The arc of transformation in youth participatory action research: creative expression to creative resistance

Abstract

In this introduction to the special issue, Youth Participatory Action Research on Puerto Rican Students’ Experiences with Hurricane Maria: Shifting from Resilience to Resistance, we outline the theoretical foundations of youth participatory action research (YPAR) and explicate the guiding principles that are seminal in the corpus of YPAR literature. We propose a synthesized model based on these guiding principles called the arc of transformation in YPAR. The model is used to examine points of convergence and divergence in how these principles are employed across YPAR methods and pedagogies. We close by discussing the rising emergence of arts-based YPAR methods and how they encourage young people to engage in artistic, creative, and innovative approaches to youth-driven inquiry alongside community members, educators, scholars and researchers.

Keywords:

• Youth participatory action research
• arts-based YPAR
• Puerto Rico
• Latinx youth
• arc of transformation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ashley D. Domínguez

Ashley D. Domínguez is a doctoral candidate in Mary Lou Fulton Teachers college in the Learning, Literacies, and Technologies program at Arizona State University. Ashley's experience as a K-12 educator propels a commitment to co-investigating social justice issues and advancing educational equity with underrepresented youth. Her research centers youth voice, specifically Latinx youth, via arts-based and participatory action research.

Julio Cammarota

Julio Cammarota is a professor of education at the University of Arizona. His research focuses on participatory action research with Latinx youth, institutional factors in academic achievement, and liberatory pedagogy.