Revolutionizing Education, Revitalized: The Rise of Creative Resistance in Youth Participatory Action Research

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This panel features four contributors to the forthcoming volume Revolutionizing Education, Revitalized: The Rise of Creative Resistance in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). Through firsthand accounts, critical reflection, and multimedia examples, panelists will explore how young people engage in creative resistance—through art, storytelling, and activism—to challenge systemic inequities in education. Highlighting projects rooted in youth voice, critical pedagogy, and community collaboration, this session emphasizes the transformative potential of YPAR in reimagining educational spaces. Contributors will discuss methodological innovations, tensions, and the power of youth-led inquiry in catalyzing change. Attendees will gain insights into how creative resistance reshapes research and practice, positioning youth not just as participants but as co-researchers and leaders of educational justice.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Grassroots Community and Youth Organizing for Educational Justice

Chair

• Ashley D. Domínguez, University of Arizona

Papers

• “Don’t Drink the Water!”: Desert Stories of Environmental Justice, YPAR in an Afterschool club - Julio Cammarota, University of Arizona

• Fostering Joy And Liberation: The Healing Path of Youth Participatory Action Research - Jennifer Ayala, Saint Peter's University

• How Are We Gonna Turn This Into Music? We’re Not. We Are Here To Explore; Making Meaning And a Music of the Oppressed - Martin Urbach, Graduate Center - CUNY; Madeline Fox, Brooklyn College

• Facilitating Space for Creative Resistance through Literacy and Arts-Based Methods - Courtney Mauldin-Jones, Syracuse University

Session Organizer

• Ashley D. Domínguez, University of Arizona

Discussant

• Julio Cammarota, University of Arizona