Youth Participatory Action Research – Our Process and

Initial Findings2014 Social Justice class

May 2, 2014

What is YPAR? Youth Participatory Action Research

A class of students who research issues within their community that concern them

Focusing on local issues of injustice Collecting data such as surveys, interviews & reading

research & current events to familiarize ourselves with the issues.

We continue to use our research to bring the issues to light & make a change

We will make recommendations to teachers and administrators to make changes in the school

Topic Selection Spent first quarter of semester learning about

various social injustices

Selection process Was a democratic process We brainstormed & discussed a list of possible topics We anonymously voted

We compromised & not all topics were chosen because of lack of interest

Final Topics College & career pathways

Curriculum & instruction

School & district funding

School rules & structures

College & Career Pathways

This group is researching Drop out rates for privileged vs. marginalized groups Access to scholarships for minoritized students AP course recruitment for minoritized students

College & Career pathways

Preliminary findings More students from minoritized groups have or know someone who has

dropped out Black and Latina/o enrollment in AP or AP prep courses is disproportionately

low, & those who are in enrolled are one of few in these courses. This is problematic because these courses are designed to prepare students for college

Connections to the conference theme Adolescent development

Teachers, counselors and administrators need to work to help students, especially students of color and English Language learners acquire resources to reach their full potential and achieve their post high school goals whether it be college or career.

Language & literacy ELLs are marginalized and unable to fully develop in an environment that

specifically caters to native English speakers. When ELLs are segregated from mainstream classroom opportunities they don’t get access to the rigorous academic preparation necessary for college.

School & District Funding

This group is considering How UHS textbooks are old, crumbling, & out of date How some classroom materials (like calculators) are

too expensive for everyone to afford How the school cafeteria food lacks nutritional value &

is low-quality How students with mental health concerns are treated

by staff & peers, & what supports are available to them

School & District Funding

Preliminary findings ¾ of our student body is under the poverty line, and this is

a 10% increase from the previous school year. 60% of students in poverty are of color

Our school currently has a $6 million dollar field house that was funded by a 1% tax increase. None of this money went to improving our educational materials.

Connections to conference theme Language and literacy

Text (such as textbooks) are a form of communication. Often times students go home and ask their families for help, and the textbook is a way for students to communicate with their families about what they are learning in school as well use the text to seek assistance on assignments.

School Rules & Structures

This group is considering How dress code enforcement differs based on

students’ identities How PDA is mostly discouraged for same-sex couples How the current gender structures & categories

(bathrooms, forms, etc.) in school impact transgender students

School Rules & Structures

Preliminary findings Students need to be better informed about LGBTQ

students & their identities Students perceive gender & sexuality as a binary and

don’t consider how it is a spectrum

Connections to the conference theme Gender & sexuality

Students who identify as heterosexual are privileged (i.e. heterosexism) because school rules & structures are designed to support them & their identities. Because of this heterosexism we don’t think about how schools academically disadvantage students of LGBTQ identities.

Curriculum & Instruction This group is considering

How marginalized identities are underrepresented in the curriculum

How Eurocentric the World Studies courses are How most texts we read are written by dominant

groups

Curriculum & Instruction Preliminary findings

Most marginalized groups noticed that there is a lack of identity representation in the curriculum, where as most students of dominant groups did not see an issue of representation.

Most concerning, almost all marginalized groups agreed that their classroom settings were hostile when certain aspects of their identities were brought up

Connections to conference theme Adolescent Development

Students need to have aspects of their identity represented and respected in the classroom situation to further the development of their identities. With no or poor representation, it hinders students’ personal development

Q & A