Implementing youth participatory action research at a continuation high school

Area of Science:

• Educational Research
• Youth Development
• Social Justice

Background:

• Continuation high schools (CHS) serve students seeking to complete their education, often facing unique challenges.
• Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) offers a framework for empowering young people to investigate and address issues within their communities.
• Implementing YPAR in a CHS setting requires adapting methodologies to suit the specific needs and context of credit recovery programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation of a YPAR project within a CHS credit recovery program.
• To share findings from a youth-designed research project exploring barriers to high school completion.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of YPAR in engaging youth in educational reform and policy improvement.

Main Methods:

• A modified YPAR curriculum was employed, integrating research methods and social justice themes.
• Field notes documented the YPAR implementation process, including curriculum delivery and research decisions.
• A cross-sectional survey, designed by students, was administered to assess barriers to high school completion.

Main Results:

• The YPAR project was successfully implemented across three student cohorts from 2019 to 2022.
• A student-designed survey indicated that 72% of respondents provided care for family members.
• The survey also highlighted prevalent symptoms of depression among student participants.

Conclusions:

• YPAR methodologies can be effectively translated to a high school credit recovery program setting.
• Student-led research provided valuable insights into educational barriers and informed potential policy and practice improvements.
• The project demonstrated YPAR's potential to foster transformational resistance and empower youth in educational evaluation.