Reproductive Justice and Advocacy Initiatives for and by Pregnant and Parenting Youth

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: Engaging Research Alongside Community, Family, and Students

Abstract

This paper contributes to knowledge on how schools can support Pregnant & Parenting Youth (PPY) achieve their educational and personal goals, by examining a number of innovative p initiatives aimed at PPY. This project used qualitative methods and youth participatory action research (YPAR), involving a team of young parents in designing and implementing research projects and media campaigns aimed at better understanding the experiences of young parents. This paper will share findings from on-going research at an alternative high school in Chicago serving African American and Latinx youth that utilizes a Reproductive Justice (RJ) oriented framework (Ross & Solinger, 2017), and examine the role of participatory approaches employed with young parents in helping PPY develop important knowledge and challenge stereotypes.

Author

• Laura Ruth Johnson, Northern Illinois University