Articles & Reports

Publications by Network members

For an index to all publications on the site, go here

Opening Doors reports

Opening Doors, a project headed by MDRC in collaboration with the Network, examines factors that affect low-income students’ college enrollment and completion:

Rewarding Persistence: Effects of a Performance-Based Scholarship for Low-Income Parents. 2009.

Getting Back on Track: Effects of a Community College Program for Probationary Students. 2009.

A Good Start: Two-Year Effects of a Freshmen Learning Community Program at Kingsborough Community College

Early Results from the Opening Doors Demonstration in Ohio (2007)

Enhancing Student Services at Lorain County Community College (2007)

Enhancing Student Services at Owens Community College (2007)

Whole ’Nother World: Students Navigating Community College (2006)

Understanding and Facilitating the Youth Mentoring Movement. Social Policy Report (2006)

Students' Perspectives on Juggling Work, Family, and College (July 2002) 

Building Learning Communities: Early Results from the Opening Doors Demonstration at Kingsborough Community College (June 2005)

Promoting Student Success in Community College and Beyond (June 2005)

 

Midwest Evaluation of Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Age 19
Mark Courtney et al. (2007)

This paper compares the outcomes of nearly 600 foster youth, roughly half of whom left care at age 18 and half of whom remained in care at age 19. Their outcomes are also compared with a nationally representative sample of 19-year-olds. In general, foster care youth fare more poorly than youth nationally, but early indications are that youth who remained in care fared better on several life events that matter to a successful transition to adulthood, including early childbearing, deliquency and violence, employment, education, and others.

For other reports on foster youth making the transition to adulthood, go here.

Paradise Shift: Immigration, Mobility and Inequality in Southern California
Ruben Rumbaut (2008)

This paper compares educational mobilities and inequalities of young adults of foreign-born parents (the "1.5" and second generations) with those of native-born parents. The paper was presented at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna in October 2008.

A shorter version was published as "The Coming of the Second Generation: Immigration and Ethnic Mobility in Southern California" in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 620, 1 (November 2008): 196-236. Abstract is available here. The special issue,
Exceptional Outcomes: Achievement in Education and Employment among Children of Immigrants, is devoted to education and employment outcomes of children of immigrants.

A Good Start: Two-Year Effects of a Freshmen Learning Community Program at Kingsborough Community College
Susan Scrivener, Dan Bloom, Allen LeBlanc, Christina Paxson, Cecilia Elena Rouse, and Colleen Sommo

Freshmen in a “learning community” at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, NY, moved more quickly through developmental English requirements, took and passed more courses, and earned more credits in their first semester than students in a control group. Two years later, they were also somewhat more likely to be enrolled in college.

Transitional Jobs for Ex-Prisoners: Early Impacts from a Random Assignment Evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Prisoner Reentry Program

MDRC ( Network member Gordon Berlin is president of MDRC) recently released early results from its study of a transitional jobs program for ex-prisoners (many of whom are young adults). Short-term results are encouraging

Private Anxieties and Public Hopes: The Perils and Promise of Youth in the Context of Globalization (posted Feb 2008; forthcoming 2008)
Constance A. Flanagan

This chapter argues that there are psychological costs in anxiety and self-doubt for individuals who imagine only private solutions to the uncertainties that global capital and the privatization of risk have normalized.  The second part of the paper presents an alternative narrative in which activist youth are making public and political the private anxieties they share, challenging a world organized on market principles, and seeking a fuller sense of character than jobs alone can furnish.

Youth Political Activism: Sources of Public Hope in the Context of Globalization (posted Feb 2008; published 2007)
Constance Flanagan, Laura Wray-Lake, and Amy Syvertsten

The Positive Youth Development Movement, the authors argue, should take a political turn and engage youth in agitating for redress of the family, institutional, and societal inequities among youth.

School and Community Climates and Civic Commitments: Patterns for Ethnic Minority and Majority Students (posted Feb 2008, published 2007)
Constance Flanagan, Cumsille, Gill, and Gallay

Regardless of their racial/ethnic background, adolescents (average age 15) were more likely to believe that America is a just society and to endorse civic goals if they felt that their teachers were fair to and respected students and if they felt that, in general, residents of their communities pitched in to make them good places to live. The behaviors of adults in those settings communicate to the younger generation what it means to be part of the  body politic and to what extent principles of inclusion, fairness, and justice figure in that process. Finally, regardless of their ethnic background, youth were more committed to the kinds of public interest goals that sustain a democratic polity (serving their country, helping people in need, and working to improve race relations) when they felt their teachers were respectful of and fair to all students and insisted on students respecting one another.

Pushing the Envelope on Youth Civic Engagement: A Developmental and Liberation Psychology Perspective (posted Feb 2008; published 2007)
Roderick J. Watts and Constance Flanagan

The authors call for more attention in the research on youth civic engagement and political participation to liberation psychology. The latter  differs from conventional U.S. psychology in its emphasis on human rights and social equity. Although there is certainly value in the current civic engagement literature, much of it focuses on the maintenance of social and political institutions rather than on action for social justice. To promote a better balance, and one more relevant to the lives of youth of color and other marginalized young people, we offer a framework for empirical research on youth sociopolitical development

Public Scholarship and Youth at the Transition to Adulthood (posted Feb 2008; published 2006)
Constance Flanagan

Universities are one of the main institutions charged with guiding younger generations as they make the transition to adulthood. In light of the profound social and economic changes younger generations face, and the considerable uncertainty and flux on the path to adulthood, it behooves universities to spend more time inculcating a sense of public responsibility and connectedness in youth. The university, Flanagan argues, can be more than just a place to earn a credential. It can be a place where public scholarship is honed and the values of community and civic responsibility are instilled. This in turn can benefit both the individual and the society.  As Tocqueville warned, “If people forget themselves in the sole faculty of making money . . . the future of the republic will be bleak and tyranny will not be far away.”


Activist Program: Reframing Social Responsibility Within a Technology-Based Youth (posted Feb 2008, published 2007)
 Carmen Hamilton and Constance Flanagan

This study explores the transformation process in a youth group’s conception of itself and its role in assuming responsibility for curbing drinking, smoking, and drug use in the community. In a 6-week summer program, teens created a video that encouraged peers to shift from a view that “it’s none of my business” to an ethic of social responsibility for one another. Over the course of the project, the youth came to see drug and alcohol use as a community issue, not just an individual problem. They developed a sense of ownership toward the issue of peer intervention, which in turn motivated them to take the topic more seriously. They developed a greater appreciation that more practical strategies for intervening were needed. The youth saw themselves as community actors who could assume responsibility for a community issue.

Young People’s Civic Engagement and Political Development (posted Feb 2008; forthcoming 2008)
Constance Flanagan

This chapter in the International Handbook on Youth and Young Adulthood (Routledge 2008) provides a broad overview of youth civic engagement.

Service as a Developmental Opportunity: Building Connections for Vulnerable Youths (posted Feb 2008, published 2007)
Andrea K. Finlay, Constance Flanagan, and Sarah Black

This article by the National Youth Leadership Council addresses whether engagement in service may have beneficial effects that would better facilitate the transition to adulthood among marginalized and vulnerable young adults.

 

Special issue of Applied Developmental Science (forthcoming 2008), on immigrant youths' civic participation, co-edited by Network member Constance Flanagan and Lene Jensen Arnett.

Overview (overview by Flanagan and Arnett )

The following are select commentary by Network members and an overview of civic engagement by Peter Levine

Reaping What You Sow: Immigration, Youth, and Reactive Ethnicity ( Rubén Rumbaut)

The Challenge of Studying Civic Incorporation
(Mary Waters )

The Civic Engagement of Young Americans: Why Does It Matter?
(Peter Levine )

Special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies (vol. 28, no. 6, Nov. 2005), co-edited by Network member Rubén Rumbaut with Alejandro Portes, on children of immigrants.

Table of contents (overview of entire issue with links to journal)

The following are select articles from the issue with special relevance to the transition to adutlhood

Introduction: The Second Generation and the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (Alejandro Portes and Rubén Rumbaut)

Turning Points in the Transition to Adulthood
(Rubén Rumbaut)

Gendered Paths: Educational and Occupational Expectations and Outcomes among Adult Children of Immigrants

(Cynthia Feliciano & Rubén Rumbaut)

The Multifaceted American Experiences of the Children of Asian Immigrants
(Min Zhou and Yang Sao Xiong)

 

The Second Generation in Early Adulthood: New Findings from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (October 2006)
Rubén G. Rumbaut and Alejandro Portes

Rumbaut and Portes examine how the second generation of immigrants in South Florida and Southern California is faring as they navigate early adulthood. By and large, they find, members of the new second generation are doing well. However, a sizable segment — a minority found mostly among the children of Mexican, Haitian, and West Indian immigrants —risks being left behind. See also the Network brief on this topic

Growing Up Healthy: Are Adolescents the Right Target Group? (2006)
Frank Furstenberg

Editorial published in the Journal of Adolescent Health

Growing Up Is Harder to Do (2004)
Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr., Sheela Kennedy, Vonnie C. McLoyd, Rubén G. Rumbaut and Richard A. Settersten, Jr.,
Contexts
, vol 3, no. 3, 2004

In the past several decades, a new life stage has emerged: early adulthood. No longer adolescents, but not yet ready to assume the full responsibilities of an adult, many young people are caught between needing to learn advanced job skills and depending on their family to support them during the transition.

Securing the Future: Investing in Children from Birth to College (June 2000)
Sheldon Danziger and Jane Waldfogel, editors

More than ever, the economic health of a country depends upon the skills, knowledge, and capacities of its people. How does a person acquire these human assets and how can we promote their development? Securing the Future assembles an interdisciplinary team of scholars to investigate the full range of factors--pediatric, psychological, social, and economic--that bear on a child's development into a well-adjusted, economically productive member of society

Does College Still Pay? (2005)
The Economists’ Voice
Lisa Barrow and Network member Cecilia Elena Rouse

Article examines the costs and benefits of college.

Becoming New Yorkers: Ethnographies of the New Second Generation (2004)
Philip Kasinitz, John Mollenkopf, and Mary C. Waters, Russell Sage

In Becoming New Yorkers, noted social scientists Philip Kasinitz, John Mollenkopf, and Mary Waters bring together in-depth ethnographies of some of New York’s largest immigrant populations to assess the experience of the new second generation and to explore the ways in which they are changing the fabric of American culture.

Youth Activism: An International Encyclopedia (2005)
Constance Flanagan and Ron Kassimir, editors, Greenwood Press

Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens Through the Twenties (2004)
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett,. Oxford University Press
Book review by Frank Furstenberg
Washington Post, Tuesday, October 5, 2004; Page C02 

Conference Report: Adolescence and the Transition to Adulthood: Rethinking Public Policy for a New Century (February 2005)
[View PDF]

Mentoring Young Adults
Network member Jean Rhodes has published several papers on the role of mentoring in young adults lives, including:

[View PDF] Understanding and Facilitating the Youth Mentoring Movement. Social Policy Report. 20 (3), 3-19. Jean E. Rhodes and David L. DuBois. (2006).

[View PDF] The protective influence of mentoring on adolescents’ substance use: Direct and indirect pathways. Applied Developmental Science. 9 (1), 31–47. Rhodes, J.E., Reddy, R., & Grossman, J. B. (2005).

[View PDF] An exploratory study of youth mentoring in an urban context: Adolescents' perceptions of relationship styles. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. (293-306). Langhout, R. D., Rhodes, J. E., & Osborne, L. (2004).

[View PDF] Natural mentors in the lives of African-American adolescent mothers: Tracking relationships over time. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32, 223-232. Klaw, E. L., Rhodes, J. E., & Fitzgerald, L. L. (2003).

[View PDF] The test of time: Predictors and effects of duration in youth mentoring programs. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 199-206. Grossman, J. B. & Rhodes, J. E. (2002).

Mentoring programs. In H. Reis & S. Sprecher (Eds). Encyclopedia of Human Relationships, Thousand Oaks, CA

Rhodes, J.E. & Lowe, S. (2009). Youth mentoring and adolescent development.  In Steinberg, L. & Lerner, R. (Eds.). Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, 3rd Edition. New York, NY: Plenum.

Eby, L. T. & Rhodes, J. E. (2007). “Definition and evolution of mentoring. (pp. 11-21). ” In T. D. Allen and L. T. Edy (Eds). Handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspective approach. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing.

Rhodes, J., Davis, A. A., Prescott, L. R., & Spencer, R. (2007). “Caring connections: Mentoring relationships in the lives of urban girls.” (p. 142-156). In B.J. Leadbeater, & N. Way (Eds.) Urban girls: Resisting stereotypes, creating identities, 2nd Edition,

Rhodes, J. (in press). Giving mentoring research away: Toward a better alignment of research and practice. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships.

Greene, G., Rhodes, J., Hirsch, A., & Suarez-Orozco, C. (2008). Supportive adult relationships and the academic engagement of Latin American immigrant youth. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 393-412.

Rhodes, J. & Chan, C. (2008). The influence of mentors on spiritual development. New Directions in Youth Development, 118, 85-89.

Rhodes, J. & DuBois, D. (2008). Mentoring relationships and programs for youth. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 254-258.

Rhodes, J., Lowe, S., Litchfield, L., & Samp, K. W. (2008). The role of gender in youth mentoring relationship satisfaction and duration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72, 183-192.

Liang, B. & Rhodes, J. (2007). Cultivating the vital element of youth mentoring. Applied Developmental Science, 11, 104

Rhodes, J. E. (2007). My mentor, George Albee. Journal of Primary Prevention. 28, 59-60.

Rhodes, J. E., Spencer, R., Saito, R. N., and Sipe, C. L. (2006). Online mentoring: The promise and challenges of an emerging approach to youth development. Journal of Primary Prevention, 27: 497-513.

Rhodes, J., Spencer, R., Keller, T., & Liang, B. (2006). A model for the influence of mentoring relationships on youth development. Journal of Community Psychology, 34: 691-707.

 

 


In the News

Annenberg Classroom: Resources for America's Teachers
Ask the Expert: Educating the Public--Why Teachers Matter
May 2007

Network member Constance Flanagan discusses the important role of teachers and the education system in instilling the importance of public service in today's youth.

Frank Stasio, NPR
Interview with Network member Constance Flanagan and others discussing civic involvement
Tuesday, January 16 2007

From sit-ins at lunch counters in the 1960s South to the 1976 mass protests by school children in Soweto for better education, youth activism movements have effectively shaped history. Host Frank Stasio talks about how and why today's youth are getting involved in social issues with Constance Flanagan and Ron Kassimir, co-editors of "Youth Activism: An International Encyclopedia" (Greenwood Press/2005).  He also catches up with some local activists, who are taking unique approaches to getting their voices heard.

The Inconvenient Truth about Youth
Washington Post, op-ed. September 11, 2006

Reseeding Rural America
Op-Ed, Des Moines Register, August 6, 2005

As Americans, we'd like to think that where or to whom you're born is only a temporary status
Op-ed, St. Paul Pioneer Press, July 20, 2005

Grow Up? Not So Fast
Meet the Twixters. They’re Not Kids Anymore, but They’re Not Adults Either…
Lev Grossman
Time Magazine,  January 24, 2005
[accompanying poll]

Mixed Messages on Marriage
Frank Furstenberg
AScribe Newswire, March 8, 2004

The parent trap: boomerang kids
When 20-somethings come home, families need some frank talk about finances to stay within budget
USNews.com, December 12, 2005

for more in the news, go here

 


 


 

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