Urban Public High School Research Articles

School Bullying Victimization and Depression Symptoms in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Internet Addiction and Moderating Role of Living Areas.

School bullying and depression are both serious social and public health problems among adolescents. Prior studies indicated a correlation between bullying and depression. However, the potential moderators remain largely unexplored. This study aimed to identify the mediating effect of Internet addiction and the moderating effect of living in urban or rural areas in the relationship between school bullying victimization and depression symptoms among Chinese adolescents. This cross-sectional study of adolescents was conducted using two-stage random cluster sampling of students in urban and rural public high schools in China. A moderated mediation model was constructed to uncover the underlying mechanism of school bullying victimization and depression symptoms. A total of 2,376 adolescents (52.65% females, mean age ± SD a 14.69 ± 1.76 years) were included in the study. The prevalence of clinical depression symptoms with a cut-off value of 16 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was 21.76% (95% CI: 20.15, 23.46), and with a cut-off value of 20 on the CES-D was 13.85% (95% CI: 12.51, 15.30) for overall. Our findings indicated a significant positive association between school bullying victimization and depression symptoms (p < 0.01) and a significant mediating effect of Internet addiction in the association between school bullying victimization and depression symptoms (indirect effect = 1.143, 95% CI: 0.677, 1.609; percentage of mediation: 16.7%, 95% CI: 10.3, 23.1). This indirect relationship was partially moderated by the living in urban or rural areas in the mediation process. Specifically, the effect of school bullying victimization on Internet addiction was greater among urban adolescents (simple slope: 0.774, 95% CI: 0.524, 1.024, p < 0.01) than among rural adolescents (simple slope: 0.337, 95% CI: 0.132, 0.543, p < 0.01), but moderating effect of urban-rural areas was not significant on the relationship between Internet addiction and depression symptoms. These findings highlight the mediating role of Internet addiction and the moderating role of living areas in school bullying victimization and adolescents' depression symptoms, which provide evidence for social work, mental health services, and policy interventions for adolescents in China.

The Analysis of Teachers' Digital Habitus during Distance Learning Implementation in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

The incredible changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected various aspects, including education, which has transitioned learning activities in schools from face-to-face to distance learning. Teachers, as the frontline implementers of learning in schools, have been adapting to the new situation prompted by the pandemic while facing demands for the continuous provision of education. The objectives of this study are: 1) to analyze how teachers engage in digital habitus during the implementation of distance learning amidst the pandemic and 2) to identify the types of digital habitus formed during this period. Bourdieu's habitus concept is utilized as an analytical tool in this study. Employing a qualitative approach, the research optimizes data exploration through in-depth interviews and observations conducted in urban public high schools in Indonesia. The findings reveal that teachers' digital habitus is shaped through an interplay process between pre-pandemic digital experiences, practices during the pandemic, the interconnected structure, teacher agency, and the reflexivity of agents in distance learning practices. The formed digital habitus of teachers includes adaptability to change, openness to the use of learning technology, a willingness to adopt new habits, and a cooperative attitude.

Contesting the boundaries of physics teaching: What it takes to transform physics education toward justice‐centered ends

AbstractThe underrepresentation of Black Americans in physics has been persistent for so long that it seems to have constrained physics educators' collective imagination when it comes to conceptualizing and pursuing equity in physics teaching and learning. Drawing on a teacher research study that foregrounds justice‐centered physics teaching, this article pushes past the “equity as access” narrative toward more expansive visions of equity and justice by reimagining physics education as a liberatory praxis. Accordingly, this study explores the complexities that emerged while expanding the boundaries of physics learning to embrace a justice‐centered curriculum through a Youth Participatory Science (YPS) project. Taught in the context of a freshman physics course at an urban public high school, this YPS project engaged students in designing solar energy systems for an African‐American community historically harmed by environmental racism. Critically evaluating curricular documents, I juxtaposed the traditional goals of physics learning with respect to definitions of community needs and assets. Simultaneously, I investigated the ways in which canonical physics knowledge dialectically interacts with interdisciplinary knowledge throughout the defining, investigating, and intervening phases of the YPS cycle. Throughout this process, I considered how physics learning provides opportunities to either reproduce or transform existing power relations within the sociopolitical and environmental schema of the community. The critical understandings constructed from this study frame what it takes to repurpose physics teaching and learning for environmental justice, specifically emphasizing the agentic pedagogical and curricular decisions teachers must negotiate to transform physics education for liberatory purposes.

Learning about Confucian ecological ethics to promote education for sustainable development in Chinese secondary chemistry education

Abstract Incorporating cultural aspects into science education has recently been stressed in many non-Western societies. However, Chinese traditional cultures are rarely discussed in Chinese science classrooms. Hence, a teaching intervention integrating Confucian ecological ethics and education for sustainable development in secondary chemistry classrooms was designed, implemented online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and analyzed. It focuses on discussing aspects of Confucian ecological ethics in the context of a lesson plan on the socio-scientific issue of plastic use. Sixty-five 10th-grade students from an urban key public high school in Beijing voluntarily attended this research. Based on the analysis of their feedback it is suggested that Confucian ecological ethics can improve students’ environmental awareness. Most students acknowledged that Confucian ecological ethics could promote Chinese sustainability-oriented chemistry education with a value-oriented approach.

Civic Sovereignty: Indigenous Civic Constructs in Public School Spaces

Context:This study examines how urban American Indian high school students negotiate their civic identities within the settler colonial structures of urban American public schools.Research Question:How do urban American Indian students negotiate civic identities in spaces where civic concepts are taught, such as American history classes in an urban public high school and a Native Youth Council (Native YC)?Research Design:This critical participatory ethnographic study examines the negotiation of civic identity by 11 urban Indigenous students in social studies classes, a Native YC, and a school in Washington State, where the STI curriculum is taught. Safety zone theory and tribal critical race theory were used to understand students’ experiences and their stories from observations, participant interviews, and focus groups, which were employed as data.Conclusions/Recommendations:The study found that the social studies classes and Native YC were zones of sovereignty (ZoS), forwarding survivance and self-determination for Native students. Students learned about the Indigenous civic constructs of sovereignty, self-determination, dual citizenship, tribal self-government, and federal Indian policy inside and outside of school, all of which supported Native students in civic identity development. Recommendations on teaching Indigenous civic constructs to all students as part of teaching for critical democracy in public schools as a component of social studies classes and extracurricular activities are discussed.

Effect of RISE Bundle implementation on school adoption of a student-centered return-to-learn program in Washington state.

Appropriate concussion care in school is vital for full recovery, but school return-to-learn (RTL) programs are lacking and vary in quality. Establishing student-centered RTL programs may reduce disparities in RTL care. To examine the effect of RISE Bundle (Return to Learn Implementation Bundle for Schools) implementation on high school adoption of a student-centered RTL program. A convenience sample of fourteen (4 rural and 10 urban) small and large Washington (WA) State public high schools were enrolled in a stepped-wedge study with baseline, end of study, and monthly measures over the 2021-2022 academic year. Schools identified an RTL champion who led RISE Bundle implementation in 6-week steps. Concussion knowledge and impact of RTL program on concussion care were examined. Ten schools (71.4%) successfully completed RISE Bundle implementation and established a functional RTL program. Self-reported concussion knowledge from RTL Champions increased post intervention. Establishing RTL programs facilitated provision of tailored accommodations, and perceived variation and inequities in RTL care were reduced. RISE Bundle implementation proved feasible, supported the establishment of a functional RTL program, and perceived to reduce disparities in concussion care in rural and urban WA State public high schools of varying sizes.

“To Know There's Other Indigenous People in Your School is Nice”: Urban Indigenous Civic Identity

This critical participatory ethnographic study examines the negotiation of civic identity by eight Indigenous students in an urban public high school. Using Tribal Critical Race Theory to understand the experiences of students, stories from observations, participant interviews, and focus groups were employed as data. This study, examines data from a larger study and finds the studied school was vital as a civic site for these negotiations and a Zone of Sovereignty forwarding survivance and self-determination for Indigenous students.

Adolescent Feelings on COVID-19 Distance Learning Support: Associations With Mental Health, Social-Emotional Health, Substance Use, and Delinquency

PurposeSchool social support is associated with improved adolescent wellbeing. However, positive school relationships were potentially disrupted when schools transitioned to distance learning in 2020 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This study investigated associations among perceived distance learning school support, mental health, social-emotional wellbeing, substance use, and delinquency among low-income, public high school students. MethodsWe analyzed longitudinal survey data, collected between June 2020 and June 2021, from 372 students attending five large urban public high schools. Mixed-effects regression models examined associations among changes in distance learning support and changes in mental health, social-emotional wellbeing, substance use, and delinquency, controlling for time, social-demographics, and baseline health. ResultsIn this predominantly Latinx (83%) sample, within-person increases in perceived distance learning support were associated with improved mental health, increased grit, increased self-efficacy, and decreased stress. Between-person differences in distance learning support indicated that students reporting greater support had improved mental and social-emotional outcomes. Although there were no within-person associations among distance learning support and hopelessness or delinquency, students with greater distance learning support (between-person) had lower levels of hopelessness and lower odds of engaging in any delinquent behavior. There were no associations between distance learning support and 30-day substance use. DiscussionSchool social support, even without students physically on campus, may be critical to adolescent health behaviors and social-emotional outcomes.

Stress-Buffering Effects of Mindfulness Programming for Adolescents in Schools During Periods of High- and Low-Stress

Purpose Stress is a risk factor for poor educational achievement and health. Mindfulness-based programming (MBP) is a viable technology for reducing stress, and Mindful Stress Buffering theory suggests that the benefits of MBP will be most pronounced during periods of high stress. This research details a replication of the MBP “Learning to BREATHE” in a racially diverse urban public high school during a period of relatively low stress (i.e., absence of high-stakes testing). Design/Approach/Methods Five classrooms ( n = 66) were randomly assigned by classroom to MBP or typical educational programming. Socioemotional attributes were measured pre–post-intervention. Data were contrasted with results from the initial project that occurred during a period of high stress (i.e., the presence of high-stakes testing). Findings Results indicate a failure to replicate significant intervention effects of MBP on socioemotional attributes. Results indicate that the original Felver et al.’s (2019) sample had higher self-reported stress than the current study's sample. Originality/Value These findings provide the first empirical data in support of the Mindful Stress Buffering theory among an adolescent sample, and this has implications for clinicians and researchers interested in utilizing MBP to support the wellbeing of student populations during other periods of high contextual stress (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic).

Designing their own curriculum: How youth co-constructed a dance team that opposed traditional student–school relationships

This article draws from a two-year ethnography at an urban public high school to analyze how high school students came together around a shared love for dance to create a youth-led affinity space. The high school students, Black youth in their freshman year of high school, navigated the complexities of creating a dance team and collaboratively composing dances, which in this article are theorized as multimodal texts. The analysis reveals how the student dancers practiced vulnerability, engaged in play as radical praxis, and were seen as creative cultural producers within school. While youth of color live rich literate and culturally productive lives, their literacies are often obscured or devalued within school. Curriculum and pedagogies tend to prescribe specific ways of making meaning that limit how youth can express themselves by dictating language, literacies, and body movement. Thus, this article illustrates how youth-led spaces can create opportunities to nurture youth’s literate identities and reimagine relationships with each other and school.

Understanding ADHD in Black Adolescents in Urban Schools: A Qualitative Examination of Factors that Influence ADHD Presentation, Coping Strategies, and Access to Care

ABSTRACT The high school years are a challenging developmental period for adolescents with attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), their families, and those who work with them in the school system. Moreover, racially minoritized families and schools in low-resource, urban settings often experience additional adverse experiences that can make access to evidence-based mental health care particularly difficult. This qualitative investigation into the experiences of Black high school students with ADHD, their caregivers, teachers, and school mental health providers (SMHPs) aimed to understand this community’s experiences with ADHD across development and to explore the barriers/facilitators to adequate services. Through focus group interviews with stakeholders (i.e., 6 adolescents with a diagnosis of ADHD, 5 caregivers of adolescents with ADHD, 6 teachers, 5 school mental health providers), themes emerged related to (1) developmental changes observed in ADHD presentation in high school students and (2) contextual factors (including barriers/facilitators to optimal school and home functioning). These themes led to the development of an ecological model that show various contextual factors influencing the experiences of Black adolescents with ADHD in under-resourced urban public high schools (e.g., adolescents’ coping strategies, caregiver involvement, teacher burden or lack of ADHD-knowledge, socio-economic status, access to care). This qualitative study represents the first step of a treatment development project assessing the implementation of a depression prevention intervention for Black adolescents with ADHD in urban public-school settings. Clinical implications (e.g., coordination of care between home and schools, increasing attention to social determinants of health, ensuring culturally competent discussion of ADHD and its treatment) are discussed.

Rethinking the role of reading assessments for real learning

Purpose Scholars who advocate for equity-oriented educational practices have argued that the accountability era in the USA, now in place for two decades, has failed in its intended goal to improve student performance for traditionally marginalized student populations. This study aims to use a sociocultural lens to trace how a century-old conceptualization of reading – that discrete skills comprise comprehension and that multiple-choice questions can measure mastery of those skills – predominates today’s standardized reading tests. Design/methodology/approach This essay draws on the authors’ collective experiences as literacy educators, school leaders and researchers. Findings The authors critique two beliefs rooted in Eurocentric thinking borne from a long-held conceptualization of reading – that logical reasoning and the right background knowledge can promote achievement on standardized tests. The authors link the critique to their lived experiences and situate test design features in the broader sociopolitical educational landscape. Then, by presenting examples from an urban public high school, the authors encourage educational leaders to revisit the potential of authentic assessments as complex and meaningful activities that foster the critical thinking necessary for participating in democracy. Practical implications Committing to authentic assessments takes the work characteristic of transformative school leadership, especially serving diverse student populations: A clear and ambitious vision that centers social justice and cultural relevance, frequent, shared opportunities for professional growth and shared norms for instructional practice and student growth. Originality/value This essay encourages educational leaders, researchers and policymakers to revisit the potential of authentic assessments as tasks that can surpass external measures in informing teachers about how students’ develop their literacy in school.

College-Bound Figured Worlds: Case Studies of Three Urban High Schools

This qualitative case study explored the unique ways recent college graduates serving as full-time, near-peer mentors supported students along the path to college in three different urban public high schools. By applying the theory of figured worlds to school spaces and practices, this study sought to both define the physical and figurative ways mentors helped students envision and enact college-bound identities and compare and contrast the differences in these spaces across schools. Data and thematic analysis indicate that promoting the development and enactment of college-bound identities requires intentionality about how school culture, people, and policies enable real and figurative spaces for college-bound exploration and support.

Prevalence and determinants of genital Chlamydia trachomatis among school-going, sexually experienced adolescents in urban and rural Indigenous regions of Panama

ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence and risk factors of genital Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) among school-going sexually experienced male and female adolescents in Panama.MethodsWe conducted two multisite cross-sectional studies using two-stage cluster...

Urban Teen Summit: A Community and School Collaboration for Developing Student Leaders of Color

The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and challenges that emerged from the first 3 years of a high school student leadership development program located in an urban setting. This study was developed as an instrumental case study of one student leadership development program serving urban public high schools in South Central Texas. Feedback was solicited from 10 current and former participants regarding the successes and challenges they encountered within this program. Three themes emerged from these interviews: personal voice, a sense of responsibility, and building community relationships. Discussion is included regarding considerations for secondary administrators about the potential utility of this model in helping develop student leaders of color in urban settings.

Leveling Up: Connected Mentor Learning in a Digital Media Production After-School Space

This article introduces mirrored practice of leveling up as a model for educator learning grounded in connected learning and the connected mentor framework. Our purpose is to introduce this model and share examples of how it can be enacted. We argue that the model is a rich and successful way for youth development professionals to expand their capacities as educators and to support expansive possibilities for young people’s learning. The model supports all educators’ learning and growth, but it is particularly applicable to mentors working in interest-driven, informal learning environments like makerspaces and YOUmedia learning labs. The model is drawn from our analysis of 2 years of ethnographic observations in an after-school digital design studio housed in an urban public high school in Chicago. We describe mirrored practice as the mentors using the same principles and tools to learn that their students utilized. In the model, leveling up means that both students and mentors are supported in constantly moving towards progressively complex tasks, knowledge, and understanding. Methods of data collection include video- and audio-taped observations and interviews with digital media mentors.

“I think we’re all teachers even though we’re students”

Youth of color enrolled in urban public high schools, particularly those students who seek to be the first in their families to graduate from college, frequently encounter barriers to their college readiness and access. This study engaged an analytic approach built with culturally relevant and sustaining theories of education to examine how 10 youth of color enrolled in 12th grade at a Title 1 public high school in New York City provided and/or received support from peers as they navigated such barriers. The study utilized a youth co-researcher methodology to amplify student voices about an issue directly connected to their lives. Two findings emerged across data analysis: (1) students asserted collective notions of academic achievement and (2) challenged what they perceived as inequitable access to resources and opportunities as they supported their peers’ college readiness and access. Taken together these findings provide new insights into possibilities for building from students’ interactions with peers across contexts of curriculum, teaching, and research in urban schools.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion for some but not all: LGBQ Asian American youth experiences at an urban public high school

ABSTRACT This article reports on a two-year study on the in-school experiences of 10 ethnically and generationally diverse Asian American LGBQ-identified adolescents who attended a racially integrated urban public high school in the Midwest. The conceptual framework draws on Queer of Colour Analysis (QOCA) to situate how heteronormative, heterosexist, and racially exclusionary practices impacted the youth in distinct ways due to the intersections of their gendered and racialized identities. Three major findings are discussed as follows: (a) the participants’ experiences with violence-based encounters at school including the complex reasons for their general reluctance to formally report these incidents, (b) gendered and racialized forms of heterosexism and homophobia, and (c) how the school’s White-dominated Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club because a site of erasure and exclusion. Specifically, their lived realities at school elevate the urgency of issues pertaining to school culture and climate as it relates to their personal safety, security, and well-being. The implications section will reflect on the ways by which K-12 schools could create more equitable, inclusive, and welcoming spaces for racially diverse LGBQ students.

A Heart-Centered Stance: Receptivity to Algebra Teachers’ and Students’ Multidimensional Experiences

The algebra classroom in urban public high schools in the United States is a complex space, ripe with many challenges and opportunities. In this paper I introduce the notion of a heart-centered stance for the teacher and the educator, and a method of engaging in creative expression for reflection and introspection toward individual change in the rich context of the high school algebra classroom. My evolving relationships with two high school algebra teachers, observations of their classrooms, as well as my own self-study and professional growth, are incorporated into this paper as I introduce and exemplify two tenets of a heart-centered stance: multidimensionality of experience and receptivity to relatedness. This study suggests the possibility of using creative artistic expression and a self-study approach to support the transformation of educators’ perspectives toward research, creative activities, and outreach that are receptive to the mathematical experiences of teachers and students in our local communities.

Engaging Community and Academic Partners to Explore Adolescent Emotional Well-Being.

In an under-resourced area of the South Bay of Los Angeles, partnerships were formed between community advocates with extensive research experience, less experienced academic investigators, and an urban public high school without partnered research experience. This article outlines the process of developing these partnerships through a community-academic research conference addressing a priority area identified by the local community to define and understand the importance and relevance of adolescent emotional well-being. Teen participants from the high school identified support from the community as the most crucial ingredient for achieving adolescent emotional well-being.