High School Graduation and COVID-19: A Participatory Action Research Study

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Sesion 4
  In Roundtable Session: Experiences in Marginalized Communities During the Pandemic: Lessons From Students and Families

Abstract

This proposed paper presentation draws from a participatory action research (PAR) study, Baltimore City Young Adults: Concerns, City Schools, and COVID, which includes an online survey of 18- to 24-year-olds in Baltimore City on in-school barriers to and supports for high school graduation, with attention to the COVID-19 pandemic. The research team consists of three young adults from Baltimore City and three researchers from University of Maryland, College Park. In this presentation, we will report our survey findings and examine the PAR process, which includes organizing and training local researchers and designing and implementing the study. We will also discuss power dynamics, decision-making, and team-building in PAR projects with young people and how COVID-19 can impact PAR processes.

Authors

• Tara Marie Brown, University of Maryland - College Park

• Stephanie Timmons-Brown, University of Maryland - College Park

• Mary Johnson, University of Maryland - College Park