'And school won't teach me that!' Urban youth activism programs as transformative sites for critical adolescent learning

• Published in: Journal of youth studies 2021-08, Vol.24 (7), p.941-960
• Main Authors: Carey, Roderick L., Akiva, Thomas, Abdellatif, Haya, Daughtry, Kendell A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activism; Adolescent development; adolescent learning; critical consciousness; Identity formation; Learning; Marginality; out-of-school time; Sexuality; Social change; Social justice; Social services; Soft skills; Urban areas; Youth activism programs; youth development; Youth movements; youth organizing
• ISSN: 1367-6261; 1469-9680
• DOI: 10.1080/13676261.2020.1784400

To challenge deficit discourses and victim narratives of youth marginalized due to their race, gender, class, age, and/or sexuality, child and youth service providers can build on young people's agency by implementing creative, radical, and social-justice-oriented services. Youth activism programs offer such opportunities by supporting young people in understanding and working toward dismantling the marginalization they face. These programs can also offer supplemental learning opportunities usually missing from schools, stimulate positive identity development, foster youth civic agency, and motivate young people to agitate for social change. However, while many studies have described what youth do in activism sites, what youth learn from activist engagement is less evident in the literature. In this study, we analyzed focus group data from adolescents participating in six adult-supported youth activism community programs, in an urban United States context (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), to investigate what youth learned as they developed critical consciousness, or the skills required to analyze and then act on oppressive social phenomena. Rooted in a Social Justice Youth Development framework, findings suggest that through their participation, young activists developed increased self-, social-, and global-awareness, while also learning additional important skills (e.g. technical skills, interpersonal skills, and the benefits of creating a network).