Understanding the Social Justice Function of Youth Councils
Assistant Professor Astraea Augsberger and Professor and Associate Dean Mary Collins seek to conduct a study to examine seeks to understand the range of topics youth councils address, youth involvement in the councils, and potential barriers to youth involvement in youth councils in the Boston metropolitan region.
As a component of the study, Augsberger and Collins will complete a detailed case study of the scope, structure and functioning of the Boston Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC). This will include three parts:
- pre- and post-test surveys with current youth council members
- semi-structured interviews with current youth council
members, youth council alumni members and adult stakeholders - observations of the MYC meetings
Student contributors:
Whitney Gecker is an interdisciplinary doctoral student with the School of Social Work and the College of Arts and Sciences in the Sociology Department.
Publications:
Augsberger, A., Collins, M., & *Gecker, W.A. (In press). Engaging youth in municipal government: Moving towards a youth centric practice. Journal of Community Practice.
Augsberger, A., Collins, M., & *Gecker, W.A. (2017). Best practices for youth engagement in municipal government. National Civic Review, 106 (1), 9-16.
Augsberger, A., Collins, M. E.,*Gecker, W.A., & Lusk, K., *Zhao, Q.J. (2017). “She treated us like we bring valid ideas to the table:” Youth experiences of a youth led participatory budgeting process. Children and Youth Services Review.
Augsberger, A., Collins, M., *Gecker, W.A., & *Dougher, M. (2017). Youth civic engagement: Do youth councils reduce or reinforce social inequality? Journal of Adolescent Research.
Collins, Mary Elizabeth; Astraea Augsberger and Whitney Gecker. (2016). Youth Councils in Municipal Government: Examination of Activities, Impact and Barriers. Children and Youth Services Review.
View more projects funded through our Early Stage Urban Research Awards