YPAR as Process: Supporting Youth Development through Youth Participatory Action Research
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| Title: | YPAR as Process: Supporting Youth Development through Youth Participatory Action Research |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Sally Neas, Steven Worker, Car Mun Kok, Dorina Espinoza |
| Source: | Afterschool Matters. 2026 (40):36-47. |
| Availability: | National Institute on Out-of-School Time. Wellesley Centers for Women, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481. Tel: 781-283-2547; Fax: 781-283-3657; e-mail: niost@wellesley.edu; Web site: http://www.niost.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 12 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Junior High Schools Middle Schools Secondary Education High Schools |
| Descriptors: | Youth, Participatory Research, Action Research, Critical Thinking, Middle School Students, High School Students, Program Implementation, Affordances |
| Geographic Terms: | California |
| Abstract: | Research has documented that youth participatory action research (YPAR) supports the development of critical consciousness, but there is less understanding of the mechanisms by which it does so. This study explores the programmatic components by which YPAR supports the development of critical consciousness by implementing YPAR with four cohorts of middle and high school youth in Northern California. Using data generated from youth focus groups and educator interviews, the authors explore how the youth's topic selection--in particular, having an open topic selection, as opposed to one that is constrained by the adult facilitators--was pivotal in affording the opportunity to develop critical consciousness. Practical implications for the use of YPAR as a tool for youth development are discussed. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1495745 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Research has documented that youth participatory action research (YPAR) supports the development of critical consciousness, but there is less understanding of the mechanisms by which it does so. This study explores the programmatic components by which YPAR supports the development of critical consciousness by implementing YPAR with four cohorts of middle and high school youth in Northern California. Using data generated from youth focus groups and educator interviews, the authors explore how the youth's topic selection--in particular, having an open topic selection, as opposed to one that is constrained by the adult facilitators--was pivotal in affording the opportunity to develop critical consciousness. Practical implications for the use of YPAR as a tool for youth development are discussed. |
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