ABSTRACT

Recent years have witnessed increased marginalization of youth from participation in the public realm. Even in institutions created to “develop” youth, young people often face ambivalence from adults about their ability to participate in real-world decision making and action (Costello, Toles, Spielberger, & Wynn, 2000). Youth in urban contexts are further marginalized as rising poverty and inequality, increased isolation, and policies that view youth as objects rather than collective agents of community change decrease support from communities and public institutions and limit youth's opportunities to impact the world around them (Hart & Atkins, 2002; Hart, Daiute, & Iltus, 1997). Urban schools, for example, with an emphasis on hierarchical control and order, limited conceptions of citizenship, and “high-stakes” accountability policies often fail to provide empowering civic learning (Berman, 1997; Conover & Searing, 2000; Flanagan & Faison, 2001; Youniss, Bales, Christmas Best, Diversi, McLaughlin, & Silbereisen, 2002). Similarly, service learning programs have been criticized for their inattention to issues of social justice and the inability to engage urban youth (Tolman & Pittman, 2001) or support them in addressing deep-seated problems in urban comunities (Boyte, 1991).