This book draws together insights on the past, present, and future of youth participatory action research (YPAR) through interviews with ten scholars whose work has been central to the field. In this critical moment, it allows readers to hear from scholars who have been foundational to the visioning and enacting of YPAR projects, as they reflect on the fundamental tenets and boundaries of their work. By engaging directly with leaders in the field, the book allows readers to explore many of the nuances, roots, and tensions of youth participatory action research. Throughout their conversations with scholars, Albright and Brion-Meisels pose three questions: What is the purpose of YPAR, and how does it get defined? What makes for authentic participation, both on the research team itself and in the process of the research? And how, if at all, does YPAR investigate and seek to dismantle existing power structures within schools and communities? In taking an intentionally dialectical approach, this volume builds on the centrality of dialogue in PAR/YPAR processes, both in terms of pedagogy/mode and in terms of content/matter. By sharing direct excerpts of conversations, readers can participate in the co-construction of knowledge, and gain more nuanced understandings of how purpose, participation, and power have shaped the foundations of YPAR, and how they might shape future collaborations. Elucidating the knowledge and perspective of leading YPAR practitioners, this timely book will be crucial reading on Research Methods and Education for Participatory Action Research programs and related courses.

A definitive statement of YPAR as it relates to education with an informative combination of theory and practice, this edited collection addresses both the political challenges and inherent power imbalances of conducting research with young people.

This book describes a method in which researchers commit to research WITH, not ON, members of marginalized communities in order to challenge and transform conditions of social injustice.

Doing Youth Participatory Action Research offers an unprecedented, in-depth exploration of the pragmatics and possibilities of youth-driven research. Drawing upon multiple years of experience engaging youth in rigorous, critical inquiry about the conditions impacting their lives, the authors examine how YPAR encourages the educational community to re-imagine the capabilities of young people and the purposes of teaching, learning, and research itself. Much more than a "how-to" guide for those interested in creating their own YPAR projects, this book draws upon the voices of students and educators, as well as the multiple historical traditions of critical research, to describe how youth inquiry transforms each step of the traditional research process. From identifying research questions to collecting data and disseminating findings, each chapter details how YPAR revolutionizes traditional conceptions of who produces knowledge, how it is produced, and for what purposes. The book weaves together research, policy, and practice to offer YPAR as a practice with the power to challenge entrenched social and educational inequalities, empower critically aware youth, and revolutionize pedagogy in classrooms and communities. For researchers, educators, community members, and youth who want to connect, question, and transform the world collectively, Doing Youth Participatory Action Research is a rich source of both pragmatic methodological guidance and inspiration.

While many educators acknowledge the challenges of a curriculum shaped by test preparation, implementing meaningful new teaching strategies can be difficult. Active Learning presents an examination of innovative, interactive teaching strategies that were successful in engaging urban students who struggled with classroom learning. Drawing on rich ethnographic data, the book proposes participatory action research as a viable approach to teaching and learning that supports the development of multiple literacies in writing, reading, research and oral communication. As Wright argues, in connecting learning to authentic purposes and real world consequences, participatory action research can serve as a model for meaningful urban school reform. After an introduction to the history and demographics of the working-class West Coast neighborhood in which the described PAR project took place, the book discusses the "pedagogy of praxis" method and the project’s successful development of student voice, sociopolitical analysis capacities, leadership skills, empowerment and agency. Topics addressed include an analysis and discussion of the youth-driven PAR process, the reactions of student researchers, and the challenges for adults in maintaining youth and adult partnerships. A thought-provoking response to current educational challenges, Active Learning offers both timely implications for educational reform and recommendations to improve school policies and practices.

In Activating Youth as Change Agents, editors Amy L. Cook and Ian P. Levy describe the applications of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) as a youth-oriented group process where school counselors collaborate alongside students in developmentally relevant ways to achieve their goals toward personal growth and positive school-community improvement. The book provides practitioners and counselors-in-training with group-counseling skills focused on action and how to engage in social justice efforts both locally at their school and in their communities.