Amplifying Youth Voices through Critical Literacy and Positive Youth Development The Potential of University-Community Partnerships Routledge Research in Literacy Education Series

This book explores the transformative power of critical literacy in fostering youth engagement through university-community partnerships. It is based on a four-year study by The Literacy and Community Initiative (LCI) at North Carolina State University.

The book examines the potential, possibilities, and challenges of using critical literacy in university-community partnerships to amplify youth voices. Through the LCI program, youth in four community-based organizations completed a critical literacy curriculum, published their writings in a book, and participated in public readings to engage and lead their communities. The authors draw on data from semi-structured individual interviews, focus groups, youth narratives, and socio-emotional surveys across four unique youth populations. The youth populations involved collaborations with youth of color in urban communities, Latinx immigrant and second-generation youth, girls in foster care and high-risk situations, and youth from immigrant and refugee backgrounds. Results of the study suggest that after engaging in the LCI critical literacy program, youth demonstrated improved literacy skills, enhanced social-emotional well-being, and increased community leadership and self-advocacy. Presenting a novel theoretical framework for the effective use of critical literacy to promote positive youth development in conjunction with first-hand insights into the successful development and sustainment of university-community research partnerships, it ultimately provides a unique insight into how critical literacy and successful university-community partnerships can combine to result in powerful support for underserved culturally and linguistically diverse youth.

This book will appeal to scholars, educators, and practitioners with interests in critical literacy, positive youth development studies, and adolescent research.

Introduction: The Literacy and Community Initiative Project: Integrating Critical Literacy, Youth Development, and Community Partnerships 1. The Transformative Power of Critical Literacy for Positive Youth Development 2. Community Partnerships and Contexts as Sites for Literacy and Societal Change 3. Co-Partnering Successfully with Community-Based Organizations 4. Critical Literacy and Social-Emotional Development with Adolescent Girls 5. Critical Literacy and Future-Making Among Youth in Urban Communities 6. Critical Literacy, Advocacy, and Leadership Among Latine Immigrant Youth 7. Critical Literacy for Social Change with Youth from Refugee Backgrounds 8. Advancing the Possibilities for Amplifying Youth Voices

Crystal Chen Lee, Ed.D. is Associate Professor of English Education at North Carolina State University, USA. She is the founding director of The Literacy and Community Initiative.

Jose Picart, Ph.D. is Professor of Counseling Education and Deputy Director of the William and Ida Friday Institute for Education Innovation at North Carolina State University, USA. He is the co-founding director of The Literacy and Community Initiative.

Jennifer C. Mann, Ph.D. is an Education Research Scientist at the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University, USA.