Developing Critical Civic Praxis With Youth Through Literature-Infused Youth Participatory Action Research

• In Event: Social Justice as an Act of Praxis

Abstract

This paper shares findings from a study of an after-school youth participatory action research (YPAR) program at a middle school in the U.S. Southwest. The study used ethnographic research methods to investigate how participation in this YPAR program influenced the development of critical civic praxis of 15 7th and 8th grade students—including students of color, students from working-class backgrounds, and students identified for English language learner (ELL) and special education services. The program involved students reading multicultural young adult fiction, researching systemic and local injustice, and taking action. Results from the study indicate that students developed a critical civic praxis by engaging issues and texts and by conducting research that addressed the intersections of their lived experiences.

Authors

• E. Sybil Durand, Arizona State University

• Melanie Bertrand, Arizona State University

• Taucia Gonzalez, University of Wisconsin - Madison