Revolutionary Policy Change: Student-Led Research as Antiracist Praxis

• In Event: Accepting Responsibility for (In)Equity in Education? Critical Policy Analysis Across Contexts

Abstract

As demonstrated by history, students have the courage to not just simply have a “voice” but also take “action” even when there are social and political conditions impeding their efforts towards racial justice (Author). There is historical evidence that students are the catalyst for and are often on the front lines of anti-racist policy change in their school communities. Although often dismissed by adult leaders in schools (Bertand, 2014), young people are key actors to ushering in social transformation over time (Costanza-Chock, 2012). Student activism has led to upending racist policies and practices such as Jim Crow, school segregation, racial disparities in school discipline, policing in schools, and fighting for immigrant rights. While these revolutionary policy changes require activism that is bold and risky such as walkouts, sit-ins, or hunger strikes, inciting anti-racist change also requires strategic research and planning that informs why a policy change is needed and what type of policy change will result in racial justice. As such, in this paper I review various forms of student-lead research like youth participatory action research and evaluation (Bautista et al., 2013; Irizarry, 2009, 2011; Rodríguez & Brown, 2009), discussing how these methodological approaches are a form of critical policy analysis that invokes anti-racist praxis. I will highlight both historical and contemporary examples of student-led research as an anti-racist strategy that generated revolutionary policy changes. Finally, I will conclude with recommendations for how student-led research can be instituted in district and school-level racial equity plans.

Author

• Anjale DeVawn Welton, University of Wisconsin-Madison