In this article, we conceptualize youth-led antiracism research in developmental science. First, we discuss how Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) principles converge with critical race epistemological approaches to knowledge production. Second, we propose that youth-led antiracism research requires a commitment to multiple ways of knowing, countering paternalism, focusing on structural racism, and activist scholarship that advances racial equity. These commitments are necessary to challenge how White supremacy culture shapes social science research paradigms. We weave existing empirical evidence and theory on YPAR with counter-storytelling methodology to identify various participatory methods and creative strategies that exemplify these commitments and emerged from co-creating research projects with ethnically and racially diverse youth. We conclude with implications for developmental science and offer guiding questions that may help scholars reimagine research in partnership with youth in ways that advance racial justice.
Adams-WigginsK. R.Taylor-GarcíaD. V. (2020). The Manichean division in children’s experience: Developmental psychology in an anti-Black world. Theory & Psychology, 30(4), 485–506.
2.
AkomA. A. (2009). Critical race theory meets participatory action research: Creating a community of black youth as public intellectuals. In AyersW.QuinnT.StovallD. (Eds.), Handbook of social justice in education (pp. 508–521). Routledge.
3.
AkomA. A.CammarotaJ.GinwrightS. (2008). Youthtopias: Towards a new paradigm of critical youth studies. Youth Media Reporter, 2(4), 1–30.
4.
AldanaA.BañalesJ.Richards-SchusterK. (2019). Youth anti-racist engagement: Conceptualization, development, and validation of an anti-racism action scale. Adolescent Research Review, 4, 369–381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-019-00113-1
5.
AldanaA.Richards-SchusterK.CheckowayB. (2016). Dialogic pedagogy for youth participatory action research: Facilitation of an intergroup empowerment program. Social Work with Groups, 39(4), 339–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/01609513.2015.1076370
6.
AldanaA.Richards-SchusterK.CheckowayB. (2021). “Down Woodward”: A case study of empowering youth to see and disrupt segregation using photovoice methods. Journal of Adolescent Research, 36(1), 34–67.
7.
AldanaA.RowleyS. J.CheckowayB.Richards-SchusterK. (2012). Raising ethnic-racial consciousness: The relationship between intergroup dialogues and adolescents’ ethnic-racial identity and racism awareness. Equity & Excellence in Education, 45(1), 120–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2012.641863
8.
AndersonA. J. (2020). A qualitative systematic review of youth participatory action research implementation in U.S. high schools. American Journal of Community Psychology, 65(1–2), 242–257.
9.
AnyonY.BenderK.KennedyH.DechantsJ. (2018). A systematic review of youth participatory action research (YPAR) in the United States: Methodologies, youth outcomes, and future directions. Health Education & Behavior, 45(6), 865–878.
10.
BakerJ.FlaspohlerP.WargelK.SchwartzT. (2020). Youth participatory action research in urban public education. In Clauss-EhlersC. S.SoodA. B.WeistM. D. (Eds.), Social justice for children and young people: International perspectives (pp. 460–476). Cambridge University Press.
11.
BerenstainN.DotsonK.ParedesJ.RuízE.SilvaN. K. (2021). Epistemic oppression, resistance, and resurgence. Contemporary Political Theory. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41296-021-00483-z
12.
BertrandM. (2018). Youth participatory action research and possibilities for students of color in educational leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 54(3), 366–395.
13.
BestA. L. (Ed.). (2007). Representing youth: Methodological issues in critical youth studies. NYU Press.
14.
BettencourtG. M. (2020). Embracing problems, processes, and contact zones: Using youth participatory action research to challenge adultism. Action Research, 18(2), 153–170.
15.
BretonM. (2017). An Empowerment Perspective. In GarvinC. D.GutiérrezL. M.GalinskyM. J. (Eds.), Handbook of social work with groups (2nd ed., pp. 55-73). Guilford Publications.
16.
CammarotaJ. (2017). Youth Participatory Action Research: A Pedagogy of Transformational Resistance for Critical Youth Studies. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies (JCEPS), 15(2), 188–213. http://www.jceps.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/15-2-7.pdf
17.
CammarotaJ.AguileraM. (2012). “By the time I get to Arizona”: Race, language, and education in America’s racist state. Race Ethnicity and Education, 15, 485–500. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2012.674025
18.
CammarotaJ.FineM. (2008). Revolutionizing education: Youth participatory action research in motion. Routledge.
19.
CaraballoL.LozenskiB. D.LyiscottJ. J.MorrellE. (2017). YPAR and critical epistemologies: Rethinking education research. Review of Research in Education, 41(1), 311–336.
20.
CarbadoD. W.RoithmayrD. (2014). Critical race theory meets social science. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 10, 149–167.
21.
CarmenS. A. S.DomínguezM.GreeneA. C.MendozaE.FineM.NevilleH. A.GutiérrezK. D. (2015). Revisiting the collective in critical consciousness: Diverse sociopolitical wisdoms and ontological healing in sociopolitical development. The Urban Review, 47(5), 824–846.
22.
CheckowayB.AldanaA. (2013). Four forms of youth civic engagement for diverse democracy. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(11), 1894–1899.
23.
CheckowayB.Richards-SchusterK. (2004). Youth participation in evaluation and research as a way of lifting new voices. Children, Youth and Environments, 14(2), 84–98.
24.
CollinsP. H. (2002). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.
25.
Corces-ZimmermanC.UttJ.CabreraN. L. (2017). YPAR, critical whiteness, and generative possibilities. A response to “Sam and Cristina: A dialogue between a high school teacher and student about the commoditization of people of color.”Democracy and Education, 25(1), 10.
26.
DeiG. J. S.SinghJ. G. (2005). Critical issues in anti-racist research methodologies (Vol. 252). Peter Lang.
27.
DelgadoR.StefancicJ. (2017). Critical race theory: An introduction (Vol. 20). NYU Press.
28.
DeweyJ. (1938). Experience and education. Kappa Delta Pi.
29.
DiAngeloR. (2018). White fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.
30.
FineM. (2008). An epilogue, of sorts. In CammarotaJ.FineM. (Eds.), Revolutionizing education: Youth participatory action research in motion (pp. 213–234). Routledge.
31.
FisherR.CheckowayB. (2011). Intergroup dialogue facilitation for youth empowerment and community change. In MaxwellK. E.NagdaB. R.ThompsonM. C. (Eds.), Facilitating intergroup dialogues: Bridging differences, catalyzing change (pp. 133–146). Stylus Publishing, LLC.
32.
FoxM. (2015). Embodied methodologies, participation, and the art of research. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 9(7), 321–332.
33.
FreireP. (1970/2018). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Bloomsbury Publishing Inc. (Original work published 1970).
34.
GinwrightS. (2008). Collective radical imagination: Youth participatory action research and the art of emancipatory knowledge. In CammarotaJ.FineM. (Eds.), Revolutionizing education: Youth participatory action research in motion (pp. 23–44). Routledge.
35.
GoesslingK. P. (2018). Increasing the depth of field: Critical race theory and photovoice as counter storytelling praxis. The Urban Review, 50(4), 648–674.
36.
GoesslingK. P.WrightD.WagerA. C.DewhurstM. (2020). A critical mixtape for the movement: Reflecting on creative and critical youth practices in research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 33(1), 1–7.
37.
Gurin-SandsC.GurinP.NagdaB. R. A.OsunaS. (2012). Fostering a commitment to social action: How talking, thinking, and feeling make a difference in intergroup dialogue. Equity & Excellence in Education, 45(1), 60–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2012.643699
38.
GutiérrezL. M. (1995). Understanding the empowerment process: Does consciousness make a difference?Social Work Research, 19(4), 229–237.
39.
HeronJ.ReasonP. (2008). Extending epistemology within a co-operative inquiry. In ReasonP.BradburyH. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice (pp. 366–380). Sage.
40.
HopeE. C.SkoogA. B.JagersR. J. (2015). “It’ll never be the White kids, it’ll always be us”: Black high school students’ evolving critical analysis of racial discrimination and inequity in schools. Journal of Adolescent Research, 30, 83–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558414550688
41.
HuberL. P. (2010). Beautifully powerful: A LatCrit reflection on coming to an epistemological consciousness and the power of testimonio. American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, 18(3), 839–851.
42.
LanghoutR. D.EllisonE. R.KohfeldtD.NguyenA.FernandezJ. S.SilvaJ. M.RosasS. T. (2016). Thinking through our processes: How the UCSC Community Psychology Research & Action Team strives to embody ethical, critically reflexive anti-racist feminist praxis. Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 7(4), 1–10.
43.
LiebelM. (2007). Paternalism, participation and children’s protagonism. Children Youth and Environments, 17(2), 56–73.
44.
LyonsN.LaBoskeyV. K. (Eds.). (2002). Narrative inquiry in practice: Advancing the knowledge of teaching (Vol. 22). Teachers College Press.
45.
MalagonM. C.HuberL. P.VelezV. N. (2009). Our experiences, our methods: Using grounded theory to inform a critical race theory methodology. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 8, 253.
46.
MiettinenR. (2000). The concept of experiential learning and John Dewey’s theory of reflective thought and action. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 19(1), 54–72.
47.
NolanJ. E.CokerE. S.WardB. R.WilliamsonY. A.HarleyK. G. (2021). “Freedom to breathe”: Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to investigate air pollution inequities in Richmond, CA. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(2), 554.
48.
OkunT. (1999/2021). White supremacy culture. In Dismantling racism: A workbook for social change. (Original work published 1999). https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/
49.
Quijada CerecerD. A.CahillC.BradleyM. (2013). Toward a critical youth policy praxis: Critical youth studies and participatory action research. Theory Into Practice, 52(3), 216–223.
50.
Richards-SchusterK.AldanaA. (2013). Learning about racism: Evaluating the impact of a youth intergroup dialogues program. Social Work With Groups, 36, 332–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/01609513.2013.763327
51.
Richards-SchusterK.BrissonK. G. (2016). Strengthening youth leadership in a metropolitan region: Examining lessons from a multiyear community foundation initiative. The Foundation Review, 8(3), 4.
52.
Richards-SchusterK.TimmermansR. (2017). Conceptualizing the role of adults within youth-adult partnerships: An example from practice. Children and Youth Services Review, 81, 284–292.
53.
SolórzanoD. G.YossoT. J. (2002). Critical race methodology: Counter-storytelling as an analytical framework for education research. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 23–44.
54.
StoudtB. G. (2009). The role of language & discourse in the investigation of privilege: Using participatory action research to discuss theory, develop methodology, & interrupt power. The Urban Review, 41, 7–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-008-0093-y
ToraifN.AugsbergerA.YoungA.MurilloH.BautistaR.GarciaS.Gergen BarnettK. (2021). How to be an antiracist: Youth of color’s critical perspectives on antiracism in a youth participatory action research context. Journal of Adolescent Research, 36, 467–500.
57.
TorreM. E. (2009). Participatory action research and critical race theory: Fueling spaces for nos-otras to research. The Urban Review, 41(1), 106–120.
58.
TuckE. (2009). Re-visioning action: Participatory action research and Indigenous theories of change. The Urban Review, 41(1), 47–65.
59.
WangC. C. (2006). Youth participation in photovoice as a strategy for community change. Journal of Community Practice, 14(1–2), 147–161.
60.
WattsR. J.DiemerM. A.VoightA. M. (2011). Critical consciousness: Current status and future directions. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2011(134), 43–57.
61.
WattsR. J.FlanaganC. (2007). Pushing the envelope on youth civic engagement: A developmental and liberation psychology perspective. Journal of Community Psychology, 35(6), 779–792.
62.
WrightD. E. (2020). Imagining a more just world: Critical arts pedagogy and youth participatory action research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 33(1), 32–49.
