Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Equitable Futures Program for Urban Public Schools

Christine Jean Yeh,Emily Hong Daniel,Stephanie Khaziran,Mio Tsukamoto Burk

doi:10.5539/jedp.v8n1p162

Christine Jean Yeh, Emily Hong Daniel + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5539/jedp.v8n1p162

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Abstract

We describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a culturally-responsive college access program, Make It Happen, aimed at increasing educational opportunity for historically-targeted middle and high school students. The sample included 254 participants who participated in the evidence-based 10-session program. These participants completed surveys before and after the program which inquired about their (1) school engagement, (2) social connectedness, and (3) academic and college help-seeking self-efficacy. T-test analyses were conducted and determined the participants at post-test, felt significantly more engaged at school, more connected to others, and more self-efficacious in seeking support for information about academics and college. The authors describe the importance of working with teachers, school staff, and counselors to foster a supportive and positive exploratory space for students who could benefit from learning about their future options (Beesley, 2004; Yeh, Ching, Okubo, & Luthar, 2007).

Highlights

1.1 Urban Public SchoolsThe narratives about historically targeted, low-income adolescents in the school system include deficit-oriented perceptions in regards to their educational achievement, and many negative social and health outcomes (Fuligni & Hardway, 2004)
Schools are sites of possibility and impossibility that can serve as socializing agents for historically targeted and ethnic minority youth (Trickett & Formosa, 2008)
No demographic dissimilarities were found on the dependent variables of interest so we did not control for demographic variables in our pre-post analyses

Summary

Introduction

1.1 Urban Public SchoolsThe narratives about historically targeted, low-income adolescents in the school system include deficit-oriented perceptions in regards to their educational achievement, and many negative social and health outcomes (Fuligni & Hardway, 2004). A university in California has partnered with local public school to develop, implement, and evaluate a college access program for culturally diverse students in middle and high school. This program, Make It Happen, provides exploratory and interactive spaces of inclusion and belonging to foster students’ school engagement, social connection, and academic and college help-seeking self-efficacy (Johnson, 2009; LaRoche & Tawa, 2011). We believe that middle and high school students’ college interests are very much linked with the ecological systems in which they interact (Borrero & Yeh, 2010; Bronfenbrenner, 1997; Ma & Yeh, 2005) These systems include their experiences at home, in neighborhoods, and at school. Schools are sites of possibility and impossibility that can serve as socializing agents for historically targeted and ethnic minority youth (Trickett & Formosa, 2008)

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