Melissa Pearrow

A Critical Examination of an Urban-Based Youth Empowerment Strategy: The Teen Empowerment Program

ABSTRACT Youths from marginalized and disenfranchised communities can be empowered to advocate for social justice through civic engagement and sociopolitical action. Examining youth empowerment programs, using critical social theory, builds upon our understanding of sociopolitical systems and oppression and provides a lens to examine mechanisms of change while applying theory to practice. Jennings, Parra-Medina, Messias, and McLoughlin (2006) have identified six dimensions of critical youth empowerment programs, which provide a framework for examining youth empowerment programs. This article presents the Teen Empowerment program, as implemented with high-risk youths in urban communities, and examines it along these six dimensions and provides a model for how to critically examine youth empowerment programs using this framework.

Youth Empowerment in Oppressive Systems: Opportunities for School Consultants.

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 bonding and improved mental health and school performance (Bemak, 2005; Bemak, Chi-Ying, & Siroskey-Sabdo, 2005; Wallerstein, 2006). Yet, there are challenges inherent to implementing, supporting, and sustaining empowerment programs in many school settings given the hierarchical structure and contextual norms of these environments (Yowell & Gordon, 1996). This article reviews the Teen Empowerment program and offers strategies for consultants as they support programs and encourage socially just practices in the school setting. The use of Participatory Action Research methods, and its application to creating positive social change and the empowerment of community members, is also reviewed.

The Aftermath of Combat-Related PTSD: Toward an Understanding of Transgenerational Trauma.

The number of military personnel who are involved in combat situations continues to increase. As a result, researchers have identified risk factors associated with the development of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The authors of this article review some of the characteristics of military personnel involved in these conflicts, factors unique to the current military actions, and symptom presentation and prevalence rates of PTSD among those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. They discuss mechanisms for the transgenerational transmission of trauma symptoms and identify strategies for interventions.

Resilience through Violence Prevention in Schools

When asked to write a chapter focusing on school for this book, we thought of the many fine books, chapters, and articles written about the multitude of school-based programs targeted at the prevention of social and emotional problems in children and adolescents. Indeed, programs such as school-based mental health clinics, drug and alcohol prevention programs, weapons-reduction programs, school-community partnerships, and school-based family support services (to name but a few) all target the social and emotional well-being of our nation’s students. Many of these could be said to broadly foster resihence.

The Relationship Between Food Security, Housing Stability, and School Performance Among College Students in an Urban University

Although younger populations, such as emerging adults, have been shown to be particularly susceptible to food insecurity and housing instability, the current research is predominantly devoid of literature examining these experiences on college campuses. The present study explores the food and housing vulnerabilities that may be barriers to academic success for students who attend an urban university. The results of a survey of students (n = 390) indicated that nearly a quarter of the students had experienced some level of food insecurity. Furthermore, students reported disproportionately high rates of housing instability, which negatively affected their class attendance and performance as well as their ability to continue at the university. Implications of these findings pertaining to students, college personnel, administrators, and other stakeholders are discussed.

Personal Epistemology of Urban Elementary School Teachers

Personal epistemology, originating from social construction theory, provides a framework for researchers to understand how individuals view their world. The Attitudes About Reality (AAR) scale is one survey method that qualitatively assesses personal epistemology along the logical positivist and social constructionist continuum; however, the literature primarily reflects women working in a mental health facility and undergraduate students. This study uses the AAR to examine the personal epistemology of 73 elementary school teachers, the large majority of whom were female, working in an urban and highly diverse public school system in the Northeast, and compares the AAR score to demographic data. The results suggest a more logical positivist orientation than has been observed with other populations although demographic information did not assist in understanding the findings. Implications for the urban elementary school environment, classroom interventions, and collaboration with other support professionals are offered.

Resilience Through Violence and Bullying Prevention in Schools

When asked to write a chapter focusing on school for this book, we thought of the many fine books, chapters, and articles written about the multitude of school-based programs targeted at the prevention of social and emotional problems in children and adolescents. The majority of these programs target specific issues, such as drug and alcohol prevention, weapons-reduction, school–community partnerships, school-based mental health clinics, and school-based family support services (to name, but a few). All of them target the social and emotional well-being of our nation’s students, and could be said to broadly foster resilience. In this chapter, however, we will not be discussing programs that target youth who have been identified as having problems, programs with a clinical or mental health focus, or other programs that have a secondary or tertiary prevention focus. Programs that target students with identified problems are more likely to have a clinically focused symptom-reduction emphasis rather than a wellness-promotion resiliency model (Cowen, 1994; Cowen, Hightower, Pedro-Carroll, Work, Wyman, & Haffey, 1996). They typically target a small proportion of the overall student population; for example, the U.S. Department of Education (2007) estimates that 0.67% of students between 6 and 21 years of age are identified as having an emotional disturbance and qualifying them for services under IDEA. We strongly support such programs and believe they have a vital role in our nation’s schools. We also believe that such programs contribute, directly or indirectly, to the reduction of factors related to violence in schools, as well as the promotion of factors related to resilience in our nation’s student population.

Social Capital: Similarities and Differences Between Future Educators and Urban Youth Leaders

ABSTRACT This study examines differences in social capital between two demographically disparate groups: future education professionals and youth leaders living in urban communities. This is important because there is growing scholarly evidence of a positive relationship between social capital and student achievement. Social capital, defined as a constellation of privileges, is parallel to “the concepts of financial capital, physical capital, and human capital—but embodied in relations among persons” (Coleman, 1988). The impact of the varying access to social capital and its attendant resources may have profound implications on the interactions within the classroom; thus, this study measured this construct in a sample of students in education preparation programs (n = 145) and a sample of youth leaders living in urban communities (n = 119). There were significant differences between groups in: community participation, value of life, and feelings of trust and safety. Educational and consultative strategies to develop cultural competence and diversity sensitivity are discussed, with a particular focus on training future school professionals.

Opportunity for Unity collaborative: building healthy communities by empowering young adults

No community is immune to the devastating effects of youth violence, although some are disproportionately affected— particularly 10 to 24 year old males of African-American and Hispanic descent. This study examines one communitys effort to reduce youth violence by hiring influential young adults and coordinating the work of community-based organizations that address the underpinnings of community violence (e.g., domestic violence, substance abuse, environmental injustice). The grassroots collaborative project targeted young adults with and without criminal histories to work with these agencies for positive social change. Results demonstrate that those tarnished with criminal records demonstrated significant gains in social capital and sense of empowerment, thus creating the potential for reduced future criminal behavior and strengthened communities.

Comparing Communities: The Cultural Characteristics of Ethnic Social Capital

Social capital includes access to resources based on social networks, similar to how economic capital is access to fiscal resources. We explore ethnic social capital as a variant of social capital that includes the social resources that are available to a person as a result of being a member of an ethnic and cultural network. This study identifies the way that ethnic social capital is important for understanding the resilience of ethnic minority youth in the context of inequality including living in impoverished and high-crime neighborhoods. This study examines social capital in 239 males and females aged 14 to 22 years from a racially and ethnically diverse urban community with neighborhoods impacted by high levels of crime in the northeast United States. Compared with results from a racially homogeneous (non-Hispanic White) population living in an urban area of the Midwest, the diverse sample demonstrated different aspects of social capital that are highly correlated with the cultural value of collectivism. Specifically, the diverse sample showed significantly higher participation in their community and reaching out to support others. The sample in the Midwest, demonstrated greater feelings of safety in the community, greater satisfaction with their position in life, and greater ability to ask others for help. Both samples showed an equal level of tolerance for diversity. Results are discussed in terms of examining the cultural manifestations of ethnic social capital and resilience with ethnic minority populations.