School Space Becoming Homeplace: Youth Sociopolitical Consciousness Through Restorative Justice and Action Research

• In Event: Teacher Research as a Tool for Equity

Abstract

This research shows how restorative and participatory practices shape student sociopolitical development in my 12th grade Government classroom. This is an ethnographic study of youth participating in culture circles at a charter school in an urban setting within Los Angeles County. The work interprets and analyzes how practicing these types of programs within an institution affect the relationship between students, their school, and broader social communities. Using a critical education framework and elements of Youth Participatory Action Research, this study illustrates how students create narrative and meaning for their experience in dominant society and looks toward how youth participate to challenge social inequalities. The youth in this study repossess the classroom as a “homeplace” and intellectual refuge.

Author

• Jacob E Abriel, California State University - Los Angeles