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Introduction: Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is an approach to conducting research with youth populations in order to effectively engage youth in research that impacts their lives. Young people experiencing homelessness (YEH) are vulnerable to power and social environments in ways that call attention to their experiences in research., Methods: The context for this paper was a qualitative YPAR project to incorporate youth voice into the operations of a larger research study that hired youth as researchers. Participant-researchers provided feedback and consultation with senior staff in order to improve their access to resources, safety, and stability., Results: Themes that emerged from thematic analysis of reflections, discussions, and meetings showed the need for consistent access to food, the risk of environmental violence targeting youth researchers, the structural and experiential barriers to professional engagement, and the benefits that young researchers experienced as part of their work in the study., Discussion: Recommendations and lessons learned are described, notably to ensure that youth are paid and provided food, to construct effective safety plans during fieldwork, and to provide a flexible, inclusive, trauma-responsive approach to supervision of project tasks., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ratliff, Cosgrove, Yang, Sarabia, Harvey, Jeffcoat, Lightfoot, Adams, Lund and Auerswald.)

Purpose: School discipline reformers have presumed that such work is largely a technical task, emphasizing discrete changes to discipline policies and protocols. Yet prior theory and research suggest that emphasizing technical changes may overlook additional and important aspects of reform, namely, the normative and political dimensions within which technical aspects are embedded. Although this earlier work appears relevant to contemporary school discipline reform, the extent to which this theory extends to school discipline remains unestablished. The purpose of this article is to show how this earlier line of theory extends to the topic of school discipline. Method: We draw on data collected as part of a qualitative study in which we conducted semistructured interviews and focus groups with 198 educators from 33 public schools on the topic of school discipline. We applied an equity-minded reform theory to examine technical, normative, and political dimensions of school discipline. Findings and Implications: We found the technical dimension of school discipline was characterized by educators' strategic use of school resources and capacity building; normative conditions that supported conflict prevention and increased responsibility; and political dynamics in which administrators shifted power to encourage more inclusive discipline strategies. Furthermore, using this model illuminated interrelationships between dimensions, suggesting that unidimensional models--and their related reforms--may overlook nuances of this important reform issue. This theoretical extension provides a more holistic conceptualization than currently used in reform efforts, contributes to earlier lines of scholarship, and opens up new avenues of future inquiry.

Head Start is a preschool program for families with low incomes and nearly 85% of child welfare-involved families are low-income, yet little is known about Head Start and child welfare collaboration. This study uses data from 28 Head Start directors to describe collaboration facilitators and barriers, and collaborative mechanisms in place. The mixed-methods study used data from a statewide survey and focus groups. Quantitative analysis used descriptive means and proportions. Qualitative analysis used a general inductive approach. Results show that nearly all Head Start programs prioritise enrollment for child welfare-involved children and know about foster care placement, but lack memoranda of understanding (50%), co-located staff (14%) and policies concerning joint service planning (9%). Directors report that Head Start staff need more support, including making referrals to child welfare. Cross-training, shared case planning, and streamlined processes could help move the organisations further along the developmental continuum of collaboration.

Summary: This qualitative study explored the educational needs and experiences of 27 adults who were between the ages of 30 and 50 but emancipated from foster care as youth. This study employed an interpretive phenomenological approach to understanding the narratives of the participants to gain deeper insight into the supports and barriers in obtaining a post-secondary education. Findings: Key findings from this study are that the majority of emancipated youth desire to obtain a post-secondary education but developmental difficulties such as an incomplete transition into emerging adulthood, lack of knowledge about post-secondary education, and lack of financial resources prevent matriculation into higher education. However, later in life, many emancipated youths are able to return to a post-secondary institution and graduate with a bachelor's degree or higher. The primary supportive factor is a positive relationship and additional developmental maturity afforded by time. Applications: Implications of these findings are that those serving emancipating youth need to employ a developmental biopsychosocial perspective in assisting these youth. Both ensuring their healthy development and maturation but also helping to remove logistical barriers to ensure the ability of these youth to obtain a post-secondary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable progress that organizations have made during the past 20 years to increase the representation of women at board level, they still hold few board seats. Drawing on a qualitative study involving 30 companies with women directors in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ghana, we investigate how the relationship between gender in the boardroom and corporate governance operates. The findings indicate that the presence of a minority of women on the board has an insignificant effect on board performance. Yet the chairperson's role is vital in leading the change for recruiting and evaluating candidates and their commitment to the board with diversity and governance in mind. Our study also sheds light on the multifaceted reasons why women directors appear to be resisting the discourse of gender quotas. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study identified nonpunitive and nonexclusionary discipline strategies used in schools with low out-of-school suspension rates. Interviews and focus groups with 198 educators from 33 low-suspending schools in a large urban district were conducted to learn more about the approaches that were essential to their school's success. Data were analyzed with inductive and deductive approaches to identify themes regarding efficacious approaches across schools. Relationship building was noted as a key strategy in reducing exclusionary discipline outcomes and racial disparities in out-of-school suspension. Specific relationship-building strategies and the rationales behind these practices are described, including home visits, greetings, morning meetings, advisory periods, increased adult visibility in and out of school, and positive contact with families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people experiencing homelessness (YEH) interact with, and are reliant on, multiple social systems in their daily efforts to meet their basic needs. Criminalization of homelessness contributes to victimization, and social service providers can act as gatekeepers for access to services, yet little is known about how criminalization and social service policies impact access to food, housing, and other basic needs resources. This study aimed to explore how YEH access safety and basic needs resources and how they interface with social systems and systems agents while attempting to meet their basic needs. Forty-five YEH participated in youth-led interviews across San Francisco. We conducted a qualitative Youth Participatory Action Research study utilizing Participatory Photo Mapping to interview YEH on their experiences of violence, safety, and accessing basic needs. A grounded theory analysis identified patterns of youth victimization and barriers to meeting their basic needs. Analysis revealed the role of decision-making power of authority figures (e.g., social service providers, law enforcement officers, other gatekeepers) in enacting or preventing structural violence against YEH. When authority figures utilized their discretionary power to allow access to services, YEH were able to meet their basic needs. Discretionary power enacted to limit movement, prevent access, or cause physical harm limited the ability of YEH to meet their basic needs. The discretionary power of authority figures can contribute to structural violence when their discretion is used to interpret laws and policies in ways that prevent access to limited basic needs resources for YEH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]