Youth Participatory Action Research in the High School Curriculum: Education Outcomes for Student Participants in a District-Wide Initiative

ABSTRACT

This study employed a quasi-experimental design to examine the effects of a school-based youth participatory action research program on the education outcomes of participating high school students. The program was a year-long elective course in six high schools in the same California district whose student population is predominantly low-income youth of color. A propensity score matching approach compared the reading achievement, attendance rates, and discipline referral rates of 153 students who participated in the program to nonparticipating peers with similar demographics and baseline scores on the outcomes. Results showed that the program significantly improved students’ attendance rates with less compelling evidence for its effect on reading achievement. These findings suggest that youth participatory action research may be an effective pedagogical practice for high school students, particularly low-income students of color.

KEYWORDS:

• action research
• youth development
• social context
• student voice

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Emily Ozer for her thoughtful feedback on drafts of this article and the teachers and students of Hemet Unified School District for their work.

Notes

¹ Because baseline reading scores were not included as a covariate in the logistic regression predicting propensity scores in the tests of average treatment effects for attendance and discipline referrals, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess balance in baseline reading test scores between the two matched groups among the subset of 2,096 students for whom baseline readings scores were available. The t test showed a significant difference between the two groups and the standardized percent bias was above the 25% cutoff recommended by Harder and colleagues (2010), with YPAR students having baseline reading test scores approximately 5 points higher than control students; and the variance ratio for baseline reading tests was within the parameters for good balance.