Exploring Nuances of Youth Programs That Develop Latinx Youth Wellbeing

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 9:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Creative and Critical Approaches in Youth Participatory Action Research

Abstract

Grounded in agencies of transformational resistance and social domains of wellbeing, this study foregrounds the voices of undocumented and first-generation Latinx youth in Iowa to illuminate the ways one youth program nurtured three social domains of wellbeing. Results reveal Latinx youth developed a sense of liberation/joy, belonging/mastering, and meaningful connections/relationships through three key program processes: 1) a pedagogy (liberating pedagogy of praxis) centered dialogue, sharing circles, and critical action, 2) a curriculum that centered Latinx youth’s lived experiences and community knowledge into lessons on historical and contemporary Latinx struggles, activism, and resistance, and 3) co-conspirators, adult staff who used their positions, privilege, and power to stand in solidarity with youth.

Authors

• Carlos R. Casanova, Arizona State University

• Jami Carmichael, Arizona State University

• Lydia Ross, Arizona State University