Citation

Rios VM. J. Educ. Stud. Placed Risk 2010; 15(1-2): 200-212.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10824661003635283

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article examines data collected from an ethnographic research project conducted with 56 gang-associated Latino youths ages 15 to 21 from 2007 to 2009. The objectives of the study were to examine how poor Latino gang-associated youths perceived schooling and policing and to find out if the research process could promote educational aspirations among this population. 1 Data from extensive observations, focus groups, interviews, and workshops with gang-associated youths at a continuation high school, a community center, and on the streets are presented. These young people encountered a multitude of negative interactions with authority figures on a daily basis. These adversities impacted their views of future outcomes: Many attributed having dropped out of school to negative treatment. Based on preliminary findings, I collaborated with the community in an attempt to help these young people reintegrate into school and the community. As a group, we implemented a mentoring program, a gender-specific workshop series, a community-college awareness program, and a once-a-week workshop series with "shot-callers" (the influential leaders of the gang). In this article, I specifically focus on the outcomes of this action research with street-oriented youths and the methodological approach involved in undertaking such an endeavor. I find that, what I call, a "public relations" approach facilitated the transformation process in some youth. 1I define gang-associated as any youth who either has self-reported or has been labeled by community members to be involved in a gang. My definition of gang is based on Klein and Maxson's (2008): "any durable, street-oriented youth group whose involvement in illegal activity is part of its group identity" (p. 3).