Holding Up the Mic: What Youth Say They Need in Order to Talk About Topics Affecting Their Lives

• In Event: Exploring the Production of Well-Being for and by Adolescents

Abstract

This study holds up a microphone to the voices of four girls (two who identify as Black; one as Middle Eastern, and one as Persian) involved in a Youth Dialogue Initiative to explore what [these] youth say they need to identify and talk about topics affecting their lives. Through the lenses of Restorative Practices and the Social Discipline Window, this study centers and amplifies student voices from semi-structured interviews, dialogue session audio, artifacts, and a focus group interview. Youth report they need safety and comfort, respect and boundaries, and everyone’s voice to be heard in order to talk about topics affecting their lives. Implications from this study point to important transferable design features that can assist in dialogues among youth.

Authors

• Laura Fittz Parks, Fort Lewis College

• Dena Lane-Bonds, Princeton University

• Ira E. Murray, Vanderbilt University