The intent of this study was to explore directly from the statements of youth themselves how teens experience youth empowerment through participation in youth groups. This study was based upon an analysis of youth as a group oppressed by adultism. Empowerment is the essential process by which this oppression is overcome. Through the personal accounts of a sample of eight youths who belong to six diverse organizations, a deeper understanding has been developed of what are the essential ingredients for the empowerment of youth. The study used qualitative research methods to explore in depth the experience of youth through interviews conducted by the researcher. A methodology which encouraged youth to reflect and enter into a dialogue was selected to be consistent with the empowerment process. The analysis of the data was completed in two sections. The first section consists of participants' profiles which summarized personal stories prior to group involvement and significant experiences with the group that lead to the youths' empowerment. In the second section an inductive analysis of the data was made to discover emerging themes in the youths' experience of the empowerment process. This research concludes that incorporating three components in a youth empowerment model--emotional nurturance, intellectual challenge, shared power with adults--results in a successful formula for the transformation from disempowerment to empowerment. The empowerment organization provides emotional nurturance, consisting of a safe environment and closeness, expression of emotions and conflict resolution and the acceptance of diversity. Such emotional nurturance lays a strong foundation and creates a positive organizational climate. In this climate, intellectual challenge is developed: youth receive sophisticated training and education which builds critical analysis and fosters the development of their voice. Through this combination of intellectual and emotional growth, many aspects of the youth developed as individually and as group members. Emotional nurturance and intellectual challenge are set in a context of shared power which includes a non-authoritarian relationships adult leader. Youth have the opportunity to experience and exercise power which helps them to choose where and how to take action. This results in increased self esteem and empowerment.

This study is an interdisciplinary inquiry into university student culture in the People's Republic of China with a focus on formal organizations and informal social relations. The purpose of the study is to examine the characteristics of student organizations and networks on campuses and to determine how students participate in and evaluate these organizations. Literature on college student culture and higher education in China is reviewed as a basis for the study. The author's study of Chinese society and prior experiences teaching at Chinese universities further guided the research. The research employed three major types of data collection: participant observation on three campuses in an urban area in western China in 1990, interviews in the United States with Chinese university graduates, and document research. Three types of formal organization were studied: academic divisions by department, grade, and classroom; mass organizations--the Student Association and the Communist Youth League; and a political organization--the Communist Party. Informal groups included networks based on former schoolmate and hometown ties, student societies and clubs, and male-female couples. Classroom groups were found to be the most important reference group for most students. These groups and the related dormitory groups were important both academically and socially. The Student Association and Communist Youth League were found to have limited influence on the majority of students who were passive members. The Communist Party was found to have some indirect influence on students, but only a small percentage of students were recruited as members. The dominant characteristics of the formal groups were their rigid hierarchies and the division between those who held positions and the majority of students who tended to remain uninvolved. The study found informal groups and networks to be active and the preferred mode of interaction for most students. These groups bridged the academic divisions and had fluid, loose structures with little or no hierarchy. During the 1980's, many types of informal groups developed in number and in popularity as students became more involved in extracurricular activities such as part-time work, business, and love affairs.

This study of the relation between education and earnings in South Africa in 1993 concludes that the private labor-market rate of return to investment in primary and secondary education for Africans is about 15 to 21%. This figure is about half the average for sub-Saharan Africa and does not reflect a large absolute effect of schooling on earnings so much as a very low labor-market opportunity cost, which cost is depressed by widespread youth unemployment. The decision to drop out after only a few years of school may be economically justifiable for students from poor families, who, out of necessity, are constrained by short time horizons. Policies designed to lower the direct costs of education may have little effect on the poorest households. As a result, it may prove quite difficult to achieve a more equal distribution of educational capital. Furthermore, log expected earnings are convex in years of schooling, with the implication that even if schooling does become more equally distributed, increases in mean educational attainment for Africans are likely to be associated with greater economic inequality among Africans (but less inequality between the races).