AN APPROACH
YPAR (Youth-led Participatory Action Research) is an innovative approach to positive youth and community development based in social justice principles in which young people are trained to conduct systematic research to improve their lives, their communities, and the institutions intended to serve them. YPAR is a cyclical process of learning and action research is done not just for he sake of it but to inform solutions to problems that young people themselves care about. YPAR can be useful for any young people wanting to make a difference, and is an especially powerful approach for young people who are experiencing marginalization due to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ableism, or other forms of oppression,.
YPAR CAN HELP TO:
- Redefine who has the expertise to produce knowledge and create change in our communities. It's not just the professional researchers, but the young people surviving and thriving through the issues.
- Provide skills of inquiry, evidence, and presentation that are important to the development of students as leaders and change agents.
- Generate findings that provide insight into the issues young people face as well as the resources and support to help them address those issues.
- Develop each young person's worth and voice within the sociopolitical world and empowers them to take action.
- Evaluate programs, policies, and practices that affect young people and our future.
STEPS TO MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
Adult allies guide youth through the four steps below and act as a resource; however, projects are all youth-led. While the YPAR framework is meant for older teens and young adults, you may be able to modify it according to different age ranges. The following videos on the Stepping Stones follow YPAR projects conducted at an elementary-aged and middle-school level.
Step 1: Getting Ready
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Step 3: Define the Issue, Conduct your Research & Evaluation DesignThere are an array of challenges that stand between us and the future we hope to create. YPAR provides the framework for your team to determine the issue you intend to address. Once your team has agreed to an issue, it's time to go out and collect, then analyze information around the issue. This information collection will help determine your action plan.
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Step 4: Skill DevelopmentFacilitators are encouraged to help youth researchers develop the skills needed to collect and analyze the data, through various hands-on activities. It must be noted that this may be the first time youth are conducting research at a community level, so it cannot be assumed that youth will know how to collect appropriate data.
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Step 5: Data Collection
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Step 7: Final Report & Presentation
Step 8: Next Steps
Youth have conducted all the research that they need and is ready
to present their findings to gain additional support for their cause.
It's important to remember that this is the start of your strategic
plan of action. The end of the project does not mean that
your researched-issue is now solved.
to present their findings to gain additional support for their cause.
It's important to remember that this is the start of your strategic
plan of action. The end of the project does not mean that
your researched-issue is now solved.