Building homes and hopes: the transformative service of YouthBuild Las Vegas

Purpose YouthBuild programs are uniquely designed to address the status of unemployed and uneducated young men and women who are disconnected from work and education. This study, on YouthBuild Las Vegas (YBLV), aims to fill the call for more research on transformative service research, specifically related to education, poverty and well-being. The program educates “opportunity youth” in construction skills while also encouraging progression toward a GED/HiSet or high school diploma. Service providers can better understand how to increase and support reconnection and well-being, especially among low-income individuals in communities with great needs for support services. Design/methodology/approach This yearlong qualitative research study intended to better understand transformative service within the context of former high school dropouts previously without a path to a productive future. YBLV was an ideal single-site case study because it was bound by space, people, organization and time. The study followed one YBLV class from admission through graduation; the qualitative work with the organization started prior to the students’ enrollment and continued after the students graduated. Primary data collections were interviews and observations. Additional data collection occurred in the forms of written documents, as well as photos and videos. Findings YBLV succeeded because of service providers’ attention to the funds of knowledge of the student population and adapting the format and structure of programs to adult learners, developing mentors for consumers and acknowledging the context and layers of knowledge that consumers brought to the program. The students were able to experience reconnection and increased well-being because of the service providers’ impact throughout the program. Research limitations/implications Transformative service research (TSR) research has focused on areas as diverse as health care and homelessness, whereas the lens of funds of knowledge has primarily been applied within educational settings. It would be worthwhile to apply funds of knowledge framework beyond education yet still within the TSR agenda. There are also opportunities to apply the theory to other vulnerable populations. Broadening the scope of reconnection and well-being TSR research far beyond YouthBuild may identify additional or other synergies between these areas. Practical implications The growing body of research on TSR suggested a gap in understanding how service providers can support consumers in poverty and a need for greater well-being. This study on YouthBuild highlighted the phenomenon among low-income, undereducated, urban young adults and while the goal of qualitative research is not to be generalizable, specific examples such as adapting programs and structures to low-income consumers, developing mentors to model wanted behavior and goal-setting and acknowledging the funds of knowledge that consumers bring to situations, can be generic ingredients for future transformative service projects. Social implications Research has demonstrated that public investment in programs that assist youth toward a positive trajectory and greater well-being is much more beneficial than disciplinary measures such as increased spending on policing and prisons. Employment and educational training programs have led to measurable success and when disconnected youth have greater vocational training and high school completion, they and the broader economy experience improved outcomes. Therefore, from a policy perspective, YouthBuild and programs like it emphasize growth, development and well-being for undereducated and low-income individuals. Originality/value The funds of knowledge theoretical framework are new to the Journal of Services Marketing (JSM). That framework coupled with the population of former high school dropouts in a second-chance school and a focus on service providers and well-being within a poverty context, all contribute to the paper’s originality. Reconnection is also a relatively new concept for readers of JSM. These three areas: funds of knowledge, reconnection and TSR are the backbone of this research.

High school dropouts

Many school administrators in the Department of Education faced a big problem in the form of student dropouts. The aim of the study was to look at the demographic data and reasons for student dropouts in the school year 2018–2019, as well as establish an intervention program to help students avoid dropping out. The mixed method design was used in this action study. The research study used a purposive sampling method, with students who dropped out during the 2018-2019 school year as participants. In addition, random sampling was used to select focus-group discussions (FGD) in order to obtain in-depth information on the subject of this research. For this study, simple statistics such as ranking and percentage were used as statistical tools. The majority of dropouts cited personal reasons for leaving school, especially a lack of interest due to poverty, while others were affected by peers. The results were used to improve the guidance program at the school in order to keep students from dropping out. Teachers, particularly those with advisory classes, were given training on how poverty can lead to students dropping out.

Wage and employment effects of immigration: Evidence from South Korea

This paper studies the impact of immigration on native labor market outcomes in South Korea. We exploit the variation in immigration flows in an education-experience cell and find that, on average, immigration has no harmful effect on the wages or employment of native workers. However, there is a great heterogeneity of wage effects across education groups: high school dropouts suffer from the adverse effects, whereas the effects for college graduates are positive. We find the potential explanation for these differential effects in the suggestive evidence on the degree of substitution. Specifically, we examine the similarity of occupational distribution between natives and immigrants and assimilation patterns for immigrants.

High School Dropouts’ Movements In and Out of Work and Education During the Transition to Adulthood

High school dropouts are likely to experience challenges during the transition to adulthood, notably in terms of employment. For them, jobs are often hard to find, low-paid, and unstable. Many dropouts thus re-enroll in school, and some go on to obtain a high school or vocational diploma or even a college degree. However, others do not re-enroll or abandon school again, while some disengage from both education and employment. In other words, high school dropouts experience heterogeneous pathways during their transition to adulthood. A small but growing body of research attempt to document these pathways and their antecedents and consequences, as well as effective programs and services to reconnect those at risk of marginalization. This chapter provides a broad overview of this literature, focusing on the transition to adulthood among high school dropouts in Canada, the United States, and Europe. In closing, key policies and practical implications are discussed.

Exploring Alcohol Abuse amongst Grade 10 Adolescent Learners in a Secondary School in Gauteng Province

In this qualitative study, cases of alcohol abuse amongst Grade 10 adolescent learners in a secondary school in Gauteng Province will be explored and described. The study is grounded on the view that in the context of South African high school learners, alcohol abuse is an intensive pattern of alcohol intake that is often accompanied by recurring problems, such as a serious decrease in school performance, high school dropouts and anti-social behaviour. Its main thrust is that alcohol abuse is becoming an increasing problem in South Africa. Research shows that almost every South African youth would have experimented with drugs, especially beer, dagga and cigarettes, during adolescence. The major cause of concern is that large numbers of these adolescent learners eventually become addicted, posing a threat to their own education, health and safety, while creating difficulties for their families and the society at large. This study sought to explore alcohol abuse among adolescent learners in a secondary school, with the aim of developing possible strategies to address the problem.

Classification of Dropouts to Improve Student Re-Engagement: The Case of Chilean Secondary Opportunity Centers

Chile offers high school dropouts a chance to graduate through enrollment in Second Opportunity Centers, located in cities ranging in population from 5 million inhabitants to less than 100,000. Participants in 18 centers were classified into four distinct classes based on their family situation, handicaps, employment, experience with discrimination, and ambitions. Students were compared with respect to their satisfaction with Center activities. Students experiencing instability in their lives, more often in larger cities, were least satisfied. The most successful activity was workshops discussing psychological and social issues. Some activities failed to attract any of the four classes of students.

Great Equalizer or Great Selector? Reconsidering Education as a Moderator of Intergenerational Transmissions

A long-standing consensus among sociologists holds that educational attainment has an equalizing effect that increases mobility by moderating other avenues of intergenerational status transmission. This study argues that the evidence supporting this consensus may be distorted by two problems: measurement error in parents’ socioeconomic standing and the educational system’s tendency to progressively select people predisposed for mobility rather than to actually affect mobility. Analyses of family income mobility that address both of these problems in three longitudinal surveys converge on new findings. Intergenerational mobility is significantly lower among high school dropouts than among others, but there are no significant differences in mobility across higher education levels. This is consistent with compensatory advantage processes among the least educated in which individuals from advantaged backgrounds use family-based resources to compensate for their lack of human capital.