Using Youth Participatory Action Research to Better Understand the Effects of School Security Equipment on Students

• In Event: Methodological Pluralism for Comprehensive Evaluation of the Implementation and Impacts of School Security Equipment

Abstract

Objectives and Theoretical Framework
The fifth and final phase of this study, conducted in partnership with the Youth Research Council (YRC), has two primary objectives: first, to elevate young people’s lived experiences in discussions about school securitization; second, to build youth research capacity to influence knowledge production on school safety. This work is theoretically grounded in the commitment to “position participants as co-researchers” and “democratize the search for solutions to persistent problems” (Penuel et al., 2020, p. 641), emphasizing the critical role of youth-generated evidence in both scholarship and policymaking. The YRC approach critically examines the intersections of knowledge and power, addressing the historical marginalization of youth voices in educational decision-making. By focusing on epistemic justice, the YPAR phase aims to reorient school safety research toward more equitable and inclusive frameworks for understanding and action.

Methodological Approach
The YRC is a regional initiative where high school-aged young people serve as co-researchers (“YRC Fellows”) alongside university researchers, educators, and policy leaders in Virginia. Nearly 50 Fellows, most identifying as students of color and future first-generation college students, position the YRC uniquely to engage youth traditionally underrepresented in educational research. These Fellows lead peer recruitment and data collection, anchoring this phase in authentic, community-rooted inquiry.

Data Sources
This phase utilizes diverse data sources to authentically capture youth voices and experiences. Central are “hallway interviews”, which are brief, informal conversations conducted by YRC Fellows with their peers in everyday school settings such as between classes, cafeterias, or en route to and from school, allowing spontaneous and candid reflections on school safety and securitization. Complementing these are informal focus groups fostering peer dialogue and collective meaning-making. To deepen understanding, arts-based methods such as photovoice, creative writing, data quilting, and data poems are employed, enabling youth to express their perspectives creatively beyond traditional verbal or written responses. Collectively, these data sources provide a layered, holistic view of young people’s experiences with school security policies, enriching the study’s insights and promoting more inclusive approaches to school safety research.

Anticipated Contributions and Scholarly Significance
This paper on the YPAR phase contributes significantly to school safety research and participatory methodologies by centering youth as active knowledge producers in a field where their voices have often been marginalized. By documenting how YRC Fellows engage peers through innovative data collection and arts-based methods, this study complements the broader study’s other methods, enriching the overall understanding of school securitization with nuanced, student-centered insights. Its scholarly significance lies in challenging traditional power dynamics in educational research, foregrounding epistemic justice, and democratizing knowledge production. Importantly, this youth-led inquiry is positioned as a vital complement to other methodological approaches, demonstrating how diverse perspectives and methods can collaboratively produce a more comprehensive and socially just understanding of school safety. This paper provides a model for integrating youth perspectives into policy-relevant research, ultimately advancing theory and practice that prioritize young people’s experiences and agency.

Author

• Meagan Call-Cummings, Johns Hopkins University