Urban Youth Scholars: Cultivating Critical Global Leadership Development through Youth-Led Justice-Oriented Research

Educational researchers and practitioners have cited the need for new directions in youth leadership studies as it relates to globalization. Globalization is considered one of the most important economic, cultural, and social trends of the last century, yet there is much debate about the educational curricula that best support the development of global leadership in youth. Most existing global-focused programs (i.e. IB/AP) engender grave inequities in access and opportunities, particularly for urban youth, and do not often allow youth to critically interrogate the myriad injustices that plague the world. There is, however, a burgeoning body of scholarship centered on critical youth studies as a transformative process for youth development. This phenomenological case study shares the findings from the Urban Youth Scholars program, an after-school program focused on cultivating the global leadership development of five youth in the program. This study utilized a Social Justice Youth Development framework to explore the development of the youth’s self, social/community, and global awareness through critical consciousness building and critical social analysis. Findings depict youth perceptions of global leadership development and include implications for scholars and practitioners for centering youth-led justice-oriented research as a tool for global leadership development.