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Background: Pedagogical approaches that support young people's well‐being and maximize their potential are among the Journal of School Health research priorities. A unique form of observational learning called biblioguidance could be a pedagogical approach. Methods: We, a team of researchers and teachers, implemented biblioguidance book clubs with 10th‐grade health education students. While the initial focus was health literacy skills, we also aimed to generate psychosocial benefits. Those benefits are the focus of the current descriptive phenomenological research. A final book club reflection captured the benefits students received and documented their transformation. We randomly selected 42 reflections from the sample pool (n = 168) and coded them via descriptive document analysis. Results: The results indicate that the book clubs provided psychosocial benefits. Students identified with the stories and characters, gained insight into others' perspectives, lived experiences, and "ways of the world," and were, in many ways, transformed. Some students even experienced catharsis, citing hope, validation, and feeling less alone. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: Biblioguidance book clubs could offer an innovative pedagogical approach to advance students' psychosocial well‐being and engage them as active participants in their own learning and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching the components of health advocacy is straightforward, but fostering young people's self-efficacy to be health advocates for themselves, others, and their community is more complex. This complexity sometimes renders advocating for health, the basis of National Health Education Standard (NHES) #8, challenging to teach. We utilized a pedagogical approach called biblioguidance to teach this skill to 10th-grade students. The premise of biblioguidance, also called bibliotherapy, is that information, guidance, and even solace can be found through reading and vicariously living story events. To implement this approach, we consulted the literature and created a six-step framework to guide the design, development, and evaluation of a health advocacy curriculum, including young adult novels, guided reading prompts, electronic journals, and small group discussions. Our pre/post-assessment, rooted in NHES #8, evaluated the impact on students' (N = 168) self-efficacy to health advocate for themselves, others, and the community. Results revealed a significant change (p <.001), particularly in advocating for community health. Further, the teachers found that the curriculum facilitated the discussion of health-related topics in subsequent units. We will continue using the curriculum but expand it to include opportunities for authentic application and qualitative data evaluation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited health literacy disproportionately affects those with limited English proficiency (LEP). Parents with LEP might rely on their adolescent children to interpret health information. We call this "adolescent healthcare brokering." This study uncovers the prevalence of brokering, kinds of tasks, emotional and academic impact, and desired support. Methods: We invited 165 students from health classes (in a community in which 29.8% are foreign-born and 53.4% speak another language at home) to complete a survey. We used IBM SPSS to calculate descriptive statistics. Results: Of the 159 who received parental consent and assented, 54.1% (N = 86) assist with healthcare tasks. When brokering, 80.2% (N = 69) translate. Most common tasks were talking to a doctor, reading prescriptions, and searching on the Internet. Participants were most confident reading prescriptions and talking to a doctor and least confident finding healthcare services. Among brokers, 29.1% (N = 24) missed school; 33.7% did not complete homework. They most wanted to learn about filling out insurance forms and talking to doctors. Conclusions: Despite assurances that children are not permitted to interpret, adolescents are acting as healthcare brokers. The impact can be academic and emotional. Findings indicate a need for further research and support for adolescents who want to learn about healthcare tasks.

The inauguration of the United States first Black President has prompted mass discussions of race relations in America. It is often articulated that America is now in a post-racial society. [...]

Research on political representation demonstrates that the presence of historically underrepresented groups in political office (descriptive representation) can have not only a substantive impact on policies and procedures but also a symbolic impact that changes the attitudes and even behavior of those groups. The dynamics of group identity and its significance for representation, however, are complicated. Individuals often hold multiple identities, and the meanings attached to those identities may vary in relation to each other and to the particular political context. In this article, we provide an intersectional analysis of two minoritized ethno-racial groups, African Americans and Latinos/as. Using data from the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey, we explore the extent to which shared identity matters for perceptions of representation. Our findings demonstrate that while shared identity does influence perceptions of representation, the impact varies in complicated ways that are simultaneously raced and gendered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars of gender and race have long acknowledged the importance that descriptive representation plays for marginalized groups, if not substantively than symbolically. Yet, as candidate pools diversify to better reflect the population, it becomes less clear which among intersecting and overlapping identities will matter and how. Employing data from the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey, we explore the association between minority voters' sense of linked fate and their beliefs about candidates who share (or do not share) their gender and racial identities. Using this timely and unique data, collected immediately after the 2016 election when race and gender were of particular salience, we examine whether shared racial and gender identity is associated with Black and Latina/o voters' beliefs about how well different candidates will represent their interests. We conclude by discussing the implications of our research for the changing face of American political candidates and voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the role that emotion plays in understanding people's reactions to the presidential candidates during two of the three general election debates between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. To measure the impact of emotions on people's attitudes toward the candidates, we run studies at two large public universities. We are able to measure changes in attitudes and responses to the candidates after exposure to each debate. In addition, we explore real-time reaction to the candidates by employing facial expression software to assess people's emotional responses during the debate. We show that people who watched the first and third presidential debate are much more likely to change their evaluations of the presidential rivals, compared to people who did not view these debates. We also show that people's displays of emotion are related to their willingness to change their views of the candidates. For example, when people are displaying anger and joy, they are less likely to change their evaluations of the presidential candidates during the course of the debate. Furthermore, we find that when people show fear and sadness, their views of the candidates become less polarized over the length of the debates. These results show how different emotions influence the candidate evaluation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, we place Black women's electoral challenges and opportunities in context. We situate this year of "Black Women Candidates" as an anomaly, but one that has been a long in the making. We also point to the appeal of Black women lawmakers among voters to mirror Alberder Gillespie's claims in this epigraph. We note that Black women have long been the backbone of the Democratic Party and are willing to use their clout for their own political means. Furthermore, given the unique ways that Black women represent their constituents, an influx of Black women into governing bodies may have a substantial, lasting impact on policy-making. We conclude with insights from our own research and that of other scholars on Black women to demonstrate future avenues of scholarly research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]