Youth Participatory Action Research And The Future Of Education Reform

Abstract

This article presents a youth participatory action research (YPAR) study, which was conducted through a theoretical lens incorporating the social justice youth policy framework and Critical Race Theory.

What Do Students Have to Do With Educational Leadership? Making a Case for Centering Student Voice

“…Even students and teachers who may not directly participate in youth voice initiatives benefit when structures are in place to elevate the voices and perspectives of young people (N. G. Fielding & Fielding, 1986; Mitra, 2008, 2009; Poon & Cohen, 2012; Wernick, Woodford, & Kulick, 2014). For example, Poon and Cohen (2012) highlight the work of youth in a New Orleans organization called the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA).…”

“…G. Fielding & Fielding, 1986; Mitra, 2008, 2009; Poon & Cohen, 2012; Wernick, Woodford, & Kulick, 2014). For example, Poon and Cohen (2012) highlight the work of youth in a New Orleans organization called the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA). Touted as the New Orleans “miracle” after Hurricane Katrina, schools in New Orleans transitioned into the first major United States city to adopt all charter schools across the district.…”

“…Touted as the New Orleans “miracle” after Hurricane Katrina, schools in New Orleans transitioned into the first major United States city to adopt all charter schools across the district. The dominant narrative threading through this “miracle” included the storyline that the poor students floundering in underperforming schools before Hurricane Katrina would finally be rescued by an innovative approach to education through the charter school movement (Poon & Cohen, 2012). In response, the authors, along with youth researchers from VAYLA, sought to examine the degree and extent of this turnaround in New Orleans.…”

“…Rather than viewing youth as a resource and as potential co-leaders, principals and teachers more often than not adopt a banking model to school leadership, making assumptions about what students are capable of actually thinking and doing (Damiani, 2014; Gentilucci & Muto, 2007). However, research outside traditional notions of educational leadership suggests that when adults value and recognize the lived experiences of students, classrooms and schools become more inclusive and welcoming (Jones & Yonezawa, 2009; Mansfield, 2011, 2015; Poon & Cohen, 2012; Wernick et al, 2014). For example, Wernick et al (2014) document the work of young people involved in Riot Youth, a community-based organization located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the goal of supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning youth (LGBTQQ).…”

Winners and losers: School closures in post-earthquake Canterbury and the dissolution of community

“…Over time, all public schools in New Orleans Parish were systematically transformed into charter schools. Students were left feeling dislocated, disoriented and disengaged (Akers, 2012;Buras, 2011Buras, , 2013Gabor, 2013;Maxwell, 2007;Newton, 2013;Poon & Cohen, 2012). Giroux (2006) claims that Hurricane Katrina revealed how the global ideological agenda had dismantled the safety net that supported society's most vulnerable.…”