“I Want to Create Change”: Youth Participatory Action Research as Critical Service-Learning

Abstract

Critical service-learning is intended to address some of the critiques of traditional service-learning, such as that it benefits the university more than the community and offers temporary or band-aid solutions to endemic social issues. However, scholars have emphasized the logistical and financial challenges of developing critical service-learning programs. This article describes a case study of a service-learning project in which undergraduate students facilitated youth participatory action research (YPAR) projects with middle school partners. We analyze undergraduate journal entries, student projects, and focus groups with both middle school students and undergraduates to evaluate how YPAR might present an opportunity to create critical service-learning experiences. We demonstrate how the YPAR project (1) engages undergraduates in a collaborative experience with middle school students that results in undergraduates articulating a nuanced analysis of the structural causes of inequity, (2) prioritizes meaningful relationship building between undergraduates and students, (3) shifts power dynamics by uplifting projects that are student-led and student-organized, and (4) supports student organizing to make transformative change in their schools. We conclude by arguing that YPAR offers a productive methodology to move universities toward models of critical service-learning.