YPAR and powerful partnerships for change: reconceptualisations of youth-led participatory action research and catalytic validity

Figures & data

Figure 1. An overview of the methodology (inspired by Wang 1999).

Table 1. Summary of photographer-identified themes in photographs and survey responses.

Identified issues	Summary Comments
Time	✗ Time is taken away from leisure, sporting activities & free time ✗ Time is taken away from other learning ✗ Time is taken away from homework and other household responsibilities/chores ✗ Parents’ time taken through extra work to pay ✓ Good Investment of time for future benefit
Money	✗ Drain on family resources ✗ Inequality between ‘poor’ and ‘rich’ pupils/families ✗ Money that should not need to be paid ✓ Good Investment of money for future rewards (job and university acceptance)
Opportunity	✓ Opportunity to learn more ✓ Opportunity to improve ✓ Opportunity to keep up ✓Opportunity for future benefits (salary and higher education) ✓ Opportunity to help support their family in later life
Necessity	Not really a choice for some subjects given poor school instruction Everybody else does it, so not really a choice Without it grades in school suffer
Friendship	✓ A chance to spend time with friends ✓ Make new friends
Guilt	✗ Guilt at the financial expense ✗ Guilt at the time away from family and family business ✗ Guilt at the time taken from parents
Hope	✓ Hope for a better life

Figure 2. Powerful partnerships: catalytic space of possibility.

Figure 3. Bridges to emancipation: from critical theory to actual change.

Table 2. Actions to date.

Initiative	Action
Facebook Page of free resources	Pupil establishment of a Facebook page which promotes free educational resources
‘Confusion Clinics’	Pupil-led establishment of sessions where a teacher is available to tutor learners on material that they are uncertain of.
Sticker Campaign	Learner-led distribution of flyers and stickers at the front gate to promote free-to-view websites relevant to material currently being covered in school.
‘Pi sorn Nong’ (Seniors teaching juniors) Peer teaching initiative	Learner-initiated study group. Older pupils tutor younger learners. Institutional management granted a small budget for resources and authorised the use of an air-conditioned room with a projector.
Homework Timetable	Institutional management, in co-operation with subject departments, a timetable of homework to make the workload more manageable for learners.
Non-covering of lessons	The issue of non-covered teachers’ absence has been discussed with institutional leadership and subject department heads. This was an agenda point at the monthly meeting.
Invitation to present research findings	The research group has been invited to present its findings to the monthly staff meeting. A valuable tool for dissemination. However potentially dangerous for participants.
Homework Helpdesk	Learner-led assistance with homework

Figure 4. Revision of catalytic validity.

Wang, C. 1999. “Photovoice: A Participatory Action Research Strategy Applied to Women’s Health.” Journal of Women’s Health 8 (2): 185–192. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.1999.8.185.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar