Considering the youth voice: needs and asset assessment in sport for development using photovoice

With the growth of sport for development (SFD), it is increasingly important to ensure that programmes are intentionally designed to meet the needs of the communities they serve, in a way that helps build community capacity. Still, many programmes have been criticised for not considering the voices of marginalised individuals, specifically youth programme recipients, in the planning and development of SFDprogrammes. Additionally, programmes are developed from a deficit approach where only the needs or negative aspects of the community are being considered in the planning and development of programming. With these issues in mind, the purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of photovoice as a strategic tool to give youth a voice in SFD needs and asset assessment. Additionally, it examined how practitioners can utilize the outcomes of a needs and asset assessment in planning and implementing SFD programming. The results highlight the assets and challenges that the youth participants identified and the practical use of the assessment from the perspective of programme administrators. The results suggest that photovoice can allow youth programme participants to have a genuine voice in programme development.

The Bind of Unilateral Power Dynamics and Youth Voice in School Politics

Research has shown the value of including youth, especially minoritized students, in school- and district-level educational decision-making. However, power dynamics, as related to adultism, along with other inequities, are barriers to youth’s political influence. We elucidate these barriers by exploring the possible relationship between adult-adult power dynamics, on one hand, and levels of student voice in schools, on the other. Interviews with teachers and administrators about youth voice initiatives indicated that bounded rationality illuminates how limiting access to knowledge, a form of power, can impact educator decision-making. In addition, bounded rationality bolsters unilateral power structures and therefore curtails youth voice. However, we also found that building relational power between teachers and students and maneuvering beyond bounded rationality increases opportunities for youth voice.

What is the Role of Adult Facilitators in Critical Participatory Action Research? Employing Affective Labor While Navigating the Politics and the Perils Alongside Minoritized Youth Researchers

Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) represents a tool for minoritized youth in shaping educational policies. Despite its promise, the politics of engaging in CPAR within structures ensnared in hegemonic ideologies can negate, devalue, and deny the contributions of youth voice. This study highlights how adult facilitators supporting youth researchers negotiate methodological tensions when the politics nested within oppressive structures converge with the ideals of CPAR. Using LatCrit methodology and employing affective labor theory, this qualitative study offers four counterstories interrogating the role of adult allies in CPAR, navigating the politics and perils of engaging in this work alongside minoritized students.

“School’s a Lie”: Toward Critical Race Intersectional Pedagogy for Youth Intellectual Activism in Policy Partnerships

Equity-oriented school improvement driven by neoliberal policies focuses attention on a narrow range of inequities. Such policies fail to achieve substantive transformations that address educational constraints experienced by multiply-marginalized youth of color. We engage a critical race and intersectional feminist examination of our pedagogy in a youth voice initiative designed to facilitate multiply-marginalized youth of color participation in district policy partnership. Our analysis presents practices that were consequential for supporting youth intellectual activism in policy conversations. We propose a model for critical race intersectional pedagogy that relates these practices and underlying ideological principles to supporting expansive transformative policy partnerships.

Le Tofi ne'i Vale Tuulima: Perceptions of Samoan Students, Teachers and Parents on the Place of the Samoan Language in New Zealand Today

<p>While globally languages are evolving and changing, language shift has been most prevalent in migrant communities, particularly those with larger numbers living outside of the homelands, such as the Samoan community in New Zealand. This research explored the perceptions of a group of Wellington-based Samoan students, their Samoan teachers, and their parents about the place of the Samoan language in New Zealand today. This study of Samoan language maintenance was spurred by the census data which showed language loss was occurring, and that this seemed to be more prevalent amongst the New Zealand-born Samoan population. The aims of this study were to capture the views of these three groups so as to add meaning to the quantitative data, and provide information for future policy making and actions to address this situation - both for Government agencies, and the Samoan community itself. This case study gave priority to the youth voice as the future leaders and carriers of the gagana Samoa (Samoan language) and aganuu (culture). Using the talanoa methodology and through individual interviews, valuable insights were gained about the valuing of the Samoan language in New Zealand today, factors influencing the learning and teaching of Samoan, and who should be responsible for this. The findings were that all groups valued the Samoan language very highly as inextricably linked to the Samoan culture, identity and sense of belonging, and for communicating and showing respect - to elders especially, but also to all Samoan people. Of particular note, was the distinction between the intrinsic valuing of the language which was high, and its usefulness, for example in employment, which was not so highly rated. These differences may be a 'tipping' point for language maintenance. Other findings were that responsibility for the Samoan language was changing as the functional domains for language use and maintenance shifted from the home and the church, to the school. Parents' long work hours were a factor here. Finally, there was strong agreement that maintaining the Samoan language in New Zealand would require commitment and collaboration between government agencies, Samoan parents and community, teachers, and that youth must be included in these discussions. All three groups saw our talanoa as setting the basis for more serious community wide discussions.</p>

Le Tofi ne'i Vale Tuulima: Perceptions of Samoan Students, Teachers and Parents on the Place of the Samoan Language in New Zealand Today

<p>While globally languages are evolving and changing, language shift has been most prevalent in migrant communities, particularly those with larger numbers living outside of the homelands, such as the Samoan community in New Zealand. This research explored the perceptions of a group of Wellington-based Samoan students, their Samoan teachers, and their parents about the place of the Samoan language in New Zealand today. This study of Samoan language maintenance was spurred by the census data which showed language loss was occurring, and that this seemed to be more prevalent amongst the New Zealand-born Samoan population. The aims of this study were to capture the views of these three groups so as to add meaning to the quantitative data, and provide information for future policy making and actions to address this situation - both for Government agencies, and the Samoan community itself. This case study gave priority to the youth voice as the future leaders and carriers of the gagana Samoa (Samoan language) and aganuu (culture). Using the talanoa methodology and through individual interviews, valuable insights were gained about the valuing of the Samoan language in New Zealand today, factors influencing the learning and teaching of Samoan, and who should be responsible for this. The findings were that all groups valued the Samoan language very highly as inextricably linked to the Samoan culture, identity and sense of belonging, and for communicating and showing respect - to elders especially, but also to all Samoan people. Of particular note, was the distinction between the intrinsic valuing of the language which was high, and its usefulness, for example in employment, which was not so highly rated. These differences may be a 'tipping' point for language maintenance. Other findings were that responsibility for the Samoan language was changing as the functional domains for language use and maintenance shifted from the home and the church, to the school. Parents' long work hours were a factor here. Finally, there was strong agreement that maintaining the Samoan language in New Zealand would require commitment and collaboration between government agencies, Samoan parents and community, teachers, and that youth must be included in these discussions. All three groups saw our talanoa as setting the basis for more serious community wide discussions.</p>

Beyond the Trifold in Civics Presentations: The Measure of Youth Policy Arguments

Youth are increasingly engaging in civic action to address social injustices. Many adult educators are also looking for instructional resources that support youth voice as a way to promote adolescent civic development and community change. Alas, assessment tools to support youth voice and policy argumentation are lacking. Existing tools overemphasize public speaking skills and rely on dated artifacts such as cardboard trifold posters. In this article we introduce the Measure of Youth Policy Arguments (MYPA), a tool designed to aid in the development and assessment of high-quality youth policy presentations. We also describe how to use the MYPA in formative and summative contexts. Additionally, we provide initial evidence for the validity and reliability of the MYPA. Furthermore, we argue that MYPA has applications in preparing youth for policy presentation and in assessing learning outcomes associated with youth voice projects.

Creating a Relational Participatory Space: Insights from a Youth Participatory Action Research Project

<p><b>Since the ratification of Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, there has been a heightened focus on youth participation as a way of upholding young people’s right to have their say on decisions that affect them. However, programmes that attempt to engage young people in decision-making processes have often been poorly enacted and have failed to adequately address the barriers that limit young people’s ability to participate meaningfully and therefore rarely result in sustained change. This study examined processes with a youth participatory action research [YPAR] project in order to identify and explore processes and practices that might serve to sustain young people’s involvement and support authentic and meaningful participation. The research used an instrumental case study approach to examine an 18-month-long YPAR project operated through an existing youthwork programme. Data were collected through autoethnography, artefact analysis and participant interviews and reflections with youth participants. </b></p> <p>The study found that peer-to-peer and peer-to-leader relationships were foundational to youth participants’ ongoing involvement over the 18-month period. Such relationships appeared to drive much of the momentum of the action research and enable at times dynamic flows of power between youth participants and adults that encouraged an inter-generational space within the YPAR project. Young people stepped into leadership roles at different phases of the project while adult leaders managed the pace and progress of the project. The study identified five factors that helped to create this relational participatory space: reduced leader direction; valuing youth voice; openness of other participants, reworking adult-centric processes and the implementation of a variety of sharing activities. A number of factors that constrained youth voice were also identified. The study highlights how strong relationships were an integral part of the processes and practices of YPAR, rather than merely a positive outcome of participatory processes. These findings challenge traditional individualistic models of youth participation that frequently fail to acknowledge the importance of intergenerational and collective relationships within youth participatory action research projects. The study therefore calls for a heightened focus on relationship building within participatory processes both at a policy and practical level.</p>

School Citizenship Education Through YPAR: What Works? A Mixed-Methods Study in Italy

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of the processes of a Youth-led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) citizenship education project by examining a 2-year intervention that involved 43 Italian high school students. We collected qualitative data (focus groups with students and interviews with teachers) to capture participants’ perspectives, as well as longitudinal quantitative data to monitor the process over time (assessing school climate, perceived quality of participation, and group participation norms). The results revealed that YPAR was successful in reducing hierarchy, facilitating group activities, and recognizing youth voice, thus changing students’ perception of their school environment and views on participation and active citizenship. The intervention also changed teachers’ perceptions of students. YPAR proved to be a suitable option for citizenship education in school.

Creating a Relational Participatory Space: Insights from a Youth Participatory Action Research Project

<p><b>Since the ratification of Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, there has been a heightened focus on youth participation as a way of upholding young people’s right to have their say on decisions that affect them. However, programmes that attempt to engage young people in decision-making processes have often been poorly enacted and have failed to adequately address the barriers that limit young people’s ability to participate meaningfully and therefore rarely result in sustained change. This study examined processes with a youth participatory action research [YPAR] project in order to identify and explore processes and practices that might serve to sustain young people’s involvement and support authentic and meaningful participation. The research used an instrumental case study approach to examine an 18-month-long YPAR project operated through an existing youthwork programme. Data were collected through autoethnography, artefact analysis and participant interviews and reflections with youth participants. </b></p> <p>The study found that peer-to-peer and peer-to-leader relationships were foundational to youth participants’ ongoing involvement over the 18-month period. Such relationships appeared to drive much of the momentum of the action research and enable at times dynamic flows of power between youth participants and adults that encouraged an inter-generational space within the YPAR project. Young people stepped into leadership roles at different phases of the project while adult leaders managed the pace and progress of the project. The study identified five factors that helped to create this relational participatory space: reduced leader direction; valuing youth voice; openness of other participants, reworking adult-centric processes and the implementation of a variety of sharing activities. A number of factors that constrained youth voice were also identified. The study highlights how strong relationships were an integral part of the processes and practices of YPAR, rather than merely a positive outcome of participatory processes. These findings challenge traditional individualistic models of youth participation that frequently fail to acknowledge the importance of intergenerational and collective relationships within youth participatory action research projects. The study therefore calls for a heightened focus on relationship building within participatory processes both at a policy and practical level.</p>