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Youth researchers partner with adults to conduct qualitative inquiry into high school and college experiences, examining guidance, advising, family and peer support, and belonging. Across 50 youth researchers and 285 interviews, the brief identifies common themes and actionable recommendations intended for educational institutions, community organizations, and funders.","March 2025  \nListening to and Learning from Students Through Youth Participatory Action Research  \nKey findings about the high school and college student experience from six studies across California (2020–24)  \nElla Johnson Gray& Elizabeth Newman  \nIntroduction  \nYouth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is a strategy that engages young people as researchers who partner with adults to conduct a critical inquiry into subjects salient to their experiences (Caraballo et al., 2017) . Between 2020 and 2024, the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities supported six cohorts of youth researchers, including high school juniors and seniors and college students, to engage in qualitative research studies. Their findings and recommendations offer actionable insights for educational institutions, community based organizations, and funders that strive to improve the wellbeing of youth and their communities. This brief summarizes common themes that emerged across these six studies. Additional details, including specific findings and recommendations, are provided in the research memos produced by each YPAR cohort.1  \n1 Student research fellows share what matters to them and their peers  \nYOUTH PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH PROGRAMS 2  \nYPAR is traditionally valued for its developmental benefits for those who serve as youth researchers, such as enhancing leadership and critical thinking skills, but it also has the potential to improve data systems and contribute to organizational development. YPAR can yield valuable findings and recommendations that organizations can use to improve programs, engage donors and other stakeholders, and inform strategic deployment of resources. The potential of YPAR thus extends beyond benefits to youth researchers, particularly when the findings are used by organizations in the design and implementation of programs that influence youth. The power of YPAR as a tool to inform and improve organizations and systems hinges upon understanding its ability to produce insightful and actionable knowledge, as well as ensuring that the findings and recommendations are accessible to those who can use them to inform programs and policies (Gray & Ren, 2024) .  \nIn an effort to amplify the knowledge generated by youth across these six YPAR projects and inform the broader field, this brief presents an overview of the six studies, synthesizes broad themes across their findings and recommendations, and provides links to each cohort’s final research memo so that those who seek to better understand youth perspectives have the opportunity to do so.  \nBackground  \nThis brief is based on a review of findings and recommendations from six YPAR studies that were supported by the Gardner Center and local organizations or school districts (“host” organizations) between 2020 and 2024 . The researchers and interviewees were in high school (two studies) and college (four studies) in communities across California—from the San Francisco Bay Area, to the Central Valley, to Los Angeles County. Each study investigated different questions based on the primary goal of their host and the interests of the youth research team, but all of the studies focused on understanding youth experience in high school and/or college—and the factors that supported or complicated their experiences on their journeys to and through college.  \nThrough peer interviews and reflection, the student researchers examined issues such as college counseling and advising, family and peer support, and sense of belonging at their schools. Taken together, a total of 50 youth researchers conducted and analyzed 285 interviews. Researchers presented their findings to their hosts at the conclusion of each study via a live presentation and a written memo. An overview of the research questions addressed in each YPAR study is provided in Table 1.  \nJOHN W. GARDNER CENTER FOR YOUTH AND THEIR COMMUNITIES  \nYOUTH PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH PROGRAMS 3  \nTable 1  \nResearch questio","cbCaidOHZc3yL7vk","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidOHZc3yL7vk","pdf",342198,12,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Background\n# Student research fellows share what matters to them and their peers\n## Overview of research questions (Table 1)","[{\"question\":\"What is Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) in this brief?\",\"answer\":\"YPAR engages young people as researchers who partner with adults to conduct critical inquiry into topics relevant to their experiences. The brief uses this approach to study youth experiences in high school and college.\"},{\"question\":\"Which time period and locations are covered by the studies?\",\"answer\":\"The synthesis covers six cohorts of youth researchers supported between 2020 and 2024 in communities across California. The settings range from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Central Valley and Los Angeles County.\"},{\"question\":\"How many interviews and youth researchers were included across the six studies?\",\"answer\":\"Across the six YPAR projects, 50 youth researchers conducted and analyzed 285 interviews. Each cohort presented findings through a live presentation and a written memo.\"}]","Listening to and Learning from Students Through Youth Participatory Action Research - Key Findings (2020-24) | PDF",1792053596,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"ok",{"site_id":75,"language":74,"slug":83,"title":65,"keywords":84,"description":66,"schema_data":85,"social_meta":139,"head_meta":141,"extra_data":143,"updated_unix":144},"listening-to-and-learning-from-students-through-youth-participatory-action-research-key-findings-2020-24","",{"@graph":86,"@context":138},[87,101,121],{"@type":88,"itemListElement":89},"BreadcrumbList",[90,94,96,99],{"item":91,"name":92,"@type":93,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":95,"name":9,"@type":93,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":97,"name":40,"@type":93,"position":98},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":100,"name":65,"@type":93,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/listening-to-and-learning-from-students-through-youth-participatory-action-research-key-findings-2020-24/585079/",{"url":100,"name":65,"@type":102,"image":103,"author":108,"headline":65,"publisher":110,"fileFormat":113,"inLanguage":74,"description":66,"dateModified":114,"datePublished":115,"encodingFormat":113,"isAccessibleForFree":116,"interactionStatistic":117},"DigitalDocument",{"url":104,"@type":105,"width":106,"height":107},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/listening-to-and-learning-from-students-through-youth-participatory-action-research-key-findings-2020-24/585079.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":63,"@type":109},"Person",{"url":91,"name":111,"@type":112},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":118,"interactionType":119,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":120},"ViewAction",{"@type":122,"mainEntity":123},"FAQPage",[124,130,134],{"name":125,"@type":126,"acceptedAnswer":127},"What is Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) in this brief?","Question",{"text":128,"@type":129},"YPAR engages young people as researchers who partner with adults to conduct critical inquiry into topics relevant to their experiences. 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