Through a critical ethnography, Birmingham and Calabrese Barton examined why and how a group of six middle school girls took civic action, defined as “educated action in science,” after studying green energy in an afterschool science program. The paper follows the students’ process in planning and implementing a carnival to engage their community in energy conservation and efficiency issues.
In stories about democratic society that take place in a democratically structured environment, Youth Radio walks the fine line between professional journalism and youth development in ways that question the automatic equation between "youth voice" and freedom of expression.
This article describes Youth as Resources, a nationwide initiative involves youth and adults as equal partners in projects that improve community life. Some examples of the projects include the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, which engages teenagers to install solar heating in low income homes, and the Haydenville Preservation Committee, which implemented neighborhood cleanup and landscaping projects in rural Ohio.
Voyage of Discovery is a comprehensive and innovative project designed to provide K-12 youth in Baltimore City with an introduction to mathematics, engineering, technology, environmental science, and computer and information science, as it relates to the maritime and aerospace industries. The Sankofa Institute, in partnership with the Living Classrooms Foundation and a host of marine, informal science, community, and educational organizations, collaborate to make science relevant for inner-city youth by infusing science across the curriculum and by addressing aspects of history and culture. Youth are introduced to historical, current, and future innovations in shipbuilding as a means to learn the science, mathematics, and history associated with navigation, transportation, environmental science, and shipping. Activities will take place at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Museum where students participate in intensive afterschool, Saturday, and summer sessions. Families are invited for pre-session orientation meetings and again at the end of each session to observe student progress. This project will provide over 3,900 K-12 youth with the opportunity to learn mathematics (algebra, geometry, and trigonometry), physics (gravity, density, mechanics), design, and estuarine biology while participating in hands-on sessions. Project deliverables include a 26-foot wooden boat, a working model of a dirigible, a submarine model, and pilot control panel models, all constructed by students and subsequently incorporated into exhibits at the USS Constellation Museum. The project also results in the production of two curricula--one each on celestial navigation and propulsion. Voyage of Discovery informs the literature on inquiry-based informal science education programs and strategies to engage minority and low-income youth in learning science and technology.