College Access Programs
Julie Poncelet, n/a
Independent Evaluation & Research Consultant
@ the Corner of Learning & Action, United States
Dee Chambliss, n/a
Director, Network Evaluation
NAF, United States
Location: Room 206
Abstract Information: Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is a process whereby youth as experts develop, with adult allies' support learning experiences and environments that better address their needs and priorities. YPAR is a robust process to ensure college access and future-readiness programs engage in equitable and mission-aligned practices to meet young people's evolving needs better while strengthening their readiness competencies. Not all programs have the time, capacity, or resources for the complete PAR process, maybe only key components, which is the focus of this workshop. We begin with an overview of why this approach to centering youth voice and choice in future readiness programs. Next, participants will use participatory activities from a YPAR toolkit, collaboratively developed and piloted by NAF, a national networked college and career readiness organization. We will practice meaning-making strategies to enrich survey data stories with youth. Finally, we will conclude with a collective reflection on the experience.
Relevance Statement: It is critical for those of us working with data about youth and representing youth experiences to make meaning of those stories with youth.
NAF, a national network of education, business, and community leaders, wants to ensure that high school students across the United States are ready for college and careers. NAF sought to increase youth voice and engagement in its network to support its mission. With Participatory Action Research (PAR), NAF intended to create new spaces within its academies for youth-centered knowledge and power-sharing to advance more equitable future-readiness experiences and program evaluation.
Youth-centered PAR (or YPAR) is an "innovative approach to positive youth and community development based on 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 Hub)
For six months in 2020-2021, NAF and its evaluation consultant, Dr. Julie Poncelet, collaboratively designed and piloted with six stipended high-school student researchers (all NAF program participants) and adult allies a YPAR toolkit to support a future readiness program in Birmingham, AL. In Fall 2022, NAF piloted the toolkit with educators supporting college and career readiness. The tool kit includes a literature review, an adult ally youth engagement readiness tool, introductory videos, YPAR lesson plans, and participatory activity implementation guides. It is organized according to three scenarios relevant to future-readiness and other youth development programs: (1) participatory activities to support youth engagement, (2) a mini-PAR process for youth-informed or youth-led solutions, and (3) a full PAR project for youth-led action for change.
NAF designed the YPAR toolkit to guide educators and allies to collaborate with youth on program design and evaluation to support a culture of youth-informed improvements and changes. ["P]rograms [developed] in partnership with youth are more likely to be effective at engaging the population and, therefore, to have a greater impact. Involving youth as partners in making decisions that affect them increases the likelihood that the decisions will be accepted, adopted, and become part of their everyday lives." (Youth.gov) The skill-building workshop will focus on Scenario One and allow participants to practice meaning-making participatory activities to support youth voice and choice in college and career readiness programs. Participatory activities can help us to make meaning of our program's data, that is, youth's stories of their experiences in our future readiness programs and beyond.
We will begin the workshop with a brief orientation on the features, benefits, and considerations of partnering with youth and using participatory strategies to support ethical, equitable, and culturally responsive evaluations and future readiness program design. Participants will then try out participatory activities they could replicate with program youth program development, improvements, and evaluation. We will conclude by modeling a participatory meaning-making activity to discuss the application of these approaches in our future readiness work. Participants will receive resources and materials, including participatory strategies and how-to guides.
YPAR Hub, http://yparhub.berkeley.edu.
Involving youth in positive youth development. Involving Youth in Positive Youth Development | Youth.gov. (n.d.).