(Re)Defining Support: Exploring Urban Adolescents’ Constructions of Support in the Context of School

• In Event: Coconstructing Positive Educational Outcomes for Youth

Abstract

Student support systems have become a permanent structure in most U.S. public schools, responsible for ensuring equal access to support services. Unfortunately, little is known about how adolescents make meaning of school-based support. This paper investigates how adolescents conceptualize support in the context of school. To answer this question, I explore how urban adolescents in a small, Northeastern city talk about support, paying close attention to the cultural narratives that underlie their conceptions. Analyzing interview and focus group data, I argue that participants are both drawing on dominant adult narratives of support and actively resisting these adult narratives. Findings suggest that adolescent support providers would benefit from better understanding the cultural and contextual narratives underlying youth conceptions of support.

Author

• Gretchen A. Brion-Meisels, Harvard University