Harvard Graduate School of Education

Understanding Youth
Adolescent Development for Educators

By Michael J. Nakkula and Eric Toshalis

Adolescent development research and theory have tremendous potential to inform the work of high school teachers, counselors, and administrators. Understanding Youth bridges the gap between adolescent development theory and practice. Nakkula and Toshalis explore how factors such as social class, peer and adult relationships, gender norms, and the media help to shape adolescents’ sense of themselves and their future expectations and aspirations.

Praise:

“An excellent resource for educators, parents, and any adult who seks to understand adolescents and the turbulence and confusion that often affects young people during this period of their lives. A poignant, insightful, and practical analysis.”
—Pedro Noguera, Professor, New York University

“Understanding Youth really does understand youth! It is essential reading, especially for those who work with adolescents in challenging circumstances.”
—Nancy Hoffman Director, Early College High School, Initiative, Jobs for the Future

“As a new teacher, I especially appreciate the clarity with which the authors outline the research [on adolescent development] and its implications for my teaching.”
—Manuel Rustin, Social Science Teacher, John F. Kennedy High School, Sacramento, CA

“Nakkula and Toshalis organize what we have learned about the development of young people—some of whom are presented in a series of individual portraits—and chart ways that we can best serve them.”
—Theodore R. Sizer, Founder, Coalition of Essential Schools

Recent Reviews:

"Nakkula and Toshalis (Harvard) have created a book that manages to thoroughly connect believable case studies to a range of significant educational and psychological theories in a way that is accessible and interesting. Summing Up: Highly Recommended." excerpted from review in June 2007 issue of Choice

About the Authors:

Michael Nakkula is currently a research associate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where he has taught courses on counseling, urban education, and adolescent development over the past fourteen years. He is the coauthor, with Sharon Ravitch, of Matters of Interpretation: Reciprocal Transformation in Therapeutic and Developmental Relationships with Youth, which summarizes much of his early research, theory, and practice in the area of adolescent development.

Eric Toshalis is assistant professor of secondary education, California State University, Channel Islands. A former middle and high school educator, he has worked with youth and adults in schools as a coach, mentor teacher, community activist, teachers union president, afterschool group leader, and curriculum writer.