Although developmental science has always been evolving, these times of fast-paced and profound social and scientific changes easily lead to disorienting fragmentation rather than coherent scientific advances. What directions should developmental science pursue to meaningfully address real-world problems that impact human development throughout the lifespan? What conceptual or policy shifts are needed to steer the field in these directions? The present manifesto is proposed by a group of scholars from various disciplines and perspectives within developmental science to spark conversations and action plans in response to these questions. After highlighting four critical content domains that merit concentrated and often urgent research efforts, two issues regarding "how" we do developmental science and "what for" are outlined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article considers how the global "academic pipeline problem" constrains immigrant, low-income, and ethnic minority students' pathways to higher education, and how some students build pathways to college and career identities. After aligning theories of social capital, alienation/belonging, and challenge and their integration in Bridging Multiple Worlds Theory, we summarize six longitudinal studies based on this theory from a 23-year university-community partnership serving low-income, primarily U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hispanic High Educ
October 2009
To consider how interdisciplinary P-20 partnerships increase college-going rates among Chicano/Latino youth, the authors highlight evidence from the Educational Partnership Center (EPC) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, a P-20 partnership that builds academic achievement and college and career pathways. Three elements advance EPC effectiveness: collaborative governance structures sustaining shared vision, mission, and goals; innovating with data-driven decision-making; and complementary theories aligning goals from childhood through college to careers. Three studies, guided by these theories, illuminate such effectiveness.
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