Youth participatory action research (YPAR) to promote educational equity

The article uses theory and qualitative evidence to show how youth participatory action research (YPAR) can advance educational equity. YPAR engages young people and adult allies in research and action on issues in their schools and communities. Interviews with over two dozen YPAR researchers—students and partner teachers—elaborate the mechanisms through which school-based YPAR can affect equity, including through direct changes to policy and practice as a result of YPAR actions, a school culture that values student experiences, transformative teacher-student relationships, and improved individual outcomes for participants. To help theorize a theory of change, we draw on Doreen Massey’s space theory to explain how YPAR done in schools can transform culture, relationships, practice, and policy. Further, we suggest how YPAR can be infused in schools.