Use of Research Evidence Generated by Youth: Conceptualization and Applications in Diverse U.S. K-12 Educational Settings.

Use of Research Evidence Generated by Youth: Conceptualization and Applications in Diverse U.S. K-12 Educational Settings. Am J Community Psychol. 2020 Jun 04;: Authors: Ozer EJ, Abraczinskas M, Voight A, Kirshner B, Cohen AK, Zion S, Glende JR, Stickney D, Gauna R, Lopez SE, Freiburger K Abstract Youth-Led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is a social justice-focused approach for promoting social change and positive youth development in which youth conduct systematic research and actions to improve their schools and communities. Although YPAR is oriented to generating research for action, with evidence-based recommendations often aimed at influencing adults with power over settings and systems that shape youths' lives, we have little understanding of how YPAR evidence influences the thinking and/or actions of adult policymakers or practitioners. In general, the participatory research field lacks a theoretically informed "use of research evidence" lens, while the use of evidence field lacks consideration of the special case and implications of participatory research. To start to address these gaps, this paper presents a conceptual linkage across these two fields and then provides six illustrative case examples across diverse geographic, policy, and programmatic contexts to demonstrate opportunities and challenges in the use of YPAR evidence for policy and practice. Our illustrative focus here is on U.S. K-12 educational contexts, ...
Source: American Journal of Community Psychology - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Am J Community Psychol Source Type: research