Between School and Work: The Literacies of Urban Adolescent Females

Abstract

This article argues for a broader conception of both school and work literacies. I present the writing and narratives of adolescent females in their senior year of an urban high school to begin a dialogue about the ways schools and communities can support youth to both imagine and plan for their futures. Ethnographic research methods were used to collect narratives and construct case studies of four young women. In their nuanced pictures of youth, these narratives will inform educators, policy makers, and researchers as they write about and make decisions concerning the futures of these young people.