Youth, Education, and Marginality: Local and Global Expressions

By Wilfrid Laurier University Press

Youth, Education, and Marginality: Local and Global Expressions is a close examination of the lives of marginalized young people in schools. Essays by scholars and educators provide international insights grounded in educational and community practice and policy. They cover the range and intersections of marginalization: poverty, Aboriginal cultures, immigrants and newcomers, gay/lesbian youth, rural—urban divides, mental health, and so forth. Presenting challenges faced by marginalized youth alongside initiatives for mitigating their impact, the contributors critique existing systems and engage in a dialogue about where to go from here.

Youth poetry, prose, and visual art complement the essays.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Release date: May 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781554586547

Reviews for Youth, Education, and Marginality

[nielsengw_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is another one of those books that I will trudge through and no one will get very excited about. Editors Kate Tilleczek and H. Bruce Ferguson, in Youth, Education, and Marginality, bring together a collection of essays on social reform and education to highlight the issue of youth marginalization in Canadian schools. Their goal to pair both professionals’ views with that of the children themselves to show that while both groups understand the issues, it is up to everybody else to help them overcome them.To be fair, I don’t really have a deep understanding of the education system in Canada completely, but the twin issues of privilege and access to education were easy to relate to. In Canada, indigenous populations get the short end of the scholastic stick, with many of their schools existing as run-down shacks. Learning in squalor is no way to convey the virtues of an education. But it’s not just the indigenous that are marginalized in Canadian society. Traditional minorities—gay students, black students, special needs students, and students from poor families—also bear the burden of social ills when it comes to their education.Tilleczek and Ferguson inclusion of artwork, poetry, and conversations from actual youth is especially poignant. Their words and pictures reflect an ongoing issue with education, which usually manifests itself in the high school years in higher drop-out rates and teen pregnancy. Their answer to these issues is an environment where teachers, administrators, parents, and even the students are part of the education process, each hoping gain a bit of equity in the fight for a better tomorrow. While I wouldn’t rush around and recommend this book to everyone I meet, I would say that was unexpectedly eye-opening.