Supporting the Dissemination and Impact of Youth-Generated Evidence from YPAR: Positional and Ethical Considerations

• In Event: Youth Participatory Action Research to Inform and Transform: Insights From Five States

Abstract

Objectives or purposes
The SFUSD-Berkeley Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) seeks to strengthen the impact of YPAR by sustained brokering and integration of YPAR findings into district data systems and routines. This paper focuses on the collaborative design in the development of an online YPAR data dashboard to support the visibility and impact of YPAR evidence developed in response to an expressed need by SFUSD students to connect and share YPAR findings with each other, and by SFUSD adult leader-allies to make YPAR findings more visible over time. We consider the positionality of our adult university team (including a former SFUSD teacher/doctoral student and an academic/SFUSD parent) in relation to SFUSD student and staff, youth and adult partners and the political and ethical implications related to trust and power that are emerging from the dashboard process.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
There is strong recognition of the need to address research-practice gaps. The use of research evidence (URE) field focuses on the conditions and strategies that promote URE by practitioners and decision-makers (Farley-Ripple, 2012; Nutley et al., 2007; Tseng & Nutley, 2014; Weiss and Bucuvalas, 1980, WT Grant Foundation, 2023).The existing literature focuses on the use of adult-generated research evidence. With YPAR, however, young people generate research evidence that adult decision-makers/practitioners (and youth themselves) can use to make change (Ozer et al., 2020).

Research Methods and Data Sources, evidence, or materials
Our URE/YPAR study centers on the use of evidence generated by young people, with a multi-site, multiple case study design to study YPAR evidence use in schools and districts. Here, we identify and analyze cases using the SFUSD site data which includes semi-structured interview transcripts from district and school-level staff, researcher memos connected to the interview transcripts, and field note reflections that capture on-the-ground YPAR technical assistance and brokering efforts with students as part of the SFUSD-Berkeley RPP work.

Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view
This paper analyzes the role of adult allies who “broker” youth-generated evidence in decision-making processes. Brokers are intermediaries that help connect research evidence to practitioners/decision makers (Neal et al., 2015). Power must be considered when examining adult brokering of YPAR evidence. Through the development and dissemination of the dashboard, certain political and ethical implications related to trust and power emerged. Key questions include: How do we ensure accountability from adults to use youth-generated evidence in the way intended by the student researchers? How can we responsibly and ethically broker YPAR evidence that report unfavorable findings about schools/districts without the students feeling like they are being censored by adults?

Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
The YPAR dashboard is an innovative platform to broker and strengthen the impact of YPAR across a large urban district, with potential spread across California. The dashboard aims to support stronger responsiveness and accountability from youth-serving systems to integrate youth-generated evidence. Our analysis provides novel consideration of this innovation and the potential for co-learning, collaboration, and accountability.

Authors

• Brian Villa, University of California - Berkeley

• Emily Ozer, University of California - Berkeley

• Devin Corrigan, San Francisco Unified School District

• Allison Firestone, San Francisco Unified School District