Social Justice, Youth Participatory Action Research, and District-Sponsored Student Voice Initiatives: Learnings From One Student Board of Education

• In Event: 15.061 - MTCC Roundtable Session Two
  In Roundtable Session: 15.061-11 - Civic and Political Learning in a Politically Polarized Era: Exploring Civically Oriented Research-Practice Partnerships

Abstract

Historically youth have had few opportunities for civic engagement in schools (Flanagan & Faison 2001; Honig et al. 2001). There is a growing body of research, however, that examines how youth voice initiatives increase student agency in school decision making processes (Mitra, 2008). Student voie initiatives are a promising avenue for improving both student outcomes and school restructuring (Mirta, 2004). Student voice programs not only have the potential for supporting reform, but they create meaningful learning experiences that contribute to youth development, particularly for those youth who otherwise find little meaning in their school experiences (Mitra, 2004).
While student voice initiatives are happening across the country, the quality of these opportunities vary. Some of the lowest level student voice work is when youth play a passive role, serving primarily as sources of information. Slightly improved, but still limited, is when youth are afforded active leadership roles but are restricted to planning youth-oriented activities (such as organizing school dances, homecoming, etc). High level student voice occurs when youth have decision making power, critically interrogate issues of equity and justice, and can design solutions to the problems they identify (Fielding, 2001; Hart, 1992; Lee & Zimmeman, 1999). One area for maximizing youth voice and development is in the domain of participatory civics education, including youth participatory action research (YPAR) (Levin, 2000; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Typically, these participatory pedagogies allow students to do civics by engaging in cycles of problem identification, research, and policy action (Kirshner et al., 2018). YPAR trains young people to conduct social justice oriented systematic research to improve their lives, their communities, and the institutions intended to serve them (YPAR Hub, 2018).
This paper draws on ethnographic methods to describe an ongoing research-practice partnership (RPP), which supports one school district’s attempt at using critical YPAR in their student voice initiative. While offering high quality youth leadership experiences, tensions emerged when youth identified injustices and advocated for policy solutions that challenged adult decisions makers, such as principals and instructional superintendents. This study examines how this partnership balanced the tensions and possibilities of advancing high quality social justice oriented youth voice programming at a district level. Primary data sources include interviews with students, staff, teachers, and district representatives; field notes of youth learning and adult meetings; student focus groups; and student surveys.
The three primary findings are: 1) the district employed social justice minded administrators, who utilized their insider position to broker power on behalf of students; 2) the district sought out a variety of partners to help inform and broaden their work, including university researchers who provide evaluation and curriculum support; and 3) the district involved multiple stakeholders in the cultivation and celebration of youth voice, including teachers, community members, and school board members. This paper contributes broadly to research on student voice, YPAR, and research practice partnerships that seek to develop and sustain critically-oriented programs in school districts. I share core practices that enabled one district to negotiate issues of power and voice in the service of youth sociopolitical development.

Author

• Ginnie Logan, University of Colorado - Boulder