HeKA and YPARE: Integrating Ma’atian Principles in Youth-Led Ethical Research and Evaluation for Social Change

• In Event: Theorizing, Research, and Renewal Within the Black Intellectual Tradition: “How Do It Free Us?”

Abstract

Purpose
This paper reports the results of two Black Studies Research experiences designed for youth-led social change: HeKA: Youth Human Subjects Ethical Leadership Training Module and YPARE: Youth Participatory Research and Evaluation Module. (HeKA means: Heritage Knowledge in Action.) Both modules aimed to equip youth leaders with competencies required to act as ethical co-investigators, community researchers and program evaluators, leading, protecting and defending their heritage and communities. HeKA draws from Black Studies scholarship (Hilliard, 1997; Karenga, 2002; King & Maiga, 2018; Nobles, 2006; Sesanti, 2021) to present a perspective on ethical research that is not addressed by traditional certification agencies (e.g., CITI Training). These agencies function as research gatekeepers, maintaining hierarchies of knowledge and epistemological silos that largely exclude youth, Black, and Indigenous peoples from active research agency (Author, 2019). YPARE expands the critical and agentic possibilities of YPAR (Cammarota & Fine 2010; Mirra & Garcia, 2015) to include evaluation (Adedoyin et al., 2024) of the very institutions that dehumanize and disempower Black people globally. By focusing on ethical (Lake & Wendland, 2018; Sesanti, 2018) research skill development, youth become active agents in research in service to remedy and repair. Situated within a broader international youth civic leadership collaborative program, this study underscores the importance of youth perspectives in education research and evaluation.
Perspective
This presentation is grounded in the virtues of Ma’at that align with the ethical imperatives for Africana/Black Studies research (McDougal, 2014), which also align with the three ethical principles espoused in the Belmont Report (1979). Our framework is guided by the Ma’atian virtues of order and truth (respect for persons); justice, propriety/compassion, and reciprocity (beneficence); and harmony and balance (justice) (Karenga, 2004). In Africana Studies Research, justice requires that we return what we learn to the Black community; we do not extract information from participants without working in partnership with them to explore and create a better world for them (King, 2017). Given this understanding, we argue that at the core, HeKA and YPARE are Africana Research methods informed by Ma’atian virtues.
Methods & Data Sources
This presentation draws on HeKA and YPARE curricular artifacts (documents, quizzes, assignments), participant-observation and reflection data. YPARE data includes meeting transcriptions recorded during the process of facilitating YPARE training to graduate research assistants, who were then responsible for leading youth participants through YPARE activities.
Results
Interpretive data analysis reveals that HeKA and YPARE modules successfully align with Ma’atian virtues and the ethical imperatives of Africana Studies research. Youth participants demonstrated significant growth in their abilities to conduct ethical research, critically evaluate institutions, and advocate for their communities. These findings underscore the effectiveness of integrating Ma’atian principles in youth-led research and evaluation, highlighting the transformative potential of such approaches in fostering social change.
Scholarly significance
This work extends beyond the scope of existing research institutions to meet the ethical standards of Black communities. The integration of African ethics contributes not only to the body of knowledge but also to the tangible betterment of Black communities, affirming the importance of youth-led social change.

Authors

• Adrienne C. Goss, Clark Atlanta University

• Melissa Speight Vaughn, Georgia State University