Youth Participation and Community Change

Barry Checkoway

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780789032911
• eBook ISBN: 9781136449314
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Health Care Delivery

Empowered youth CAN and DO make a difference!

Young people become empowered by their participation in the institutions and decisions that affect their liveswhich in turn can lead to real positive change in the community. Youth Participation and Community Change presents leading authorities providing the latest research and effective approaches on how young people can be drawn to participate in organizations and communities. The diverse perspectives discuss youth participation in today's society, the models and methods of its practice, the roles of youth and adults, and the future of youth participation and community in a diverse democracy. Approaches include those which promote participatory community-based research and evaluation, and involve youth groups in poor and racially segregated areas.

The mainstream view of much of today's youth is that of being victims of society rather than a being a possible positive influence on society as a whole. Youth Participation and Community Change seeks to shift the viewpoint from youth as being problems to empowering them to enact positive social change. The book explores community agency efforts to involve young people, and the process by which youth civic engagement promotes empowerment. Social work and public health approaches are examined, with cogent discussions on conceptual and theoretical issues. Empirically based case studies illustrate best practices and interdisciplinary work that draws upon psychology, sociology, social work, public health, education, and related academic disciplines and professional fields.

Topics in Youth Participation and Community Change include:

• key dimensions of critical youth empowerment
  
• a case study of youth leadership development in Hawaiithe Sariling Gawa Youth Council
  
• the Lexington Youth Leadership Academya leadership development and community change program
  
• a new model for youth civic engagement in Hampton, Virginia
  
• three projects that engage urban youth in community change through participatory research
  
• youth engagement strategies and the benefits of youth participation in health research
  
• ten projects which used photovoice to represent, advocate, and enhance community health
  
• a participatory action research process with youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  
• the Growing Up in Cities project of UNESCO
  
• training students as facilitators for the Youth Empowerment Strategies (YES!) project
  
• four characteristics of engagement in the research literature and a school-community-university project
  
• differences in developmental outcomes among youth organizing, identity-support, and traditional youth development agencies
  
  

Youth Participation and Community Change is thought-provoking, enlightening reading that is perfect for organizers, planners, policymakers, advocates, youth service workers, agency administrators, educators, students, and professionals in psychology, sociology, social work, urban planning, public policy, and public health.

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YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN EVALUATION AND RESEARCH

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Urban Youth Building Community: Social Change and Participatory Research in Schools, Homes, and Community-Based Organizations

Kysa Nygreen, PhD

Soo Ah Kwon, PhD

Patricia Sánchez, PhD

SUMMARY. “Urban” youth–a euphemism for underserved, poor, marginalized, ethnic minority youth–can be active participants in community change. Countering the predominant image of these youth as disengaged or troubled, this article describes three projects that engage urban youth in community change through participatory research. The authors share their experiences as adult allies on these projects and examine four lessons learned, addressing: (1) the importance of positionality; (2) the role of adult allies in youth-led projects; (3) the creation of safe spaces; and (4) the building of trust and relationships. They conclude that urban youth can become a vital resource for community transformation. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1–800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <[email protected]> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> © 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Urban youth, participatory research, social/community change, youth leadership, race/class/gender/culture, adult allies

INTRODUCTION

Increasingly scholars and policy makers are paying attention to the role of meaningful youth participation (O’Donoghue et al., 2002; McLaughlin et al., 1994), youth civic engagement (Youniss et al., 1997, 2002), and marginalized youth of color organizing for social justice (Ginwright & James, 2002; Ginwright & Cammarota, 2002). Our recent experiences as adult allies in efforts to engage youth in social change have helped confirm our long-held beliefs that “urban” youth–a euphemism for underserved, poor, marginalized, ethnic minority youth–can be important actors in shaping their schools and communities.¹ Despite a dominant discourse that frames urban youth as disengaged or troubled, our experiences suggest that these youth, if given the opportunity, can become competent citizens (Checkoway et al., 2003), active participants, and powerful agents of social change.

As former elementary and high school teachers, we hold a special stake not only in the realization of such youth-driven work, but also in the maintenance of a dialogue on this topic. Given the persistent failure of public institutions like schools to serve “inner-city” youth (Anyon, 1997; Aronowitz & Giroux, 1985; Fine, 1991; Noguera, 1996, 2003; Oakes, 1985; Payne, 1984), the promise of a better future for these youths’ long-neglected and underrepresented communities needs to be re-directed toward the valuable human resources already present in such neighborhoods. The experiences and knowledge of African American, Asian and Pacific Islander, Chicana, Latino, white, immigrant, transnational, and minority youth can be a vital source in the transformation of their schools, homes, and the community-based organizations (CBOs) that work with them.

In this article, we investigate the role of participatory research as a model of engaging with youth for social change. We share the work we have carried out with three different groups of youth in northern California: PARTY–a multi-ethnic school-based group of students transforming curriculum at an alternative high school; TNL–a small group of Latinas conducting research in both their U.S. and Mexican “homes” on children’s transnational experiences; and AYPAL–a pan-ethnic Asian and Pacific Islander CBO focused on youth organizing and social justice. We offer an illustration of these projects and some of their results, as well as a close look at the lessons learned through our participation as adult allies. Additionally, we examine our roles as university-based researchers and active participants in youth-led efforts for community change through the model of participatory research with youth.

PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH AND YOUTH

The purpose of participatory research is not merely to describe and interpret social reality, but to radically change it. (Maguire, 1987, p. 28)

We define participatory research as an alternative paradigm of knowledge production in which groups who are adversely affected by a social problem undertake collective study to understand and address it (Hall, 1992, 1993; Maguire, 1987, 1993; Park, 1999; Tandon, 1981; Vio Grossi, 1981). Participatory research is not just a “method” involving participation by research subjects: it “presents people as researchers in pursuit of answers to questions of daily struggle and survival; breaks down the distinction between researcher and researched … and returns to the people the legitimacy of the knowledge they are capable of producing” (Hall, 1992, p. 16).

Participatory research is usually carried out by people from marginalized communities such as the poor, immigrants, women, or people of color. It is based on the assumption that people are capable of understanding the social forces that shape the conditions of their lives. Research questions speak to the needs of the group because they emerge from their shared experiences. University-based researchers may participate as allies and contributors, but community-based members retain control over each phase of the research process, from developing research questions and methods, to interpreting and using the results as the basis for collective action.

Although we often do not think about age as an axis of oppression like race, gender or class, youth in fact represent a marginalized group in society (Laz, 1998; Males, 1999; Minkler & Robertson, 1991). Despite youth’s marginalized status, the most widely-circulated texts on participatory research tend to focus on projects involving adults (e.g., Ansley & Gaventa, 1997; Fals-Borda & Rahman, 1991; Hall, 1992; Maguire, 1987; Park, Brydon-Miller, Hall, & Jackson, 1993). Thus, the distinct opportunities and challenges of doing participatory research with youth have not been sufficiently explored in the literature. This article seeks to amplify the literature on participatory research by focusing on the role of urban youth in these efforts. Our experiences confirm that youth-led participatory research can be a powerful way to engage urban youth as active participants in school and community change.

THREE YOUTH PROJECTS

The youth-driven projects we have worked with have evolved and taken root in different social settings–a high school, homes, and CBOs. Yet the three projects are similar in two important ways: first, all three were conceived via an established relationship between adult allies and youth. In other words, much dialogue and community-building took place organically in the spaces we adult allies shared with the youth prior to initiating the research. Secondly, in all three projects, urban youth and their worldviews and concerns were at the center of the research and learning experience–unlike much of the youth’s own public schooling experiences. Below we describe in more detail each project, pointing toward the powerful learning and social-change experiences created in these out-of-school settings.

Participatory Action Research Team for Youth (PARTY)

The Participatory Action Research Team for Youth (PARTY) involves five recent graduates and current students from Jackson High School² (ages 16–19), and myself (Nygreen),³ a former Jackson teacher and university-based researcher (age 27).⁴ Our shared community is a public alternative high school serving predominantly low-income youth of color who have been labeled “at-risk.” Together we embarked on a participatory research project aimed at making change within the school. Our team represents diverse ethnic backgrounds including African American, Filipino, Latino, and white.

In the first year, PARTY met weekly to conduct collaborative research on social issues affecting the school community. In these meetings we engaged in group reflection and dialogue about social and political issues, learned new facts and information, shared personal experiences, and built relationships across age, gender, race, and class. We discussed how social issues and news events affected our lives and the lives of Jackson students. In order to learn more about how social issues affected the lives and education of Jackson students, we conducted a school-wide survey and carried out audio-taped interviews with school staff, teachers, and students.

The next year we applied our findings by developing and teaching a high school course at Jackson High. The purpose of our course was to inspire Jackson students to think critically about social justice issues and engage in action for social change, as one PARTY member explained, “I want to see people who have a positive spin on society and get out there and become part of society … contribute to what’s going on in your country, … contribute to things being better.” Our course was approved by the principal and social studies teacher, and we gained permission to teach a weekly, 80-minute lesson in the U.S. government class. PARTY members developed lesson plans and taught the class, employing dialogue-based pedagogy to address topics like police brutality, prisons, and environmental racism.

For the PARTY participants, teaching the weekly government class was a concrete action for social justice in our school community. In designing and teaching a high school class, PARTY members took on traditionally adult roles, gaining confidence and leadership skills, as one participant reflected, “I gained a lot of strength being in this group. …I realize that I can really be confident. … I’ve gained a lot more power in myself. And I can articulate a lot better.”

Transnational Latinas (TNL)

Transnational Latinas (TNL) has been working together for over three years. We are four Latinas–three youth (ages 13–16) and a graduate student (age 29) whose parents emigrated from small rural communities in México.⁵ Utilizing participatory research, we have attempted to document and understand the lives of transnational immigrant children and families, ultimately sharing this information through a co-authored children’s book.

I (Sánchez) first met two of the youth through work at a community-based family literacy program; the third youth I met through a yearly pen-pal letter program in a local school district. Upon learning that all four of us were traveling to México to visit family, we came together as a group to share our pictures and experiences on these yearly trips. For the first year of our project, we simply got to know each other more, to understand our families’ ties to México, and explore the meaning this had in our lives as transnational second-generation female immigrants. We had often shared how our trips to México, language, and close-knit immigrant culture were rendered invisible in school. This led to our decision to write a children’s book on what it was like growing up in two homes spread across an international border.

The youth and I conducted research on this type of life through: (1) dialogue, (2) interviews and field notes with transnational families in both the U.S. and México, and (3) a collection of documents, such as home videos, pictures, writings, and other items exchanged in transnational families. Throughout this process, our families in both California and parts of México were excellent supporters and resources. We took their knowledge as members of transnational communities and created a meta-narrative, as seen through a child’s eyes, of what life is like in these places.

Finally, we spent the last twelve months of our project writing and illustrating our book. We printed the first 80 copies with money we received from a small grant at a local copy store and distributed these to our families, at teacher conferences, local libraries, and day care centers. Most recently, the same CBO–where two of the youth still work–connected us to a children’s book publisher that is now working with all four of us on national distribution.

Asian and Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership (AYPAL)

The Asian and Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership (AYPAL) is a pan-ethnic community-based youth organizing collaborative made up of six Asian and Pacific Islander (API) youth groups including Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Laotian, Mien, Samoan, Tongan, and Vietnamese youth, ages 14–18. As an organization, AYPAL works toward accomplishing three overarching goals with their youth: building youth-led community groups, promoting youth civi...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Other Page
• Contents
• About the Editors
• Youth Participation and Community Change: An Introduction
• Children as Citizens
• Toward a Critical Social Theory of Youth Empowerment
• Sariling Gawa Youth Council as a Case Study of Youth Leadership Development in Hawai'i
• Youth as Engaged Citizens and Community Change Advocates Through the Lexington Youth Leadership Academy
• The Hampton Experience as a New Model for Youth Civic Engagement
• Urban Youth Building Community: Social Change and Participatory Research in Schools, Homes, and Community-Based Organizations
• Youth Action for Health Through Youth-Led Research
• Youth Participation in Photovoice as a Strategy for Community Change
• Participatory Action Research with Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• The Growing Up in Cities Project: Global Perspectives on Children and Youth as Catalysts for Community Change
• Training Students as Facilitators in the Youth Empowerment Strategies (YES!) Project
• Collaborative Teams for Youth Engagement
• Youth Organizing, Identity-Support, and Youth Development Agencies as Avenues for Involvement
• Index