Advancing Social Justice in Urban Schools Through the Implementation of Transformative Groups for Youth of Color

Abstract

The unique challenges faced by some youth of color living in high poverty contexts necessitate the creation of innovative, culturally relevant, group interventions. Framing the work of group counselors from a social justice perspective provides a structure for emphasizing the complex intersection of economic, political, and socio-historical issues facing some urban youth of color. The purpose of this article is to describe the transformative group approach for working with youth of color in under-resourced contexts. The implementation of 2 pilot groups using this critical consciousness-raising approach with 7th and 8th grade urban students of color will also be presented.