A Methodological Vehicle for Healing-Oriented Youth Participatory Action Research

• In Event: Innovating Educational Research Methods to Disrupt Oppressive Systems and Promote Healing

Abstract

Childhood trauma is a deeply subjective experience, but much of the current research in the field of education emphasizes quantitative measures with prescribed ways of knowing (e.g., generating a single sum score from a checklist of potentially traumatic events). These means of collecting information do little in the way of engaging those who are at the center of the traumatic experiences– youth in schools. With more than two-thirds of U.S. youth experiencing trauma before the age of sixteen (McLaughlin et al., 2013), scholars and practitioners have appropriately advocated for trauma-informed educational approaches. Historically rooted in the practices of caring professions, the concept of trauma-informed practice embodies an understanding of trauma to support healing. However, most of the current trauma-informed educational approaches do not adequately center youth in the knowledge-generation process– and many youth-centered ways of research do not sufficiently integrate an awareness of trauma in their processes.

Therefore, in this paper we offer a methodological tool for advancing trauma-informed approaches to participatory research. We consider the overarching methodological question: how can YPAR research embody the trauma-informed components that intentionally name and push back against the dehumanizing social systems that cause harm? We conducted a thematic analysis of core principles from five influential trauma-informed frameworks (SAMHSA, 2014; Venet, 2021; Alvarez & Farinde-Wu, 2022; Goldin et al., 2023; Ginwright, 2018), our analysis revealed that the selected frameworks collectively emphasize four components: (1) critical examination of oppression; (2) the importance of agency; (3) relational approaches that prioritize trust and connection; and (4) a strengths-based perspective that honors the assets of youth. We then analyzed tenets of YPAR from well-cited papers (Anyon et al., 2018; Bettencourt, 2018; Rodriguez & Brown, 2009; Ozer, 2017; Ozer & Wright, 2012; Torre & Fine, 2006) and found that YPAR can center youth’s knowledge and lived experiences as resources for meaning-making, pushes against adultism, and promotes transformation.

Through integrating trauma-informed practices with YPAR, we offer a multi-dimensional approach to conducting research in ways that promote healing for youth in schools. Indeed, the framework we present can serve as a comprehensive analytic tool set that can be used to co-facilitate what we term: Healing-Oriented Youth Participatory Action Research. By centering youth (activists’) voices and adopting racially just approaches to trauma and healing, we view the research process as one that can remedy and repair the harms experienced by trauma-exposed youth by following their lead to create more just schooling environments. Ultimately, this methodological approach may contribute to shifting away from traditional research methods toward those that engage in critical disruption, transformation, and healing.

Authors

• Addison Duane, Sacramento State University

• Adam J. Alvarez, Texas A&M University