Chapter 10: Shaping Youth’s Identity through Student-Driven Research

We propose that adults working with youth in school and community contexts consider the ways in which youth’s identities are impacted by the settings we create in classrooms, extra-curricular academic programs and social clubs, community programs, and various youth development projects, for example. Opportunities and activities important to improving youth’s future prospects in the adult world must engage youth in meaningful content connected to how youth see themselves (Nasir & Hand, 2008; Yonezawa, Jones & Joselowsky, 2009). Settings organized purposefully to elevate and expand how youth see their life prospects and future possibilities set the stage for engaged learning and social development (Newmann, 1992).