This issue recognizes the critical importance in guiding young people toward mature decision making in the arena of ethics and explores ways in which that guidance can take shape. Through surveys, observation, and interviews, chapter authors have designed activities geared to reshape the way youngsters and others think about right and wrong. Studies of teen-oriented chatroom scripts and other online communities highlight the growing trend of adolescents who seem to dwell more online than in their own neighborhoods. Traditional activities such as sports, out-of-class time, political and community engagement are also examined as sources of social and emotional development. This issue is the 108th volume in the quarterly report series New Directions for Youth Development. It is a collaboration between New Directions for Youth Development and the National AfterSchool Association. Click here to view the entire catalog of New Directions for Youth Development titles.

This book begins with one of the finest concise introductions to ethical systems ever written for general audiences. The engaging and readable text is enriched with anecdotes and step-by-step exercises that reinforce the strategies of each chapter.

The Handbook of Moral and Character Education offers a definitive, state-of-the-art synthesis of leading scholarship in moral and character education. A subject of international interest and the focus of numerous governmental curricular mandates, the moral development and character formation of students are increasingly recognized as an essential component of a well-rounded schooling experience. This comprehensive volume explores the philosophical, psychological, and educational issues that define the field; links robust theoretical and empirical foundations to effective classroom practice; highlights implications for civic engagement and social justice; and follows the lessons learned from moral and character education into contexts outside of schools. Fully revised and updated, this third edition features a refreshed research base, coverage of digital pedagogies, out-of-school programs, and informal learning, and discussions about the role of reason, emotion, cultural processes, and citizenship/democracy in education. Further, the book’s substantive emphasis on diversity and equity in the field results in greater racial, ethnic, and geographic representation among contributing authors, inclusion of historically marginalized school communities and student identities, and coverage of practices such as transformative social and emotional learning (SEL), restorative justice, and education for environmental sustainability.

Teens in America’s inner cities grow up and construct identities amidst a landscape of relationships and violence, support and discrimination, games and gangs. In such contexts, local environments such as after-school programs may help youth to mediate between social stereotypes and daily experience, or provide space for them to consider themselves as contributing members of a community. Based on four years of field work with both the adolescent members and staff of an inner-city youth organization in a large Midwestern city, Pride in the Projects examines the construction of identity as it occurs within this local context, emphasizing the relationships within which identities are formed. Drawing on research in psychology, sociology, education, and race and gender studies, the volume highlights the inadequacies in current identity development theories, expanding our understanding of the lives of urban teens and the ways in which interpersonal connections serve as powerful contexts for self-construction. The adolescents’ stories illuminate how they find ways to discover who they are, and who they would like to be — in positive and healthy ways — in the face of very real obstacles. The book closes with implications for practice, alerting scholars, educators, practitioners, and concerned citizens of the positive developmental possibilities inherent in youth settings when we pay attention to the voices of youth.

Dealing with poor behaviour is exhausting and stressful. But it doesn’t have to be! Some teachers keep their students in line with apparent ease. They defuse tricky situations with discreet words and almost imperceptible gestures. They extract work from the most reticent students. Yet even experienced teachers are not immune to the impact of bad behaviour on both the classroom environment and their own well-being. In this exciting new book, bestselling author Mark Roberts shares the secrets of how behaviour whispering can improve 100 common classroom problems, from the student who is always late to the class that is unsettled by a wasp. Divided into two sections, Part A features 80 common behaviour scenarios that teachers are likely to encounter. Roberts reframes ineffective responses to these scenarios by using language that helps students feel supported, and helps you succeed in regaining control of the situation. Part B introduces 20 non-verbal forms of communication that can be used in a variety of behaviour situations to manage the problem without singling out a troublesome or unfocused student. Each of the 100 scenarios featured in the book is accompanied by an illustration and an explanation of why this phrase or gesture works. Practical next steps follow at the end of every scenario, giving further suggestions on how to maintain good behaviour. Providing unrivalled insight into the importance of communication and the psychology that underpins it, the book breaks behaviour down to a granular level, offering tried and trusted responses to virtually every conceivable classroom behaviour scenario at primary and secondary levels.

This book explores young people’s civic experiences in contemporary American society, and how they navigate the political world in an era defined by digital media. Drawing on the experiences of young people before they have reached voting age, the book provides vital perspectives on citizenship and civic engagement of a part of the population that is often overlooked. The author engages with the tensions young people encounter in their everyday personal and civic lives, particularly in their understanding and experience of civic identity in ways that are shaped by society’s (mis)perceptions of youth. The book introduces a new framework of civic identity that has been directly informed by the lived civic experiences of young people themselves. The findings will be of great interest to researchers and students working in political science, sociology, youth studies, education studies, and media studies, as well as policy-makers, practitioners, and parents of young people.

How to restore integrity so that social values can be upheld and family welfare strengthened.