Youth Civic Development : Work at the Cutting Edge

• It is rooted in the realities of young people’s everyday lives.
• It is collectively constructed.
• It raises questions about the principles, values, and relationships that bind people together in societies.
• It raises questions about power and justice.

Youth civic development pushes the field to focus on the social issues with which younger generations are grappling and the identities they are constructing—issues that also are shaped by structural inequalities and by the collective actions of youth. The volume builds on themes of agency and assets from the field of positive youth development and points to ways that the critical analysis and engagement of young people in their society can contribute to social change.

This is the 134th volume in this series. Its mission is to provide scientific and scholarly presentations on cutting edge issues and concepts in child and adolescent development. Each volume focuses on a specific new direction or research topic and is edited by experts on that topic.

Constance A. Flanagan is the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology Vaughan Bascom Professor in Women, Family and Community. Brian D. Christens is Associate Professor of Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt University. He studies processes that enhance people's and organizations' ability to take action to alter power structures and benefit their communities.