Models of Leadership in Youth Near-Peer STEM Teaching Organizations

Published in the Journal of Adolescent Research, Vol. 41, No. 2 (March 2026), co-authored with Eli Tucker-Raymond, Katherine K. Frankel, and Maria Olivares.

Organizations that create opportunities for youth (ages 14–21) to serve as near-peer educators empower leadership through relational and community-oriented commitments. In this study, we explore how youth employed to teach others STEM subjects understand leadership — what good leadership looks like and how their organizations support their development as leaders.

Through in-depth interviews with six youth community STEM educators, we found that participants characterized leadership in "side-by-side" or dialogic styles — fostering a sense of responsibility and a focus on giving back to their communities. Leadership in near-peer settings is not individual; participants see themselves as part of a leadership team. Organizations supported this by creating family-like structures and distributing leadership opportunities broadly.

To disrupt educational inequities, young people need — and can excel in — authentic opportunities to lead.

Read in the Journal of Adolescent Research →