Hampshire College

The Critical Studies of Childhood, Youth, and Learning (CYL) program promotes critical thinking that entails examining childhood, youth, child and adolescent development, processes of human learning, and educational theory and practice, in the context of larger social structures, cultural and historical processes, and political economy. The program’s aim is to provide students with opportunities to:

• Integrate practice with existing theory and research through community-based projects

• Develop critical thinking skills and analyses about childhood, youth, and education

• Analyze how knowledge is constructed and examine its relation to power

• Implement innovative methodologies and creative critical pedagogy for young people’s participation

• Reflect on one's practice as an educator and learner

• Envision and facilitate roles for young people as
    - participators in family, school, and community life
    - decision-makers and problem-solvers
    - critical thinkers, interpreters, and evaluators of their world

• Examine the importance of all children’s participation, taking into account questions of access, exclusion, and social diversity

The CYL Program offers students the chance to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to real-life situations in local community schools and organizations, enriching their educational experience and deepening their learning about childhood and youth issues.