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22 - Youth Participatory Action Research in School Settings

from Part VI - Education and Engaged Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 April 2024

Brian D. Christens
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
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Summary

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) engages youth in systematic processes of collectively identifying, analyzing, and addressing systems-level stressors, such as policies or practices that create unequal opportunities for young people to live, learn, and thrive. In this chapter, we first provide an overview of the history of YPAR. Next, we discuss key dimensions of power and empowerment within the YPAR process. Specifically, we explore YPAR in the context of educational settings via three case examples (i.e., a leadership class, a school club, and an after-school program). Lastly, applications of YPAR and future research are discussed.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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