better teach social justice in uncertain times. These efforts have included reflecting on our existing efforts as well as new directions such as creating an assignment to engage students in the analysis of their own social locations and creating a new course aimed at addressing intersectionality and social justice in education through the lens of documentary films. We recognize the need to not only address barriers to educational equity within our coursework, but also within our program itself as we work to improve our representation as well as our relationships with the surrounding schools and communities.     

教育公平是最大的社会公平

随着构建社会主义和谐社会战略任务的提出和推进,教育公平呼声日高,成为上下关注的一大热点。研究教育公平、践行教育公平、促进社会和谐,是每一个教育工作者义不容辞的责任。     

Perceptions of Social Justice Among the South Asian and Mainstream Chinese Youth from Diverse Cultural Backgrounds in Hong Kong

This study examined the attitudes of young people from different cultural backgrounds in Hong Kong toward social justice, in particular those regarding gender, racial/ethnic equalities, and immigrant rights. Among the sample of 15,428 adolescents, aged 12 to 19, 7.1% were South Asians, 15.5% were immigrants from mainland China, 4.1% were cross-boundary students, 73% were Hong Kong mainstream Chinese, and 0.3% did not indicate. Their civic attitudes were assessed by the adapted International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS) (2009) questionnaire instrument. Latent means analysis (LMA) was conducted and the findings concluded that, compared with Hong Kong mainstream students (HKMS), South Asian (SA) students reported a statistically significant lower score on gender equality and significantly higher score on racial/ethnic equality and immigrants' rights. In contrast, both Cross-Boundary students (CBS) and Chinese Immigrant students (CIS) rated significantly higher on items relating to racial/ethnic equality and immigrants' rights, as compared with their HKMS counterparts. Regression analyses were also utilized to investigate how demographic variables predicted the latent variables. Specifically, regression analyses of different student groups on social justice issues were discussed to compare how demographic variables contributed to the subjective perceptions of these rights and responsibilities. Policy implications were drawn with reference to the data and recommendations for improvement were discussed.     

Ethnic Harassment and Immigrant Youth's Engagement in Violent Behaviors: Understanding the Risk Factors

The present study aimed to examine whether ethnic harassment was related to violent behaviors among immigrant youth over time and to identify the risk factors. The sample comprised immigrant adolescents living in Sweden (N = 365; M_age = 13.93, SD = 0.80). Results showed that the more youth were ethnically harassed, the more they engaged in violent acts over time. A separated identity significantly moderated the effect of ethnic harassment on youth's engagement in violent behaviors. Specifically, ethnic harassment positively predicted engagement in violent behaviors only at high levels of separated identity. Impulsivity and school ethnic composition did not act as moderators. The findings suggest that preventing violent behaviors among immigrant youth requires a focus on promoting positive interethnic relationships, and multicultural identity among immigrant youth.     

面子建构论评析

当前学界的面子研究试图脱离礼貌研究的一般框架,建立独立的理论体系。Arundale(1999)提出的面子建构论(Face Constituting Theory)作为这其中的代表性理论,基于联合共建交际模式(Conjoint Co-constituting Model of Communication)(Arundale,1999),重点关照面子概念中的交互性和关系性,并采用会话分析的研究方法,从参与者视角探讨互动交际中的面子问题。本文在呈现面子建构论产生的背景、核心概念以及具体分析模式的基础上,对它的优势和不足进行评价,以期对未来的面子研究有所启示。     

The Comparative Impacts of Social Justice Educational Methods on Political Participation,Civic Engagement,and Multicultural Activism

This cross-sectional, repeated measures, quasi-experimental study evaluates changes in college students’ commitment toward, and confidence in, political participation, civic engagement, and multicultural activism. Our sample (n = 653) consisted of college students in a Midwestern university who participated in one of three social justice education course types (service learning, intergroup dialogue, or lecture-based diversity classes) or in an “introduction to psychology” course (the non-intervention group). After completion of a social justice education course, students reported an increase in political participation and multicultural activism, whereas students enrolled in the non-intervention group reported no changes in these measures. Service learning course participants started and ended their course with the highest reported levels of political participation, civic engagement, and multicultural activism but did not demonstrate an increase in any of the three outcomes. Intergroup dialogue participants demonstrated increases in all three outcomes, while participants of lecture-based classes focusing on social justice issues demonstrated increases in political participation and multicultural activism, but not civic engagement. Our findings suggest that participation in social justice education courses is associated with increases in political participation and multicultural activism.     

Social Justice in Teacher Education

This reflective essay explores the relationship between wonder and learning. Building on the belief that child-like wonder is a precursor to growth, the author discusses four ways to encourage wonder in her college students: getting straight on “who we are” as learners, providing opportunities for discovery and surprise, asking and inviting questions, and creating memorable classroom experiences.     

Student Engagement and the Social Relations of Pedagogy

Drawing on the 'sociology of pedagogy', the present article addresses a continuing challenge for teachers and policy-makers. The challenge is how to encourage disengaged learners to take up offers of educational success. The article brings important theoretical frames from the sociology of pedagogy into current research debates about 'productive pedagogies'. Focusing on the social relations of pedagogy, the article promotes a theoretical and empirical imperative to look keenly to the insights provided by students to construct clearer solutions to the challenge of providing engaging pedagogies.     

Youth Oppression as a Technology of Colonialism: Conceptual Frameworks and Possibilities for Social Justice Education Praxis

In this article, we conceptualize youth oppression as a social justice issue using SJE frameworks including Adams’ levels of oppression, Bell's defining features of oppression, Hardiman et. al.'s matrix of oppression, Young's Five Faces, and Love's internalized oppression. We examine youth as a social identity group, and youth oppression as a mechanism through which the roles of dominant and subordinate are installed on all humans, and through which we are socialized to participate in the maintenance and perpetuation of other forms of oppression.

This conceptualization of youth oppression is rooted in examination of discourses that create childhood as a subordinate social status in relation to adults, and parallels with certain discourses of colonialism. Examination of parallels between discourses that create childhood and some of the discourses of colonialism illuminate youth oppression as a technology of colonialism. Colonialism, a complex oppressive system operating on multiple levels, maintains unequal, hierarchical relationships. Examining colonialism provides a lens through which to view the broader systemic and global connections that formulate oppression. The relationships within which youth oppression occurs often obscures these systemic, multi-level global connections.

We propose youth oppression as a generative theme in social justice praxis. Implications include transforming how we conceptualize, contextualize, and strategize SJE praxis, and changing how we think about the oppression of humans and possibilities for liberation.     

The Immigrant Paradox in the Problem Behaviors of Youth in the United States: A Meta-analysis

This meta-analysis synthesizes the empirical data on problem behaviors among foreign- (G1) and U.S-born (G2+) youth and explores the effects of immigrant status on youth internalizing and externalizing problems. A random effects meta-regression with robust variance estimates summarized effect sizes for internalizing and externalizing problems across 91 studies (N = 179,315, M_age = 13.98). Results indicated that G1 youth reported significantly more internalizing problems (g = .06), and fewer externalizing problems than G2+ youth (g = −.06). Gender and sample type moderated the effects. The findings provide a first-step toward reconciling mixed support for the immigrant paradox by identifying for whom and under what conditions the immigrant experience serves as a risk or protective factor for youth.     

The Achievement Gap Among Newcomer Immigrant Adolescents: Life Stressors Hinder Latina/o Academic Success

This study compares life stressors and school outcomes among newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. Participants attended a predominantly low-income, urban international public high school in the northeast. The Latina/o students were exposed to more life stressors and had lower attendance and achievement than non-Latina/o students. Life stressors mediated the relationship between ethnicity and academic outcomes. Results deepen experts’ understanding of the achievement gap, suggesting that newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America face unique risks and deserve intervention efforts focused on sociocontextual stressors that may prevent these students from achieving their full academic potential.     

La Familia: The Important Ingredient for Latina/o College Student Engagement and Persistence

This article utilizes Yosso's (2005) community cultural framework and the six forms of cultural capital (aspirational, familial, linguistic, navigational, resistant, social) as corrective reframes of the cultural deficit model. Although the prevailing literature on Latina/o parents and families portray this population as being unmotivated and uninterested in education, this article highlights findings from my study on the impact of Latina/o parental involvement on college students that contradicts sentiments held by the cultural deficit model. Participants in the study identified how they use the cultural capital transmitted to them by their families and communities, and how they create “finishing,” a new form of capital. The article also contains strategies for how students and practitioners in K-12 and higher education settings can use the findings within the study to improve the educational climate and conditions for Latina/o students in U.S. schools.