Ethnic Cultural Features in Organized Activities: Relations to Latino Adolescents’ Activity Experiences and Parental Involvement

Cultural responsiveness is a key aspect of the quality of organized activities, yet has rarely been examined. Based on developmental theories and a theoretical framework for culturally responsive activities, the current study investigated the prevalence and correlates of two ethnic cultural features (i.e., ethnic cultural content & ethnic cultural respect) in organized activities. Using data from 154 Latino adolescents (M_age?=?12.36, SD?=?.53; 59% Female) and parents, we examined associations between adolescent perceptions of both ethnic cultural features and their activity experiences; and associations between parent perceptions of both ethnic cultural features and parental involvement in the activity. Latino adolescents and parents in general perceived lower than average ethnic cultural content and moderate to high ethnic cultural respect in the reported activity. Both adolescents and parents were more likely to perceive ethnic cultural content and respect in activities where Latino youth were the numerical ethnic majority than in activities where Latino youth were the numerical ethnic minority. Latino adolescents’ perceptions of ethnic cultural respect were associated with more positive activity experiences, whereas their perceptions of ethnic cultural content were associated with more negative feelings. Latino parents’ perceptions of ethnic cultural content predicted higher involvement. To design culturally responsive activities, ethnic cultural features should be incorporated in a thoughtful, meaningful way that reflects both adolescents’ and parents’ perspectives.     

The Global Workplace—challenging the race to the bottom

Founded in 1951, War on Want is a UK‐based NGO committed to the alleviation of poverty with strong roots in the labour movement. War on Want's programme on the Global Workplace provides trade unionists with a range of practical skills and knowledge about international development issues. Part of the programme involves a ‘Global Workers' Forum’, which takes grassroots trade union activists from the UK to a similar sector or even a plant owned by the same employer in the South. The aim is to enhance participants' understanding of the impact of globalisation on the industries in which they work, establish relationships that can act as starting points for global action, and encourage participants to spread the message within their own unions. There is also a website which raises awareness of the global economy and encourages activists to make links and undertake joint action. It is essential that now, as never before, trade unionists should work together as an international force to challenge globalisation and fight for the recognition of workers' rights. The Global Workplace suggests that showing global solidarity to workers around the world can help trade unionists rise to this challenge.     

Youth Participation in Organized and Informal Sports Activities Across Childhood and Adolescence: Exploring the Relationships of Motivational Beliefs,Developmental Stage and Gender

Involvement in physically active pursuits, such as sports, contributes to achieving and maintaining good emotional and physical health. The central goal of this article was to examine the longitudinal relationships between participation (i.e., time spent in the activities) in organized and informal sports contexts and motivational beliefs, and factors that might impact these relationships, such as developmental stage and gender. The data for the current study were drawn from the childhood and beyond longitudinal study, which utilized a cohort sequential design with data collected on three cohorts across four waves. The current study sample included 986 European American youth (51 % female), who t were mostly from working- and middle-class families. Self-report questionnaires were used to collect data from the youth about their participation in sports and their motivational beliefs (i.e., value and perceptions of competence) about this activity. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between participation and motivational beliefs across childhood and adolescence. The results provide some support for a model of reciprocal relationships between participation and motivational beliefs in organized and informal sports activities. These relationships between participation and motivational beliefs did not vary significantly based on developmental stage or by gender. Overall, the findings suggest that participation in organized and informal sports contexts may be fostered by supporting the development of positive motivational beliefs about the activities across developmental periods.     

Participating in Sport and Music Activities in Adolescence: The Role of Activity Participation and Motivational Beliefs During Elementary School

This investigation examined the precursors of adolescents’ participation in sport and music activities in the United States by testing a developmental model across 7 years. Data were drawn from youth questionnaires in the Childhood and Beyond Study (92% European American; N = 594). Findings suggest that patterns of participation across a 3-year period in elementary school predict adolescents’ participation through their motivational beliefs. Specifically, children who participated in an activity, children who participated consistently across multiple years, and children who were highly active had higher adolescent motivational beliefs 4 years later than their peers. These motivational beliefs, in turn, positively predicted adolescents’ participation 1 year later. Cross-domain analyses suggest that children typically maintain their orientation toward sports and music (e.g., high music-low sport orientation, not oriented toward either domain) as they age. These findings highlight the consistency in children’s leisure pursuits and interests from childhood through adolescence.     

Developmental Trajectories of Science Identity Beliefs: Within-Group Differences among Black,Latinx, Asian,and White Students

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Though adolescents’ science identity beliefs predict positive STEM outcomes, researchers have yet to examine developmental differences within racial/ethnic...