A cutting-edge study showcases the emergence of contemporary youth activism in the United States, its benefits to young people, its role in strengthening society, and its powerful social justice implications. At a time when youth are too often dismissed as either empowered consumers or disempowered deviants, it is vital to understand how these young people are pushing back, challenging such constructions, and advancing new possibilities for their institutions and themselves. This book examines the latest developments in the field of contemporary youth activism (CYA) and documents the myriad ways in which youth activists are effecting social change, even as they experience personal change. By taking public, political action on a range of intersecting issues, youth activists are shifting their own developmental pathways, shaping public policy, and shaking up traditional paradigms. Section one of the book offers a historical perspective on youth activism in the United States, followed by a discussion of contemporary examples of CYA for social justice. The second and third sections analyze the individual, institutional, and ideological effects of CYA, arguing that youth activism works to promote change at three levels: self, systems, and in the broader society. Readers will come away with a clearer understanding of the many ways in which today's youth activists are working to reimagine and remake American democracy, reawakening the promise of a multi-issue, progressive movement for social justice.

This book explores the dynamics of political activism within colleges and universities. It critically examines the potential for institutional change towards social justice through the themes of identity development, tactics, and institutional responses, highlighting the possibilities of such efforts. With a focus on colleges and universities, the book examines how political activism can be harnessed to challenge existing power structures and promote equity and inclusivity. It presents a range of research that highlights how students, faculty, and administrators have mobilized for change. Chapters delve into the possibilities and limits of political engagement within higher educational institutions, offering valuable insights for understanding the potential of political activism in catalyzing positive change within colleges and universities. By shedding light on these efforts, the book critically examines the role of education in fostering social justice. Political Activism in Colleges and Universities will be an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners in the fields of education, education policy and leadership, educational research, politics and developmental psychology, while also appealing to anyone interested in the power of collective action to shift policy and practice. This book was originally published as a special issue of Peabody Journal of Education.

This Handbook brings together scholarship from various subfields, disciplinary traditions, and geographic and geopolitical contexts to understand how student voice is operating in different higher education dimensions and contexts around the world. The Handbook helps not only to map the range of student voice practices in college and university settings, but also to identify the common core elements, enabling conditions, constraints, and outcomes associated with student voice work in higher education. It offers a broad understanding of the methodologies, current debates, history, and future of the field, identifying avenues for future research.