Let’s Make Space for Young People to Lead: Integrating Research and Action Programming in an Arts and Technology Center: Opportunities, Challenges and Lessons Learned

ABSTRACT

Arts programming can amplify youth voice, creative self-expression, and promote civic engagement and social change. This paper describes a case study of a youth participatory action research at an arts organization in the northeast of the U.S. that promoted youth participation, critical reflection, and action. Field observations and individual interviews with adult and youth staff were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings suggest YPAR represented an opportunity for youth to develop critical consciousness, leadership skills, and create change. Adults integrated opportunities for youth to lead in arts dissemination and action initiatives. Implications and challenges including sustainability were identified.

KEYWORDS:

• Community-based participatory research
• community development
• arts
• social determinants of health
• social justice
• community practice
• anti-racism
• youth participatory action research
• critical consciousness
• qualitative research

Introduction

The integration of arts programming and education in participatory action research (PAR) to address social justice issues is growing. Arts-based research methodologies, such as photovoice, increase access for youth to critically examine social issues impacting their lives including community safety and violence (Authors, 2012; Fox, 2020; Yonas et al., 2009). Moreover, arts and PAR have been used to elevate marginalized youth’s voices to effect social change and health promotion in their communities (Aceves-Martins et al., 2019; Flicker et al., 2008; Ozer et al., 2020; Stahl, 2018; Wernick et al., 2014). While research suggests the potential of the arts in promoting youth participation in action research community development, significant challenges to community-based organizations, particularly in operationalizing and sustaining PAR approaches persist (Hernandez et al., 2021).

We partnered with a local arts-based organization to implement a year-long Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) curriculum that sought to engage young men of color in research and action. Although schools remain a common YPAR program delivery setting, research suggests schools are less likely to report outcomes related to agency compared to community-based settings because of hierarchical structures that reinforce adultism (Anyon et al., 2018; Bettencourt, 2020; Langhout et al., 2014; Ozer et al., 2013). Conversely, research suggests community-based arts programming promotes creative teaching that enhances youth participation, sociopolitical consciousness, cultural critique, and social action (Lee et al., 2020; Ngo et al., 2017). Education and health research have increasingly incorporated participatory and arts-based approaches to research design and dissemination (Anderson, 2020; Asakura et al., 2020; Coemans et al., 2015; Fancourt & Finn, 2019). However, critical analysis of program processes that lead to positive outcomes and sustainability of YPAR in specific settings, particularly arts-based community groups has yet to be explored more thoroughly (Anyon et al., 2018). Although examination of YPAR has grown, limited research exploring organizational characteristics that support YPAR impedes and understanding of how arts-based organizations can be uniquely positioned to uplift youth as partners rather than passive recipients (Jacquez et al., 2013).

This article contributes to the literature by illustrating the integration of a YPAR curriculum at an arts-based organization to foster and sustain youth participation, critical reflection and action. More specifically, this article explores key processes, outcomes, and challenges related to empowerment and critical consciousness throughout the YPAR program. This article emphasizes youth’s experiences and priority areas within an arts-based organization that facilitated creative expression and research translation. Moreover, this article explores contextual factors that impact the planning and implementation of YPAR and community-academic partnerships.

Youth participatory action research and the arts

YPAR in afterschool youth programs is increasing (Anyon et al., 2018; Murray & Milner, 2015). YPAR challenges hierarchical knowledge production by centering equitable partnerships between youth and researchers (Simonds & Christopher, 2013; Torre et al., 2012; Wallerstein et al., 2017). YPAR benefits youth, adults, and organizations (Teixeira et al., 2021). In YPAR, adults partner with youth as co-researchers to transform systems to advance justice, particularly youth with marginalized intersectional identities experiencing barriers to influence decision-making in key community development processes impacting their lives (Cammarota, 2017; Cammarota, J. & Fine, M, 2010).

There are inherent benefits associated with YPAR and the arts with respect to advancing justice. Music strengthens collective identity, empowerment, and social actions in movements locally and internationally (Baumann, 2007; Bensimon, 2012; Danaher, 2010; Eyerman, 2002). From slaves’ coded messages in lyrical hymns, freedom songs in the fight for civil rights, to the protest songs in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, music has acted as a link to Black struggle by cultivating healing, resistance, and self-determination (Rydell & Bienvenu, 2021; West-White, 2018). For example, freedom songs fostered embodied purpose-driven connections among protestors in the struggle for liberation of anti-apartheid South Africa (Jolaosho, 2019). Moreover, art influences policy development and amplifies counternarratives of the oppressed as protagonists.

For instance, adaptations of theater of the oppressed, an action-driven form of theater with artistic dialogs (Kina & Fernandes, 2017), has propelled community-led initiatives such as the Landless Workers Movement (MST; Villas Bôas & Canova, 2019), rights-based negotiation processes spearheaded by West Bengal women (Dutta, 2015), and the ongoing defiance of migrant farmworkers confronting labor injustices (Perry, 2019). Arts have played a critical role in community building, advocacy, and education. In this study we explored the role of arts within the context of empowerment and critical consciousness raising, particularly as experienced by youth.

Developmentally appropriate applied curriculum that supports meaningful participation in research promotes asset-based perspectives (Foster-Fishman et al., 2010; Ozer et al., 2010, 2020). This is evident in various positive outcomes such as youth’s leadership skill development (Zeal & Terry, 2013) and adult growth and learning in facilitation and critical self-knowledge (Sprague Martinez et al., 2020). However, ongoing tensions persist in YPAR (Jacquez et al., 2013; Kim, 2016; Rubin et al., 2017). These include, equitable power-sharing between youth and adults as well as managing conflicting aims driven by institutions that prioritize production, over supporting relationship development (Bettencourt, 2020; Lac & Fine, 2018; Mitra & McCormick, 2017; Rubin et al., 2017).

Guiding frameworks: critical consciousness raising and empowerment

This study is informed by critical consciousness and empowerment frameworks, which guide the integration of youth participation as well as youth and adult reflexive processes on racial equity, health, and education in the YPAR program. Both frameworks stem from social movements that confront systemic oppression through community participation (Christens et al., 2016; Rappaport, 2002). Critical consciousness raising stems from popular education frameworks that conceptualize individuals’ lived experiences as valuable knowledge intertwined with socially unjust systems (Freire, 1970). It seeks to examine and disrupt the connections between personal lived experiences and the political dimensions of power, oppression, and resistance (Carr, 2003; Diemer et al., 2016; Freire, 1970). By integrating critical reflection and critical action, this praxis includes oppressed individuals in systems change (Freire, 1970), and highlights the exercise of “reading the world,” namely understanding social injustice drawing from lived experiences (Freire & Macedo, 1987; Tang Yan, 2021).

Empowerment is a participatory developmental process that examines skill development, self-determination, and confidence in relation to contextual resources, particularly in OST youth programming (Zimmerman et al., 2018, 2011). There are multiple levels of empowerment such as community and psychological (Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1994; Zimmerman, 1995). In psychological empowerment, key components such as collective actions (Behavioral), self-perceptions, emotions (Emotional), awareness (Cognitive), and relationships (Relational) can influence community self-determination and participation (Zimmerman, 2000). The empowerment levels are reflected in individual’s beliefs, behaviors, and actions which may shape critical orientation to social change (Úcar Martínez et al., 2017).

These two frameworks have extensively informed the development of empowerment-oriented youth programs and research fields to better support youth development and participation (Godfrey & Burson, 2018; Heberle et al., 2020; Jemal, 2018; Morton & Montgomery, 2013). In the context of this study, critical consciousness frames our understanding of youth and adults’ efforts to engage in critical reflection and action in their process to promote youth participation in research to achieve equity and justice. Moreover, empowerment frameworks inform individual and collective actions, feelings, sense of awareness, and relationships that inform YPAR program processes.

YPAR is also informed by these frameworks and, as such, emphasizes democratic processes of knowledge production, fosters critical inquiry and action, and disrupts inequitable power structures, particularly power imbalances between youth and adults (Bertrand, 2018; Mirra et al., 2015). Instead of embracing deficit models that conceive youth as passive objects of research, YPAR challenges adultism, namely ideologies that reinforce adults’ superiority over youth (Bertrand et al., 2020; Conner et al., 2015) by leveraging youth’s expertise and engaging them in research action partnerships to address systemic inequities (Cammarota, 2017b; Cammarota, J. & Fine, M, 2010).

Researchers’ positionalities

We made the decision to write as a collective of youth and young adult researchers, adult staff, adult teaching artists, and university faculty, students, and staff. We are researchers, artists, youth, youth workers, activists and educators, a mix of community insiders and outsiders. We are people of color and white people born both in and out of the US. This manuscript includes authors not only from the university research team (i.e., faculty and research assistants), but also adults and youth staff members from the community-based organization. This decision seeks to credit and value equally the contributions of all collaborators and underscore our collective efforts to contest power dynamics embedded in colonial research paradigms that privilege “expertise” through “objective” approaches to “validate” scientific rigor (Milner, 2007; Montero-Sieburth, 2020; Sarna-Wojcicki et al., 2017).

Current study

This case study examines processes of empowerment and critical consciousness in a year-long YPAR program where youth and adult staff increased critical awareness and reflection on racial equity and youth participation. University research team members (n = 3) comprised of one faculty member and two research assistants with expertise in participatory action research and affiliated with a predominantly White institution in the northeast, partnered with adult (n = 5) and youth (n = 10) staff at a local arts and technology center to design, implement, and evaluate a YPAR program with high school-aged young men of color. The community partner was located in a city in the northeast of the U.S. and partnered with university team members to leverage existing youth arts programming to integrate the YPAR curriculum and expose youth to research and action.

Drawing from multiple sources of data (Table 1), this study illustrates the processes of empowerment and critical consciousness that youth and adult researchers experienced throughout the year-long 2017–2018 YPAR program. This case study focused on exploring two major questions: (1) how does the participation of youth and adult staff in the YPAR program contribute to an increased orientation to critical awareness and reflection on racial justice issues in their communities?; and (2) how does the YPAR program promote personal and institutional practices to center youth participation in leadership and decision-making processes?

Table 1. Case study data sources

Data	Description	Purpose	Baseline	Interim	Exit
Adult staff training field notes and observations	Five handwritten reflections and notes by university-based adult facilitators documenting adult staff initial perceptions and engagement	Observations on adult staff’ initial perceptions on youth-centered programming and YPAR curriculum	X	X	X
YPAR program field notes and observations	Five handwritten reflections and five audio recorded and transcribed reflections from university-based adult facilitators documenting adult	Observations on curriculum implementation, adult and youth researchers staff engagement	X	X	X
YPAR program documents, facilitation session notes, meeting minutes and staff log	10 handwritten reflections on facilitation and curriculum revisions from 2 adult program facilitators	Observations on curriculum implementation, adult and youth researchers staff engagement	X	X	X
Youth researchers’ debrief meeting recordings and notes	10 handwritten reflections on youth attendance, topics covered in the YPAR program, changes to the curriculum, strengths, challenges, and areas of growth.	Data triangulation of program documents and evidence of youth researchers’ perceptions and observations on YPAR program	X	X	X
Adult facilitators’ debrief meeting recordings and notes	40 audio recorded and transcribed reflections from 2 adult program facilitators with a university-based research team that include discussions on program curriculum sessions’ implementation and evaluation.	Data triangulation of program documents and evidence of adult staff’ perceptions and observations on YPAR program	X	X	X
Evaluation interviews with youth researchers before, during, and after the completion of the YPAR program	Three waves of audio-recorded and transcribed interviews with 10 youth researchers	Evidence of youth researchers’ perceptions of the YPAR program’s strengths, challenges, areas of growth, and impact.	X	X	X
Evaluation interviews with adult staff before, during, and after the completion of the YPAR program	Three waves of audio-recorded and transcribed interviews with 5 adult program staff	Evidence of adult program staff’ perceptions of the YPAR program’s strengths, challenges, areas of growth, and impact.	X	X	X

Partnership development & training procedures

Driven by a shared interest to engage youth of color meaningfully in participatory evaluation, civic engagement, and research, nonprofit leaders referred the university research team to partner with an arts and technology center to pilot the YPAR program. The center offered adult workforce development and youth arts programs to promote education and career readiness. OST youth arts programming provided safe spaces for high school-age youth to engage in creative self-expression through fine arts, multimedia, and music. Arts-based courses such as photography, musical (choral and instruments), and spoken word were taught by adult teaching artists throughout the school year and the summer. While the center integrated arts-based approaches to explore social issues, adult staff aimed to embed systematic science inquiry and skill-building among youth through the YPAR program. In particular, the center wanted to expand youth of color experiences on inquiry-based science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) (Liao, 2016) as outlined in the center’s strategic plan. Given the center’s expertise in arts and technology, the university research team provided training and technical support to increase adult staff capacity in applied scientific inquiry, experiential and project-based learning (Ndulue et al., 2012) to implement the YPAR program with an emphasis on health equity and social determinants of health (Sprague Martinez et al., 2016; Sprague Martinez et al., 2017).

Following PAR principles (Israel et al., 2017), university researchers and center staff met iteratively to discuss and agree on decisions related to project design and implementation including project scope, roles, agreements, budget, and timeline. Funds were allocated to youth and adult staff stipends and program expenses. University researchers evaluated the YPAR program and provided technical support, on-site training, and curriculum resources to adult staff. The center recruited two part-time adult YPAR program coordinators and 10 youth to participate in the program. Adult staff shared the year-long YPAR paid program flyer with youth enrolled in OST youth arts programming at the center. One-on-one meetings with youth who expressed interest were scheduled to talk about the opportunity, clarify questions, and obtain guardian consent. The center selected youth who were interested in applied science inquiry and available to commit to the program. Adult staff hired primarily young men of color who identified as Black following strategic goals and identified organizational need to provide programming tailored to support young men of color.

In the summer of 2017, university researchers led a week-long training on the YPAR curriculum for the center’s adult staff, youth director, and teaching artists. The training engaged adult staff on interactive team building activities and discussions to think more critically about youth participation and empowerment using multimedia resources steeped in critical pedagogy, racial equity, and social determinants of health (Authors, 2020). YPAR coordinators revised and implemented the curriculum to selected youth in the remaining summer of 2017. Upon the completion of the training, youth generated key research priorities and protocols that were used to collect and analyze data in the fall of 2017. Youth engaged in research dissemination and action initiatives in the spring of 2018.

Method

Study design

This study uses an exploratory single-case study design (Yin, 2017). Case study is an empirical method that draws from multiple sources of information to triangulate and gain an in-depth understanding of a contemporary phenomenon within a specific social context and time period (Harrison et al., 2017; Yin, 2017). This approach was fitting and was used to systematically investigate program processes at the arts center as a unit of analysis and understand the changes in knowledge, reflection, and action within the year-long partnership (Gaikwad, 2017). Additionally, we integrated a constructivist and post-positivist research paradigm by maintaining transparent processes and considering individual experiences in meaning making (Lauckner et al., 2012). As such, research sought to elicit and understand how youth and adults constructed individual and shared meanings of critical consciousness and empowerment.

Participants

All youth (n = 10), identified as male, ranged in age from 15 to 17 years, and were enrolled in high school. Nine out of the ten youth identified as Black, and two identified as Hispanic. Youth identified their birth countries of as U.S. (n = 3), Senegal (n = 1), Somalia (n = 1), Canada (n = 1), and Puerto Rico (2). Two youth did not disclose country of birth. Other non-English languages spoken by the youth included French, Spanish, Arabic, Somali. Most of the youth were recruited to the YPAR program through word of mouth. One out of the four adult staff members interviewed identified as female. Two adult staff members identified as White and three identified as Black.

Procedures and ethics

Upon Institutional Review Board Approval, university researchers worked closely with staff at the center in the design and implementation of the evaluation protocol and data sources. Youth assent as well as parental and guardian consent were obtained prior to conducting individual semi-structured interviews with youth. Youth and adult participants did not receive financial compensation for their participation in the evaluation. The evaluation was established as part of the implementation of the YPAR program. To assure participants’ confidentiality and anonymity, we used pseudonyms and removed all identifying information from the data sources during the analysis and writing stages. Upon the completion of data collection and analysis, findings were presented to both, youth, and adult staff separately.

Data sources

This case study draws on a variety of qualitative data sources gathered between June 2017 and May 2018. Data sources include notes capturing adult staff verbal comments and perceptions on YPAR at the adult staff training, YPAR program field notes and observations, meeting debriefs, and three waves of in-person and remote individual interviews with youth and adult staff separately (Table 1). Review of key program documents, field notes, and observations of the YPAR program supported with corroborating of the data. Additionally, debrief meeting recordings and notes from youth and adult staff were used to examine perceptions of the YPAR program implementation and impact on youth and adults. Finally, university researchers conducted three waves (baseline, interim, exit) of in-person and remote individual interviews with youth and adults to explore motivation of program participation, strengths, challenges, and multilevel (i.e. individual, interpersonal, community) impact.

Interviews with youth and adult staff

Interviews were conducted with youth researchers (n = 10) and adult staff (n = 5). Interviews ranged between thirty to sixty minutes and were audio-recorded and transcribed upon obtaining verbal assent from youth and verbal consent from adult staff and youth’ guardians. Baseline interviews explored initial program expectations and motivations. Interim interviews explored perceived program strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT; Puyt et al., 2020; Vlados, 2019). Finally, exit interviews examined multilevel (individual, family, community) changes in knowledge and the degree to which the program was youth-led.

Field observations and document review

Field observations and document review of the YPAR program planning, implementation, and dissemination efforts were conducted on an ongoing basis by university researchers. Most of them took place in-person at the arts center during the multi-day adult staff training and YPAR program sessions in the summer and fall of 2017 and spring of 2018. Detailed field notes, analytic memos, and peer debriefs described university researchers’ observations on youth’s interactions with adult staff in the YPAR program activities. Weekly debrief sessions with YPAR adult coordinators were audio-recorded and transcribed. Also, agendas, youth hand-written reflections, research dissemination products were reviewed to understand processes associated with critical consciousness and empowerment.

Analysis

We employed case study methodology (Creswell, 2018; Merriam, 1988; Stake, 1995; Yin, 2017). This method is ideal for conducting a detailed qualitative analysis of a bounded system over time drawing from multiple sources of information (Creswell et al., 2018; Merriam, 1988; Stake, 1995; Yin, 2017). Data sources were analyzed using thematic analysis (Clarke & Braun, 2014). This method captured common themes across the experiences of youth and adults in the program. Data were analyzed using QSR International’s NVivo 10 qualitative data analysis software. Interviews were conducted in youth’s and adult’s preferred languages. One youth interview was conducted in Spanish and it was transcribed and translated to English during the analysis phase. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated to English. An inductive and exploratory approach to data analysis was employed. First, each coder read all transcripts multiple times and annotated patterns which were discussed and integrated into a codebook that was applied to the data. Coders met weekly to discuss and reconcile disagreements from applying the codebook to transcripts in order to reach 100% agreement. Once the focused codes were applied to all the interview transcripts, the codebook was applied to secondary data sources including field notes and program documents. Coders met iteratively to refine codes and resolve any discrepancies. Then, coders identified and defined emerging themes and conducted triangulation of all data sources listed in Table 1 (Flick, 2018; Fusch et al., 2018; Noble & Heale, 2019) to enhance data saturation, mitigate researchers’ bias, and ensure reliability and validity of the data. Analysis of diverging and converging themes across the multiple qualitative sources of data to corroborate findings was completed using constant comparative method (Olson et al., 2016).

Findings

Through the lens of critical consciousness, empowerment, and YPAR frameworks, (Cammarota, 2017; Freire, 1970), we sought to explore youth’ and adult staff’ perceptions on youth participation, critical reflection, and action in the YPAR program. Youth and adult staff presented diverging and converging perspectives on their experiences in the program. Overall, thematic analysis findings revealed three major micro and macro themes that youth and adult staff were in agreement with regarding program participation: (1) Youth and adult staff alignment in motivation for program participation; (2) growth in critical consciousness raising and collective action; and (3) systems-level challenges to sustain the YPAR program in the long-term.

Youth and adult staff motivation for program participation

“I didn’t know it was going to take us this far”: opportunities for growth and development of a community of researchers

Adult and youth staff identified opportunities for individual and collective growth as one of the major motivating factors to join the YPAR program. Adult staff described the YPAR program as an opportunity for youth to engage in a systematic critical reflection of their surroundings and propose solutions. An adult staff member stated:

I don’t think most people have that opportunity, to be able to introspect their environment and figure out something that they might be able to do about that. So, I thought it was a wonderful notion. I think that it’s very empowering and informative.

Similarly, youth spoke about accessing new opportunities that “opened a lot of doors” to gain new knowledge and “better the communities” as key drivers to join the program. Upon the completion of the program, one youth described in the exit interview: “I didn’t know it was going to take us this far … I didn’t know we were going to start presenting … and all this other stuff and opportunities.” Youth and adult reflections from three waves of interviews indicated shared motivations to participate in the program.

Growth in critical consciousness raising and collective action

“Why communities become like that?” Critical consciousness raising, critical reflection, and action

Critical consciousness raising has been defined as the process in which people become more aware of the interconnected ways their personal lived experiences are intertwined with sociopolitical, cultural, and structural inequitable arrangements of power (Freire, 1970; Garvin et al., 2017). Youth described their initial assumptions of certain community groups, particularly negative stereotypes of Black communities labeled as dangerous and living in disinvested and disadvantaged neighborhoods challenged. One youth explained the nature of a “bad community” was “ … because of the people who live there, not because of the policies that keep people in place … you can put anybody in there and if you put the right set of policies, that neighborhood will be good.” Similarly, adults’ reflections validated youth’s increasing critical awareness of racial inequities. Examples included youth’ growing interest in actively asking questions regarding structural racism drawing from the gardener’s tale, a theoretical framework for understanding multiple levels (i.e. institutionalized, personally mediated, and internalized) of racism using allegorical narratives of a gardener choosing to grow desirable colored flowers in rich soil and others in poor quality soil (Jones, 2000). Additionally, youth interrogated historical racial discriminatory policies, such as redlining in their communities, that impacted Black and community of color’s access to fair housing. Youth questioned, “Why they’re (lines) there with the maps?”; “How come they’re over there?”; and “Why communities become like that?”

This reflection was amplified over the course of the program when youth proposed initiatives to address structural issues. Youth identified three major research priorities: structural racism in education, school to prison pipeline, and food access. Additionally, adult staff described examples of youth proposing to invest resources and funding to strengthen community education and health as a form of challenging the dominant narrative of “we need more cops.” This iterative praxis of critical reflection and action was evident throughout the program.

“They gave us respect that we deserve”: skill development and collective change

Critical consciousness raising and YPAR epistemologies are key for individuals to collaborate with each other and identify themselves as political agents responsible and capable to challenge oppressive structures and conditions (Breton, 2017; Freire, 1970). These individual and collective empowerment processes include exchanging stories to validate experiences, integrating democratic leadership, and enacting action (Breton, 1994; Freire, 1970). They were evident in the program through peer leadership. One adult stated: “It was good to see that they were taking charge of themselves and holding themselves accountable.” The adult staff member explained further: “One youth was selected as the group leader last week, so he took a lot more charge on that. People were kind of respecting each other in that sense ….” Additionally, interactive activities encouraged youth to share life stories with each other through words and images. Upon the completion of the program, youth described the team as a “family” where youth grew “closer” to each other. For instance, after the first day of program, one youth suggested to his peers: “I want everybody to sit together to have lunch. I don’t want to see anybody siting by themselves. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Similarly, another youth indicated intimacy and vulnerability as key in deepening relationships in the team. Youth spoke about being queer and adopted:

I love this group. We’ve opened to everybody. [Name] has told everybody that he’s adopted … nobody knew I was homosexual, so I told … I’m not gonna sit here and act like another person … It’s hard when you’re making it without telling them who you really are, ‘cause they can help you understand what you’re going through sometimes and you can help understand what they’re going through some times.

The YPAR program intentionally emphasized relational and applied learning by having youth embody critical reflection, collective support, and relational empowerment. This was evident in the reflections of an adult staff member on the “emphasis on youth spending time outside in the community” and added: “not only learning about community and the problems that go through – specific problems linked to policy – but what about community? The relationships? How do we plant those seeds and have them get together outside?” Examples of building community and deepening relationships among youth and adults included dinners at adult facilitators’ homes and interactions outside of the program.

“I think those life experiences are worthwhile”: cultivating youth development through dissemination and action initiatives

Creating spaces to foster youth’s critical reflection and action requires intentionality. This was evident in the hiring and training process of YPAR facilitators. The director describes one facilitator “came with urban planning background and very good at research and sifting through data, extrapolating it, and what it means.” While this facilitator had limited experience working with youth, the second facilitator hired was a nationally ranked spoken word artist “who teaches youth, have been in afterschool programming over 10 years” despite not having a college degree. The director highlighted the importance of having youth interact with adults with diverse experiences.

Another intentional component included youth skill development throughout the program. Youth described gaining workforce readiness and public speaking skills that helped them overcome “stage fright.” Moreover, youth reported gaining critical awareness of issues that were not taught in school. One youth stated: “I learned a lot of things I didn’t know … I didn’t learn in school, like, about healthy food access and transportation system ….” Youth described strengthening critical thinking, research, and organizational skills. One youth stated: “Trying to get everything in order and understanding the certain systems and policies that are in place and keep people from doing specific things,” he later added “getting that information, actually researching instead of finding stuff and copy … avoid plagiarism. Actually, coming up with valid ideas, coming up with presentations. I found that pretty hard. But working together, I feel like that helped me a lot.”

Moreover, dissemination opportunities reinforced legitimacy and respect toward youth. Youth disseminated research findings to stakeholders across cities through presentations and creative art-based forms including songs, role play, and videos. Adult staff described these opportunities “solidified” and “brought home the entire experience for the youth.” Among these efforts included youth traveling to another city to present research findings to practitioners, students, researchers, and policy makers. Youth indicated traveling outside of their hometowns for the first time and presenting to an audience made them feel heard. One youth researcher stated: “I met people, I ate food that I’ve never eaten before … they gave us the respect that we deserved … they were there with us … to me, they made me feel that my information was valuable and that the information matters.” Youth were also surprised of adults’ lack of awareness on structural inequities impacting neighboring communities. One youth grappled with these questions stating: “I thought everybody knew the information that we knew. We thought the rest of the adults knew what we were learning. But when we asked somebody and others, adults in the community, it was like a foreign language.” Overall, youth and adult recognized critical action and reflection throughout research dissemination efforts.

In addition to presenting research findings to stakeholders, youth also created dissemination products using poetry, art, and music. One example included youth leading the recording and production of a music video titled “no sugar” in partnership with students from a local state college (McCune, 2018). Youth drew from research findings to write and record the song lyrics that grapple with food apartheid, lack of access to healthy food, and disproportionate availability of foods high in sugar that are associated with chronic health diseases such as diabetes. Drawing from reflexive meeting notes, one adult staff member stated: “going to a real recording studio, working with an engineer that has worked on platinum albums – I think those life experiences are worthwhile.” Adult staff also described this collaborative dissemination initiative afforded youth the opportunity to learn about college readiness and professional skill development. In collaboration with the local state college, youth worked with a class of undergraduate students to curate the dance and exchange experiences about college and research. Youth also partnered with adults from a local food cooperative to plan, shoot, and record the music video. Finally, the integration of youth creative interests, community-based collaborations, and research propelled youth to a path of critical action. One adult stated: “I think that process of getting connected to a community in a way they wouldn’t have without the arts, the program, the song, the connecting point to the music video that got him to college and got him into healthy eating.”

Challenges in sustaining meaningful youth engagement

While the YPAR program presented multiple opportunities for youth and adult staff to engage in participatory research and action, several challenges and barriers were experienced. Findings of individual interviews with youth revealed three major challenges experienced: (1) competing priorities; (2) meaningful engagement; and (3) sustainability.

“How am I gonna balance these two now?” Managing competing priorities

Data from the three waves of interviews with the youth captured youth’s concerns on managing competing priorities while participating in the YPAR program. One youth described “balancing school and work” as a major challenge that influenced youth’ participation in the program. This aligned with adult facilitator’s reflections in the interim and exit interviews. One adult described: “I think the transition from summer to fall programming … having less time with the students, and also just being in high school period, where you have after school activities, friends.” Additionally, youth indicated having more interactive and hands-on program activities that could be tailored to youth’ interests and learning styles, particularly during the research data analysis stages. When asked about any specific challenges experienced in the program in the exit interview, one youth researcher described: “keeping myself focused, because honestly, sitting there for hours. I like music, I like singing. I’m active,” the youth researcher further added feeling “not motivated at work,” managing “things happening in life,” and expressing not liking “sitting there and reading without any music.” He further suggested: “There needs to be an interactive environment at work.”

“How can we do it in a way that’s critical of adultism and critical pedagogy … ” Contesting adult-driven and youth-driven approaches

Finding a balance between youth-driven and adult-driven leadership was also identified as a major challenge experienced in the YPAR program. While adult staff recognized the value of youth-driven participation in research and action, adult staff identified tensions that emerged, particularly to balancing adult-led and youth-led approaches to the program. One adult staff member stated:

I’m interested in like where the rubber meets the road between youth-led and adult-led. I think we can have a philosophy on the youth participatory approach, that I’m on board with, but there are some realities to the fact that we need discussion about what we need, what structures we need to put by the program, the curriculum, the adults … How can we have conscious little structure to get them to where they’re going? That’s what I keep on reflecting back on. How can we do it in a way that’s critical of adultism and critical pedagogy that we don’t want to be oppressive, but how can we facilitate that structure and that balance?

Another adult staff member referred to these adult-established boundaries of the program, particularly to external factors that influenced data collection of the YPAR program including the inclement weather like snowstorms that affected in-person qualitative data collection. One adult staff member suggested to account for “what type of research you can and can’t do” and described the limitation where “you can’t go door to door in the winter.”

Similarly, adult facilitators expressed concerns of young people “getting distracted” and “taking off course” as a major threat. Program meeting notes and reflections from the adult facilitators during the data collection and analysis stages illustrate diverging levels of “productivity” that fluctuated given multiple factors such as the weather and youth retention. One adult facilitator described “Some days can be non-productive at all and that can really hinder our progress and kind of derail other students from the group from being able to do their work.” He later described different groups of students who do “nothing,” another group “in between,” and a group where “somebody shoulders all the work.” He concluded by stating “I’d say that’s the biggest threat we’ve been facing so far, is just keeping things – keeping everybody on track – focus on what they’re doing and not goofing around and what not.”

Adult facilitators also discussed establishing practices of accountability among youth. During the program debrief calls with the university researchers, adult facilitators raised questions regarding consequences for youth not completing assignments. One adult stated: “You know, once in a while, we’ll give a work assignment and somebody won’t do it.” The adult added: “And I don’t want them to think that this is school, and if you don’t do an assignment, you get reassigned to it, and there has to be some kind of penalty.” University researchers suggested that adult facilitators bring this concern to the group and present this as an opportunity for youth to propose and endorse agreements of accountability. When youth were presented with adult staff quotes regarding youth’ “distractions” and meaningful engagement, youth responded: “they were distracted and playing too sometimes.” Youth described the distractions also applied to adults and that this trickled down to the youth.

“ … if we really want to be part of community conscious building and changing, then we need something that’s recurring … ”: Sustaining YPAR in the long-term

Adult staff reported sustainability, long-term meaningful youth engagement, and organization infrastructure and resources as key challenges to the planning and implementation of the year-long YPAR program. Logistical barriers emerged specifically with having consistent physical meeting space that met the needs of the youth. One adult facilitator stated: “One of the challenges, logistically, was just the room.” He described storage space for files and program materials as challenging given the shared spaces. The adult facilitator added: “I know we started out in a small meeting room downstairs and we moved upstairs. And we switched back and forth until we moved permanently upstairs.” Youth’ views were aligned with adults’ perceptions on the need for a consistent meeting space. Upon the completion of the program, one youth described preference for a larger room with access to computers while another youth described preference for another room they used, which was “better” in terms of the “light,” “temperature,” and with “less distractions.”

Additionally, youth and adult staff recommended considering long-term models of the YPAR program in order to advance systemic change and critical consciousness building. One adult staff recognized youth’s growth and also highlighted the importance of integrating sustainability approaches..

Creating some type of plan in order to keep it going … the one-year … you can only do so much if we really want to be part of community conscious building and changing, then we need something that’s recurring so we can keep this up and keep the conversation going.

Adult staff acknowledged “it’s been hard” and suggested to “regroup with students in between sessions to make sure the same energy and passion continues from summer to fall as we transition to the year.”

Youth shared adults’ views. One youth described that the problem of a short summer youth program is “you won’t get the development throughout the year and it wouldn’t be ready for it. It’s just 2–3 months. And they wouldn’t develop the same amount of skills in the set of time.” Regardless, youth unanimously expressed interest in continuing their participation in the YPAR program given its impact. One youth researcher reflected: “I feel like I’ve learned so much more that I’m capable … of so much more of what I was doing outside of research,” he further added: “I can be what I want in the world … I don’t have to stop there where they tell me to … The program has helped me grow and move forward and cross this line that not everybody dares to cross.”

Discussion

This case study explored program processes that promoted youth participation, empowerment, critical reflection, and action. The YPAR program sought to provide opportunities for adult staff and youth at an arts center to amplify young men of color’s voices in research and action. Youth examined school to prison pipeline, food access and educational disparities as part of the vicious cycles of structural racism using photovoice, individual interviews, and secondary data analysis. Findings suggest youth’s awareness on racial inequities increased. In particular, psychological empowerment was reflected in the ways youth’s initial assumptions on communities of color were challenged. Additionally, youth’s reflections on negative neighborhood outcomes associated with housing policies demonstrate cognitive empowerment. Youth and adults emphasized relationship building as essential and highlighted relational empowerment in leadership development. Overall, findings suggest empowerment processes are critical in fostering youth participatory inquiry and additional in-depth exploration of specific empowerment components at multiple levels should be considered.

Moreover, findings illuminate the potential of community-based art methodologies and YPAR frameworks in promoting youth participation in research dissemination and action. The program provided opportunities for youth to critically reflect, document, and disseminate racial inequities using arts-based methodologies to key stakeholders across cities. Consistent with research, youth engaged in critical arts-based research to generate counternarratives that stimulated an embodied practice, promoted knowledge translation, and empowered marginalized youth (Bagley & Castro-Salazar, 2012; Brodyn et al., 2021; Fletcher et al., 2016; Lapum et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2020). Additional research can explore long-term outcomes of these processes and identify strategies to mitigate structural barriers identified by youth and adults such as competing priorities, organizational infrastructure, staff capacity, and resources to sustain the YPAR program.

Findings reinforce research documenting positive outcomes and barriers to youth meaningful engagement in YPAR and critical consciousness (Aldana et al., 2012; Bañales et al., 2021; Cammarota, 2017; Patel, 2012; Seider et al., 2020; Watts & Hipolito-Delgado, 2015). Unaddressed interpersonal and structural power imbalances limit youth participation in YPAR (Bertrand et al., 2020; Teixeira et al., 2021). Research suggests limited studies exploring critical consciousness raising at multiple levels of the ecology over time (Heberle et al., 2020), thus, further research should investigate multiple strategies and impacts longitudinally. Finally, to promote equitable partnership with youth, adults need to share decision-making power and provide individual and organizational support (Mirra et al., 2015; Mirra & Rogers, 2016; Mohd, 2018; Ozer et al., 2013; Ross et al., 2010).

This study presents relevant implications for research, training, policy, and practice. Findings suggest YPAR has the potential to engage youth of color, promote critical consciousness and empowerment, and integrate arts with scientific inquiry in practice. Moreover, to sustain these approaches with youth in the long-term, stakeholders across sectors such as you youth work, philanthropy, civic engagement, and higher education should collaborate and discuss program sustainability beforehand (Baker & Meletzke, 2021; Keahey, 2021). Additionally, offering professional development trainings focused on youth-adult partnerships could increase adults’ readiness and skillset in negotiating power differentials and facilitate anti-oppressive and trauma-informed YPAR (Goessling, 2020; Richards-Schuster & Timmermans, 2017).

This study is limited by the small sample size, which does not allow for generalizability. Some youth researchers were unable to participate fully due to competing priorities. Future research should consider sustainability frameworks to capture long-term outcomes of sustainable youth participation and empowerment. For instance, in our manuscript writing discussions, adult staff described additional YPAR programming that continued upon project completion and visions of YPAR programming for young women of color. Adult staff also shared examples on specific applications of key learnings to professional experiences working with youth at various institutions. Future research should consider evaluating short-term and long-term outcomes.

In conclusion, the YPAR program promoted youth participation in scientific inquiry and arts-based dissemination. Youth deepened relationships with one another, strengthened leadership skills, and developed an increased critical awareness on community racial inequities. Reflections from youth and adult staff underscore the importance of sustaining these efforts longitudinally to create multilevel changes. Structural and relational power issues emerged between youth and adults in the program. This study invites scholars to explore YPAR as an epistemology and practical tool for youth and adults to deepen critical consciousness on racial inequity in their environments and equitable youth and adult partnerships.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge youth and adult staff affiliated with the community-based arts technology agency for their contributions in the design and implementation of this research. This research was conducted for the Center for Promise at Boston University with financial support from Say Yes Education. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Say Yes to Education.

Disclosure statement

Linda Sprague Martinez, PhD is a Consultant on Youth Engagement for America’s Promise Alliance. The remaining authors disclose that there is no existing conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research was conducted for the Center for Promise at Boston University which was funded by Say Yes Education N/A. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Say Yes to Education.