Voices of Young Parents: Using Youth Participatory Action Research to Affirm Identities and Challenge Stereotypes

• In Event: In and Out: Exploring the Role of Participatory Action Research in Classroom and Community Contexts

Abstract

This study uses Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to investigate the development of civic identity and action among Latino/a and African American parents attending an alternative high school serving the educational, social, and cultural needs of youth in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. In particular, the study examines how instructional approaches and initiatives at the school, across formal and informal instructional settings, promote young parents’ civic identity and participation.

Research on youth civic engagement in the United States has shown a decline in youth’s participation in traditional civic activities and an increase in their distrust of government (Syvertsen et al., 2011). Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) has documented various ways that young people can become engaged in research aimed at understanding and responding to issues important to themselves and their communities (Cammarota & Fine, 2008; Ginwright, Noguera & Cammarota, 2006). Other research has shown how learning activities grounded in teaching approaches such as culturally-responsive pedagogy which offer frameworks for how to incorporate students’ experiences into the classroom (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Lee, 2007) can serve as powerful tools for engaging youth in civic issues.

Using participatory and qualitative approaches, this particular paper will discuss a classroom’s-and larger school community-definitions of civic identity and engagement, how they are promoted in instructional activities, and what role students’ out-of-school knowledge and community realities play in instruction.

The setting that is the focus of this study is an alternative high school that has served youth in Humboldt Park, Chicago for 40 years. The school provides small class sizes, individualized support and mentorship, and opportunities for students to become agents of change. Educators in the school provide a variety of spaces for youth to discuss civic and political issues, offer learning activities focused on community building, and encourage students to interact with community leaders committed to social change. It currently serves about 180 students, with 40 of them participanting in the program for young parents over the course of this study. Data sources for this projects include interviews with 8 young parents/students and the director of the program, 1 focus group with 10 students, Regular videotaped observations of classroom activities over the school year, and Project artifacts (writing assignments and planning materials) and products (websites, brochures, presentations).

During the school year, students participating in the program for young parents developed projects, including websites, videos, and brochures, related to issues of importance to them, such as stereotypes and judgment of teen parents and lack of support and resources. Learning and instructional activities included interviews with peers, discussions with mentors and graduates, evaluation and discussion of media sources, participation in community activities, and small group work. These projects helped them affirm their identities, at the same time that they developed expanded views of themselves as engaged citizens and became advocates for themselves and their children.

It is hoped that such a study can contribute to knowledge on innovative approaches across instructional settings that can involve youth in civic action on behalf of their communities.

Authors

• Laura Ruth Johnson, Northern Illinois University

• Enid Marie Rosario-Ramos, University of Michigan