Learning, Healing, and Belonging Together: Co-Constructing Third Space with Asian American and Migrant Youth through Youth Participatory Action Research

• In Event: Emotion, Justice, and Curriculum

Abstract

Framed by Asian Critical Race Theory (AsianCrit) and guided by Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), this study examines the experiences of high school-aged Asian and Asian American youth in a summer camp centered on Asian American histories. Through YPAR, the camp functioned as a transformative Third Space, an informal learning environment beyond school, where youth reclaimed histories, communities, and belonging often absent in predominantly white school contexts. This study shows how youth critically reflected on racialized experiences and reimagined Asian American histories, extending AsianCrit as a framework for research with and for Asian American youth. It calls for creating more Third Spaces through YPAR, where youth can affirm identities, raise critical consciousness, and act as co-constructors of knowledge for educational equity.

Author

• Yeji Kim, University of Missouri