Negotiating Among Opportunity and Constraint: The Participation of Young People in Out-of-School-Time Activities

Out-of-school opportunities -- such as arts and music programs, sports teams, community service and youth entrepreneurship opportunities -- are increasingly seen as potentially powerful tools to promote positive youth development and to prevent problematic behaviors. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with 99 students in 10th grade in four Chicago Public Schools, this Chapin Hall report explores young people's perspectives on their use of out-of-school time and the influences, barriers, contexts, and processes that contribute to their choices and experiences. The report investigates how young people learn about and choose to get involved in different kinds of out-of-school opportunities and the influence that family members, peers, and non-family adults have on their thinking and decision making. It also explores the relationship between young people's participation in out-of-school programs and their interests, aspirations, and assessments of the kinds of opportunities and barriers found within their families, schools and neighborhoods. Finally, it offers conclusions and recommendations about how to improve opportunities for young people based on the insights provided by them, including specific suggestions about approaches to outreach, access, ongoing engagement and program provision

Cultural Transmission of Work-Welfare Attitudes and the Intergenerational Correlation in Welfare Receipt

This paper considers the potential for the cultural transmission of attitudes toward work, welfare, and individual responsibility to explain the intergenerational correlation in welfare receipt. Specifically, we investigate whether 18-year olds' views about social benefits and the drivers of social inequality depend on their families' welfare histories. We begin by incorporating welfare receipt into a theoretical model of the cultural transmission of work-welfare attitudes across generations. Consistent with the predictions of our model, we find that young people's attitudes towards work and welfare are shaped by socialization within their families. Young people are more likely to oppose generous social benefits and adopt an internal view of social inequality if their mothers support these views, if their mothers were employed while they were growing up, and if their families never received welfare. These results are consistent with − though do not definitively establish − the existence of an intergenerational welfare culture.cultural transmission, attitudes, intergenerational welfare receipt

Cultural Transmission of Work-Welfare Attitudes and the Intergenerational Correlation in Welfare Receipt

This paper considers the potential for the cultural transmission of attitudes toward work, welfare, and individual responsibility to explain the intergenerational correlation in welfare receipt. Specifically, we investigate whether 18-year olds’ views about social benefits and the drivers of social inequality depend on their families’ welfare histories. We begin by incorporating welfare receipt into a theoretical model of the cultural transmission of work-welfare attitudes across generations. Consistent with the predictions of our model, we find that young people’s attitudes towards work and welfare are shaped by socialization within their families. Young people are more likely to oppose generous social benefits and adopt an internal view of social inequality if their mothers support these views, if their mothers were employed while they were growing up, and if their families never received welfare. These results are consistent with —though do not definitively establish— the existence of an intergenerational welfare culture.cultural transmission; attitudes; intergenerational welfare receipt

Cultural Transmission of Work-Welfare Attitudes and the Intergenerational Correlation in Welfare Receipt

This paper considers the potential for the cultural transmission of attitudes toward work, welfare, and individual responsibility to explain the intergenerational correlation in welfare receipt. Specifically, we investigate whether 18-year olds’ views about social benefits and the drivers of social inequality depend on their families’ welfare histories. We begin by incorporating welfare receipt into a theoretical model of the cultural transmission of work-welfare attitudes across generations. Consistent with the predictions of our model, we find that young people’s attitudes towards work and welfare are shaped by socialization within their families. Young people are more likely to oppose generous social benefits and adopt an internal view of social inequality if their mothers support these views, if their mothers were employed while they were growing up, and if their families never received welfare. These results are consistent with —though do not definitively establish— the existence of an intergenerational welfare culture.cultural transmission, attitudes, intergenerational welfare receipt

Is There an Impact of Household Computer Ownership on Childrens Educational Attainment in Britain?

If personal computers (PCs) are used to enhance learning and information gathering across avariety of subjects, then a home computer might reasonably be considered an input in aneducational production function. Using data on British youths from the British HouseholdPanel Survey between 1991 and 2001, this paper attempts to explore the link betweenownership of a home computer at ages 15 and 17 and subsequent educational attainment inthe principal British school examinations taken at ages 16 (GCSEs) and 18 (A levels). Thedata show a significant positive associatio n between PC ownership and both the number ofGCSEs obtained and the probability of passing five or more GCSEs. These results survive aset of individual, household, and area controls, including using other household durables and\"future\" PC ownership as proxies for household wealth and other unobservable householdlevel effects. Home computer ownership is also associated with a significant increase in theprobability of passing at least one A level conditional on having passed five and increase inthe probability of successfully completing three or more A levels, conditional on havingpassed at least one A level.Human capital, Economic Impact, Personal Computers

Adolescents\u27 Attitudes and Perceptions Towards Their Grandparents

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of youth toward each of their individual grandparents. The subjects were students ranging in age from 12-19 years with the majority being between 14-17 years of age. These students were enrolled in a release time religious class that allowed them one hour a day off campus to take a seminary course. The sample of data consisted of 148 girls and 108 boys, which was approximately 25% of the high school population. The youth were from a small northern Utah community. The average age of the youth respondents was 16.2 years. This group of youth came from intact families with 90.1% who lived in a family where father and mother were together. The questionnaire consisted of 35 questions of which 16 questions were used to develop an attitude scale used to answer 10 research questions. Younger adolescents (age 12-14 years) had a better attitude toward grandparents than older adolescents (age 17-19 years). Evidence supported previous literature that male youth were emotionally closer than females to their grandfathers. However, no significance was found to support previous literature that female youth are closer to grandmothers. Overall, adolescents reported feeling emotionally closer to maternal grandparents. The favored grandparent was the maternal grandmother. Paternal grandfathers with a higher education level were looked upon more favorably by the youth. Youth attitudes toward maternal grandfathers were significantly less positive when the grandfathers were described as often sick and activity slowed by sickness or age. When the youth responded favorably towards one grandparent, the spouse of the grandparent was also given a favorable response. The youth seemed to have a positive overall attitude towards grandparents; however, when it comes to being disciplined by their grandparents, most youth expressed uncertainty to the question, Should my grandparents discipline me? The social science computer package (SPSS) was used to analyze the data and reach the above mentioned conclusions

Intergenerational Transfers and Household Structure. Why Do Most Italian Youths Live With Their Parents?

85 percent of Italian men aged 18-33 live with their parents. We argue that Italian parents like to live with their children and a rise in their income makes it possible for them to offer their children higher consumption in exchange for their presence at home. Children prefer to live on their own but are willing to exchange some independence for extra consumption. We formalize this intuition with a bargaining model between parents and children. We test the predictions of the model by estimating the effect of parental income on the probability that children live with their parents. The key econometric issue is the endogeneity of parental income. In order to identify the causal effect of parental income on children's living arrangements we use changes in parents' retirement age induced by the 1992 reform of the Italian social security as an instrument for parental income. By raising retirement age, this reform forced some fathers to remain in the labor market longer than the cohort immediately preceding them, therefore raising their income. Our instrumental variable estimates indicate that a rise in parents' income significantly raises the children's propensity to live at home: a $500 increase in annual parental income results in a 3 to 3.5 percentage point rise in the proportion of children living with their parents.Family structure, Living Arrangements, Two-Sample IV

Parental perceptions of neighborhood effects in Latino comunas: the script of "the delinquent" in understanding drug use, violence, and social disorganization

OBJECTIVES: To obtain rich information about how adult Latinos living in high-poverty/high-drug use neighborhoods perceive and negotiate their environment. METHODS: In 2008, thirteen adult caregivers in Santiago, Chile were interviewed with open-ended questions to ascertain beliefs about neighborhood effects and drug use. ANALYSIS: Inductive analysis was used to develop the codebook/identify trends. DISCUSSION: Residents externalized their understanding of drug use and misuse by invoking the concept of delinquent youth. A typology of their perceptions is offered. Learning more about residents’ circumstances may help focus on needs-based interventions. More research with Latino neighborhoods is needed for culturally-competent models of interventions.The present study received support from National Hispanic Science Network Fellows Summer grant awarded to the lead author. The study was also partially supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01:DA021181) and the Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Research and Training Center, University of Michigan. (National Hispanic Science Network; R01:DA021181 - National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse; Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Research and Training Center, University of Michigan

Modeling Elementary Students\u27 Computer Science Outcomes With In-School and Out-of-School Factors

This two-paper dissertation explores factors influencing the attitudes of Grade 5 students who are learning computer science (CS) in schools. It statistically examines the effects of out and in-school factors on students’ attitudes toward computing. The first paper of this dissertation examines the influence of parental support as perceived by the students on their interest and their self-assessed ability to engage in computer programming, thus underscoring the crucial role of parental support on learners’ attitudes. It also investigates how involving families in CS activities by sending a CS-themed board game influences students’ interest. The study finds that perceptions of parental support positively influence students’ interest and their self-assessed ability to engage in computer programming. It also finds that sending CS artifacts home can significantly mediate the influence of parental support on students’ interest in programming. The second paper focuses on developing reliable measurements of students’ perceptions of mathematics and CS-integrated instructional activities. These measures are called exit tickets and are used to collect immediate student responses relating to their experiences after instructional activities. Building on prior research, this paper statistically examines whether students’ exit ticket responses predict self-assessed ability, interest, and identification with CS. Results show that perceived enjoyment reported on exit tickets significantly predicts self-assessed ability, interest, and identification with CS. Perceived ease also significantly predicts self-assessed ability. The remaining correlations between exit ticket measures and post-survey measures are not significant. The findings suggest that student exit tickets are effective tools to gauge engagement and correlate with student attitudes toward computing. Specifically, students who report finding the lesson enjoyable and easy are more likely to express a positive attitude toward programming. This suggests that brief exit ticket surveys could serve as effective indicators of student engagement, potentially replacing longer surveys. Identifying the factors that shape students’ attitudes toward CS provides valuable insights into the design of instructional methods, curricula, and family engagement strategies. Such initiatives can foster a positive attitude among young learners towards CS, significantly contributing to shaping their beliefs and challenging stereotypes associated with computing

Examining the Role of Interpersonal and Societal Mattering in the Health and Wellbeing of Rural Adolescents

The Theory of Marginality and Mattering (TMM; Schlossberg, 1989) posits that when individuals feel as though they matter to others and to society, it enables them to engage in prosocial behavior that provides a personally and socially rewarding path through life. It is also expected to help them avoid engaging in risk behaviors (e.g., substance use, non-violent delinquency, aggression) that would threaten a rewarding life. Mattering provides individuals with motivation to behave in certain ways (Rosenberg & McCullough, 1981). In fact, researchers show that youth with higher perceptions of mattering are less likely to engage in risky behavior (Elliot, Cunningham, Colangelor, & Gelles, 2011), however, important gaps in the literature remain. For instance, few researchers have studied mattering among rural youth. Additionally, researchers studying mattering have focused exclusively on interpersonal mattering and have not studied societal mattering. In fact, no well-validated scale for measuring societal mattering among youth currently exists. Also, most researchers have examined mattering as a predictor, but few researchers have studied interpersonal and societal mattering as outcomes. Finally, few researchers have examined the process through which interpersonal and societal mattering influence youth risk behavior. This proposed dissertation seeks to fill these gaps in the literature. The aims of this dissertation are to: 1) develop and test the psychometric properties of a societal mattering scale for rural youth, 2) explore how perceptions of factors at the community, school, peer, and family levels affect rural youths' feelings of interpersonal and societal mattering, and 3) test a mediation model that links interpersonal mattering to youth risk behaviors through self-regulation and societal mattering through civic engagement.PHDHealth Behavior & Health EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145851/1/carissaj_1.pd