They Just Respect You for Who You Are: Contributors to Educator Positive Youth Development Promotion for Somali, Latino, and Hmong Students

Abstract

Youth from immigrant communities may experience barriers to connecting with schools and teachers, potentially undermining academic achievement and healthy youth development. This qualitative study aimed to understand how educators serving Somali, Latino, and Hmong (SLH) youth can best promote educator-student connectedness and positive youth development, by exploring the perspectives of teachers, youth workers, and SLH youth, using a community based participatory research approach. We conducted four focus groups with teachers, 18 key informant interviews with adults working with SLH youth, and nine focus groups with SLH middle and high school students. Four themes emerged regarding facilitators to educators promoting positive youth development in schools: (1) an authoritative teaching approach where teachers hold high expectations for student behavior and achievement, (2) building trusting educator–student relationships, (3) conveying respect for students as individuals, and (4) a school infrastructure characterized by a supportive and inclusive environment. Findings suggest a set of skills and educator-student interactions that may promote positive youth development and increase student-educator connectedness for SLH youth in public schools.

Introduction

Although youth spend the majority of their waking time at school or in school-related activities (Allard, 2008), limited attention has been paid to how the goals of positive youth development (PYD) can best be furthered in high schools by teachers during the course of their usual interactions with students. Within the PYD and related Resiliency paradigms, internal assets (e.g., self-esteem, self-efficacy, hopefulness) and external supports such as connection to schools and teachers protect against participation in an array of negative health behaviors and promote healthy behaviors and optimal educational outcomes (Bemat & Resnick, 2006; Bond et al., 2007; Brooks, Magnusson, Spencer, & Morgan, 2012; Niehaus, Rudasill, & Rakes, 2012; Resnick et al., 1997; Reyes, Brackett, Rivers, White, & Salovey, 2012; Youngblade et al., 2007). Despite the centrality of these relationships, and the key role teachers could hold in promoting PYD, interventions in this area have been limited (Bond et al., 2004; Hawkin, Kosterman, Catalano, Hill, & Abbott, 2005).

Models identifying school context and interpersonal factors contributing to school connectedness identify the centrality of the teacher-student relationship in this process (Konu & Rimpela, 2002; Waters, Cross, & Runions, 2009). General characteristics of schools that promote connectedness, or bonding, include: holding high expectations for academic success, conveying support for youth, providing safe environments, and offering opportunities for meaningful roles within the school (Blum & Libbey, 2004; Catalano, Haggerty, Oesterle, Fleming, & Hawkins, 2004; LaRusso, Römer, & Selman, 2008; Whitlock, 2006). Teachers are likely drivers of these processes within the larger school ecology, through establishing classroom environments, interpersonal relationships, and teaching approaches that contribute to student connectedness (Daly, Buchanan, Dasch, Eichen, & Lenhart, 2010; Klem & Connell, 2004; Waters et al., 2009). Teacher caring (Noddings, 1992,1996; Pang, 2001), effectiveness (Ladson-Billings, 1994), and cultural sensitivity (Delpit, 2006; Noguera, 2008; Valenzuela, 1999) all impact students’ academic achievement and likely connectedness. Furthermore, teachers may contribute to a broad array of developmental asset-building through interactions that provide role models and facilitate internal and psychosocial assets. For example, the degree to which students feel known by their teachers has implications for adolescents in terms of identity development as well as academic success (Chhuon & Wallace, 2014). Interpersonal interactions such as expressing a personal interest in and knowledge about students’ lives may contribute to students’ sense of being known at school (Chhuon & Wallace, 2014).

However, less is known about teacher-student connectedness for students from immigrant communities. Despite high educational aspirations (Suarez-Orozco, Pimentel, & Martin, 2009) and protective cultural, family, and community resources that can supersede negative influences (Allen et al., 2008; Neblett, Rivas-Drake, & Umana-Taylor, 2012), youth from immigrant communities tend to experience inequities in high school achievement and graduation (Child Trends Databank, 2015; Education Trust, 2006; Harris, 1999) and increased engagement in health risk behaviors as they adapt to broader youth culture (Lara, Gamboa, Kahramanian, Morales, & Bautista, 2005; Portes & Rumbaut, 2001). Evidence suggests that these youth may gain added benefit from, but experience challenges in, connecting with teachers and schools (McBrien, 2005; Peguero & Bondy, 2011; Suarez-Orozco et al., 2009), resulting in worsening relationships with teachers across immigrant generations (Peguero & Bondy, 2011). Sources of challenges are multiple, but may include lack of teacher understanding regarding students’ cultural backgrounds and tensions between students’ more collectivist orientation and the competitive nature of secondary schools (McBrien, 2005; Suarez-Orozco et al., 2009).

In Minnesota, Somali, Latino, and Hmong (SLH) youth constitute a significant portion of the student population in urban and some suburban and rural school districts (Minnesota Department of Education, 2013). Hmong (beginning in the early 1980s) and Somali (beginning in the 1990s) immigrants initially came to Minnesota as refugees (Darboe, 2003; Hendricks, 1986). Latinos have been present in some Minnesota communities for multiple generations, but between 1990 and 2000, Minnesota’s Latino population grew 166 percent, and has continued to grow since then (Chicano Latino Affairs Council of Minnesota, 2007). While SLH youth come from varied cultural, religious and immigration backgrounds, shared experiences include bias, language barriers, lack of familiarity with educational systems, and poverty (Bigelow, 2008; Hook, Brown, & Kwenda, 2004; Mattessich, Bevis, Lott, & Hope, 2000; Owen, Meyerson, & Otteson, 2010; Walters & Vu, 2013).

Therefore, a need exists to better understand how schools and educators can generate greater connections with SLH youth in order to develop educational and health programming that promotes long-term youth well-being. One successful approach to developing appropriate and sustainable intervention strategies is the participation of community stakeholders in the development and testing of interventions (Wallerstein & Duran, 2010). Community based participatory research (CBPR) is an approach that recognizes the knowledge, expertise, and resources of communities, and engages community members in the research process as full partners (Macaulay et al., 1999). Characteristics of CBPR are collaboration and co- learning (Israel et al., 2008). CBPR contributes to community capacity building and achieves a balance between research and action (Macaulay et al., 1999).

The objective of this study was to use a CBPR approach to understand how educators serving SLH youth can best promote educator-student connectedness and PYD by exploring key stakeholder perspectives, namely, those of teachers, youth workers, and youth. Because this project represented a foundational step in building a program supporting educators in promoting connectedness and PYD for SLH youth within multi-ethnic classrooms, we specifically sought to identify common and unique perceptions of facilitators to educator PYD promotion across stakeholder groups.

Methods

Participatory Research Team

Our CBPR team is composed of two academic researchers, four community researchers from the organization Somali, Latino and Hmong Partnership for Health and Wellness (SoLaHmo), and the SoLaHmo research manager. SoLaHmo is a multi-ethnic community-driven program whose mission is to build upon the unique cultural strengths of SLH communities to promote health and wellness through research, education, and policy. SoLaHmo’s work is informed by a community assets model that acknowledges cultural differences but seeks to identify common health-promoting community assets across the three groups that can be leveraged for health promotion. SoLaHmo researchers are formally trained in CBPR and qualitative research processes (Allen, Culhane-Pera, Call, & Pergament, 2011), and are content experts in the current topic as educators, parents, young adults, and community members with cultural expertise. Our project is further guided by a community collaborative board composed of SLH parents, SLH youth, teachers, and leaders from community and education organizations. The project targeted the communities and geographic urban areas served by the SoLaHmo sponsoring agency.

Participants

In order to understand multiple stakeholder perspectives on teacher promotion of PYD, we conducted from September, 2010 to August, 2012: (a) key informant (KI) interviews with youth worker experts, (b) focus groups with teachers, and (c) focus groups with SLH youth. SoLaHmo researchers and our community collaborative board identified KI experts in working with SLH youth to identify best practices and opportunities for school-based PYD promotion. We purposefully recruited KIs from schools, after school programs, and social service agencies. Interviews lasted an average of 42 min. Teachers from middle and high schools with the largest SLH student populations in the targeted geographic region were recruited to participate in focus groups lasting an average of 90 min. Finally, we recruited self-identified SLH youth through schools and after school programs who met the following inclusion criteria: attend public middle or high school (in grades eight-twelve) in the targeted region, or graduated from or dropped out of these schools within the most recent academic year. Youth focus groups lasted an average of 69 min. All participants received a $25 gift card. The University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board approved the study.

The 18 KI experts were divided across race/ethnic groups and gender. In total, five were teachers, six were school youth workers, and seven were community youth workers. The 25 teacher participants were largely female (76 %), primarily self-identified as Caucasian/European American (84 %), and reported between two and 21 years of teaching experience. Between four-eight teachers participated in four focus groups. A total of 71 youth (20 Somali, 25 Hmong, and 26 Latino) participated in nine focus groups ranging in size from six to nine participants (Table 1). Mean age was 15.7 years, and 49 % were female. Most participants were in high school or recently graduated.

Table 1.

Characteristics of focus group and key informant interview participants

	Youth (n = 71)	Teachers (n = 25)	KI (n = 18)
Race/ethnicity
African/African American/Somali	28 %	4 %	17 %
Asian American/Hmong	35 %	8 %	22 %
Hispanic/Latino	37 %	0 %	39 %
Caucasian/European American	—	84 %	22 %
Gender
Males	46 %	24 %	50 %
Females	49 %	76 %	50 %
Unknown	3 %	—	—
Age
13–15	42 %	—	—
16–18	55 %	—	—
Over 18	1 %	—	—
Grade
8	11 %	—	—
9–10	46 %	—	—
11–12	34 %	—	—
Graduated within 6 months	4 %	—	—
Unknown	4 %	—
Mean years worked with youth	—	12.3	12.4
Job categories
Teachers	—	—	30 %
School youth workers	—	—	30 %
Community youth workers	—	—	40 %

Procedures

Trained bilingual community researchers conducted focus groups and interviews using a common semi-structured guide (Table 2). Interview guides addressed two domains: the definition of resiliency for SLH youth, and the role of teachers in promoting resiliency for these youth. Language and framing were adapted to be appropriate for each group’s educational level, language of choice (Somali, Spanish, or Hmong), and area of knowledge. All interviews were audio-recorded. Those in English were transcribed verbatim; those in Somali, Spanish or Hmong were transcribed verbatim/translated by bilingual community researchers. Translations were reviewed by a second bilingual research team member.

Table 2.

Structured interview guides

Key informant interviews	Teacher focus groups	Youth focus groups
Domain 1: Definition of resiliency
How do you know a resilient youth when you see one?
What contributes to resiliency among SLH youth in particular?	What contributes to resiliency among SLH youth in particular?	Think of a friend or family member who experienced challenges as a teen, but who is doing well. What are the things you think have helped them do well?
What specific things do you do in your work with SLH youth to promote resiliency with youth?	What are barriers to resiliency among SLH youth?
What personal strengths/ characteristics contribute to your success?
Domain 2: Promoting resiliency in the schools
What do young people you work with say about their teachers?	In what ways do teachers connect with SLH students?	Are there teachers or other adults in your school that you like/respect? What do they say? How do they show that respect?
	What are barriers to connecting with students?	Are there teachers you like/respect less? Why?
Do you think teachers have a role in promoting resiliency for SLH youth?	In what ways do teachers set high expectations for SLH students?	What do teachers do to inspire students to work hard, to try to understand individual circumstances?
What would a teacher who is successfully promoting resiliency be doing in the classroom?	How do teachers show respect for SLH students?
What are barriers that would prevent a teacher from fulfilling that role?	What are barriers to setting high expectations for students?	What could teachers and other adults in schools do better to make you feel good about being in school?
	What are barriers to conveying respect for students?

SLH Somali, Latino, and Hmong youth

Data Analysis

The CBPR team used a version of the immersion-crystallization method (Borkan, 1999), adapted for community participatory data analysis, where trained community members’ participation gives cultural and experiential meaning to data and assures appropriate interpretation of results (Jackson, 2008; Kieffer et al., 2005). Analysis occurred in teams with a focus on immersion into, and collective exploration of, the data, by drawing on the diverse perspectives of the community-academic members. As such, the immersion-crystallization method has a constructivist orientation, where the knowledge and experience of the analysis team is drawn upon as an asset in the analytical process, making it consistent with the CBPR approach (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). We understand the world as socially positioned and constructed, so that team members are an integral part of the meaning making (Mertens, 2009). In particular, we are influenced by social constructivist perspectives, which value collective interpretations of the multiple realities participants may hold (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). This approach reflects a relativist paradigm, and is less focused on identifying unifying truths, but instead is invested in drawing on the depth and breadth of experiences in the research team as assets for exploring the multiple realities of the lives of those with whom we conduct research. Team-members read transcripts, discussed emerging themes and categories, reached agreement on ideas contained in the key words and phrases, and formed initial codes. All teams then convened, presented their themes and initial codes, and discussed definitions and discrepancies across the entire group. The full team reached agreement on codes and a common coding structure was organized. Each team then recoded assigned transcripts based on the final coding framework. Nvivo 10 (QSR International Pty Ltd., 2012) was used to capture codes and organize the data. In a final step, the group reviewed coding, reached agreement on coding discrepancies, and discussed summaries and interpretation of results. Data were systematically interrogated for differences between stakeholder groups. The research team reviewed emerging themes for each group and examined patterns in the data that indicated differences between the stakeholder groups. While the overall purpose of the analysis was to identify common facilitators across ethnic groups, we also noted areas of distinction between ethnic groups.

Results

Four main themes emerged across participants regarding facilitators to promoting resiliency in schools: an authoritative teaching approach, building trusting relationships, conveying respect, and school infrastructure. In cases where few distinctions existed between KI expert and teacher opinions, we will use the term “adults” to include both groups.

Authoritative Teaching Approach

All stakeholder groups identified an authoritative teaching approach as a key facilitator in promoting resilience in schools. The most common aspects of this approach as described by adults and often mentioned by students, were holding high expectations for academic achievement and behavior, conveying mutual respect in the classroom, and providing structure. Adults mentioned the importance of being explicit, clear, and consistent about expectations.

I think being really explicit about what your expectations are and consistent and think that is really saying, “This is what I’m expecting.” I think that’s really important so there’s no confusion and you can talk one-on-one about individual expectations but as a whole in the classroom, you have these expectations and this is what we’re going to do by the end of the year or the end of the semester. (Teacher)

Students valued teachers that “talk straight” with them, hold them to high expectations for achievement, manage the classroom with authority, set and enforce rules, and explain to students the consequences of their actions. However, youth from all ethnic groups linked high expectations for achievement to an environment of caring. Students identified the importance of teachers’ conveying that they care about student achievement and believing that students have the capability to achieve. They admired teachers who promote student confidence, self-efficacy, and motivation to achieve. However, some differences arose between students. Many Hmong students framed teacher strictness as positive and motivating, while Somali and Latino youth responded to positive reinforcement and encouragement rather than strictness. “Teachers that challenge you, they motivate you more to get a better grade and, um, in order to do that they’ll be strict.” (Hmong youth).

He would stay after school with me. I would be sometimes the only one there. He would help me through it and then like, times I didn’t do homework, he’d be like, “It’s on you. It’s on your grade, so push yourself.” And then, I just wanted to prove to him that I could get like, a B or something… (Latino youth)

Building Trusting Relationships

All participants identified the centrality of the teacher-student relationship as the foundation for promoting positive youth development. Trusting relationships were thought to underlie students’ reactions to all teacher-student interactions and classroom activities, and to impact students’ attitudes about school, desire to be in school, and achievement orientation.

Youth respondents emphasized the importance of caring relationships with teachers. From students’ perspectives, teachers conveyed caring by expressing support, offering encouragement, and demonstrating willingness to help students overcome academic or personal obstacles. For example, for some Latino youth, giving students “second chances” to make up academic work conveyed that teachers cared about students’ success. Students particularly recognized a caring teacher as one willing to spend extra time with them outside of the classroom, a commitment that students readily identified as being a sacrifice on the part of teachers. Such a commitment communicated to students that someone was invested in their success and led students to want to do better for that teacher.

He’s very worried about us and he is like, “You know you guys should start doing this and start doing that,” and he always has a thing where he comes up like he’s the father instead of being the teacher. He’s always like, “Ok, I’m going to be a father to you guys now,” and he just teaches the lesson. I really like it when the teachers do that cause they really inspire you ‘cause sometimes some students their parents doesn’t really care they don’t really do that and then some kids they need that from the teachers too. (Hmong youth)

All participants identified the importance of students and teachers finding common ground in order to build trusting relationships. Students described teachers who went “out of their comfort zone” to share personal stories with them, particularly about overcoming failure, as impactful. These stories provided inspiration, and confirmed for youth that the educator understood their struggles and perspectives. Participants touched on the importance of sincerity, which teachers convey through smiling, maintaining eye contact, and greeting students, and through meeting students where they are.

Well, the first thing is I meet them where they are … rather than expecting them to meet me where I want them to be. And I go slow usually to develop a relationship, very respectful of what they have to say, and another thing that is very, very important [is] for me to not pretend that I am something that I am not. So I can’t pretend that I am cool, or I can’t pretend that I am superior, I can’t pretend that I urn have all the answers … because young people especially if you are trying to reach the ones that are having trouble, they can smell fake. (Somali KI expert)

Participants from all three stakeholder groups described a trust-building process that involved listening to and getting to know students as individuals. KI experts and students expressed that teachers need to listen more, inteqect when appropriate, and not make judgments.

…You can’t trust teachers or anybody in school much because you know like if you tell them a problem, then they’ll make it big and then like, they’ll try to do something about it. Like, sometimes, we don’t want to just… we don’t want you [to] do something about, we just want you to listen. (Latino youth)

Convey Respect

In a broad sense, respect was described as teachers approaching students as individuals with unique backgrounds and skills, but for SLH youth, respect was particularly tied to positively acknowledging, supporting, and reinforcing appreciation for students’ cultural and religious backgrounds and identities. Teachers identified a number of means for conveying respect in the classroom, starting with an awareness of cultural beliefs and religious celebrations. One teacher commented that conveying respect may be as simple as knowing how to pronounce a student’s name because when the student walks into the classroom at the beginning of the year, “that’s the only thing they have.” Teachers stated that recognizing SLH students as the experts on their own cultural practices brings students’ backgrounds into the classroom in a positive way, and creates opportunities for peer learning. Adult respondents conveyed that understanding students’ cultures allows educators to be more responsive to students’ needs, which in turn supports academic achievement.

I mean when you’re at school, you’re at school you know? But if you have a big event going on during the weekend, a big event, and your teacher doesn’t understand -let’s say a funeral. A [Hmong] funeral is a 3 day process day and night. You don’t go to sleep basically. If your teacher doesn’t understand that and still gives you a huge assignment over the weekend or doesn’t understand that you will have absolutely zero time from this funeral then yeah, I think cultural competency would play a big role. (Hmong KI experts)

Youth, like adults, strongly linked respect to appreciation for culture and religion, but tied this respect more closely to relationship building than to academic outcomes. Hmong and Latino youth framed these aspects of respect around culture and cultural practices, while Somali youth largely framed them in terms of religious practices.

Half the teachers, the ones that I like, they tell me what time praying is even when we’re in class and we’re doing something. They’re like ‘It’s time to go pray.’ … But some other teachers, even when you ask them, ‘Can I go pray?’ they’re like, ‘No, you can wait until the class is done.’ But others say ‘Go take your break and come back as early as you can. (Somali youth)

Youth across ethnic groups uniquely identified additional aspects of respect for individuals beyond cultural and religious appreciation that was based on teachers recognizing the ways that personal socioeconomic circumstances become relevant in the classroom. They identified teachers who accommodate, for example, students’ fatigue and lack of classroom attentiveness, related to the need to work or care for siblings, as conveying respect. Youth also strongly linked respect with teacher attentiveness towards students in the classroom. Respectful communication included making eye contact, smiling, not yelling, and conveying an interest in what students have to say. “When I put up my hand and they actually come to me.” (Latino youth)

All stakeholder groups identified the importance of not pre-judging students’ behavior or academic performance based on ethnicity, dress, or cultural/family background. Adult respondents emphasized that pre-judging can be a barrier to identifying students’ needs and academic potential. Youth felt resentful towards teachers who pre-judged students and stated that labeling undermined teacher-youth relationships. Latino youth in particular described being labeled as gang members due to their appearance and clothing, though many of the negative experiences cited involved school administrators or security guards.

They don’t judge you. They don’t go like, “oh, you’re Asian,” or “oh, you’re Black.” They just respect you for who you are and they like you for who you are. And they don’t… if you don’t wear nice clothes or new clothes, they don’t go, “that’s a weird style” or something like that. (Hmong youth) “I think automatically as Latinos they label us as gang members, illegal immigrants, or all this other stuff. I mean, we’re Latino. That’s what they see us as on T.V.” (Latino youth)

School Environment

Another facilitator for promoting resilience was defined through the school environment including infrastructure and social climate. KI experts identified the importance of a school-wide environment that is open, accepting, and inclusive of diversity. The role of school counselors and cultural liaisons to help support immigrant families in particular was seen as having value for students (and their families) in navigating the school experience. Many teacher respondents described the importance of a broader respectful multicultural school environment.

One aspect of school infrastructure identified as important by all respondents was the value of having teachers who are co-ethnic with the student population. KI experts and some teachers noted that co-ethnic teachers share and understand students’ culture, challenges, and home language, and can serve as key role models. Most youth participants felt they would respect and connect strongly to a co-ethnic teacher.

They are easier and they are more- they are more like - they are like the same people and of course you are gonna like them more and they will help you a lot more because - you are the same people, I mean. (Latino youth)

Some youth felt there was no benefit to having co-ethnic teachers; one Somali youth did not want Somali teachers due to a fear they might scrutinize her behavior. A Somali KI expert identified the generational gap between Somali elders and young people, and felt it was important to employ Somali teachers who had a good understanding of life in the US.

Discussion

Results of this study suggest key areas of focus, as identified by students, teachers, and youth workers, for interventions that seek to build school-based programming promoting PYD and improving student educator and school connectedness for SLH high-school youth. Reconciling the perceptions of these stakeholders who may hold competing beliefs or priorities is key to developing successful school-based programming. Groups emphasized slightly different facilitators. Student participants most strongly identified the crucial role of the student-educator relationship, grounded in respectful interactions that motivate, inspire, and support students to achieve. While both teachers and youth workers identified clearly articulated high expectations for achievement and behavior as crucial, students emphasized that rule-setting and enforcement could only be carried out within a caring relationship. Youth workers also emphasized an inclusive, supportive, school-wide environment.

Our findings suggest practices and strategies consistent with the evidence-based components of successful PYD programming, but identify a need for the addition of culture-specific elements within both models theorizing school connectedness and implementation strategies arising from the models. For example, the “Four Cs” of connectedness, competence, character, and confidence (Pittman, O’Brien, & Kimball, 1993), which are used as the basis for much youth-focused PYD programming, are often applied without sufficient attention to racial/ethnic or culture-specific contexts and contributors (Evans et al., 2012). While our results are consistent with these universal principles, they suggest unique attention should be paid to the effect of youth-adult interaction within multicultural contexts on youth development of these assets. All respondents, but particularly youth, highlighted ways that educators can undermine an aspect of confidence, namely identity building, by prejudging them based on race or ethnicity. Our expert youth workers, in particular, identified conveying respect for SLH youths’ unique cultural and religious backgrounds as foundational to all other relationship-building. We found that rather than asking their teachers to be culturally competent on all aspects of their religious and cultural backgrounds, students responded positively to a respectful inquisitiveness on the part of their teachers that conveyed a positive receptivity and desire to support the student. These findings are consistent with best practices for teaching in multi-ethnic classrooms that acknowledge the heterogeneity within cultural groups and so advocate for avoiding stereotyping by approaching students as individuals (Howard, 2010).

These results suggest a set of educator-focused interpersonal relationship practices and skills for promoting PYD that may be built through training. The education literature identifies the need for teaching and classroom management approaches that emphasize conveying high expectations, respect, and nurturance, and support their significance for student engagement and academic outcomes (Brown, 2004). However, relatively little attention has been paid to developing an educator skill-set that emphasizes changing adult interactions with youth in order to better promote PYD in a multicultural context. A well-researched example of ways that changing adult behavior enhances youth outcomes is in the parent-training literatme where a discrete set of skills and practices, and approaches to interacting with youth, have been identified as amenable to intervention, ultimately optimizing health and social outcomes for youth across racial-ethnic groups (Forehand, Miller, Dutra, & Chance, 1997; Kumpfer & Alvarado, 2003).

Study limitations include the focus on SLH youth in a specific geographic area and context. However, Minnesota is home to the 2nd largest Hmong community and the largest Somali community in the United States (State of Minnesota, 2012; U.S. Census Bureau, 2012), making this an important location in which to assess the needs of these youth. As is consistent with the assets orientation across ethnic groups of the community partner co-authors, and with the purpose of the study, we focused on comparing perceptions regarding promoting PYD in schools among youth workers, teachers, and youth, rather than between ethnic groups. Further distinctions might be identified in an ethnic-group specific analysis.

In conclusion, our results suggest great potential in addressing the social determinants of health by promoting positive youth development and connectedness in schools for SLH youth, although attention is required to ensure that culturally- specific components are addressed. High school educators have an important role in promoting positive youth development for SLH youth. This goal may be achieved through an inclusive school environment and educator-student interactions that: build trusting relationships, convey respect for students as individuals with distinct cultural and religious backgrounds, and convey high expectations for student achievement and behavior. Approaches likely to benefit SLH youth include assisting educators in developing skills and practices that establish a respectful, authoritative classroom context where high expectations are supported in a nurturing environment. Consistent with the PYD framework, this context may ultimately contribute to academic engagement, achievement, and positive health outcomes.