The Challenges and Possibilities of Youth Participatory Action Research for Teachers and Students in Public School Classrooms

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man

This study examines the challenges and achievements of two public school teachers implementing youth participatory action research (YPAR) with students in core academic classrooms. Prior YPAR research often focuses on university settings or elective courses, limiting its fit for core classroom constraints. Through action research and ethnographic methods—interviews, field notes, classroom observation artifacts, and reflective conversations—the study shows teachers enacted YPAR epistemological principles and gained positive outcomes, while also facing structural barriers such as required curricula, standardized testing, and large class sizes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages44

Reading Time1 h 51 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background of YPAR in education

Implementation in core academic classrooms

UC Berkeley Berkeley Review of Education Title The Challenges and Possibilities of Youth Participatory Action Research for Teachers and Students in Public School Classrooms Permalink [https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8rm7r2sc](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8rm7r2sc) Journal Berkeley Review of Education, 8(1) Author Buttimer, Christopher John Publication Date 2018 DOI 10.5070/B88133830 Peer reviewed [eScholarship.org](eScholarship.org) Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Available online at [http://](http://eScholarship.org/uc/ucbgse_bre)[eS](http://eScholarship.org/uc/ucbgse_bre)[cholarship.org/uc/ucbgse_bre](http://eScholarship.org/uc/ucbgse_bre) The Challenges and Possibilities of Youth Participatory Action Research for Teachers and Students in Public School Classrooms Christopher J. Buttimer 1 Harvard Graduate School of Education Abstract This study explores the challenges and successes that two public school teachers experienced while implementing youth participatory action research (YPAR) with their students in core academic classrooms. Most academic studies of YPAR have focused on university-based researchers implementing YPAR with youth outside school settings or in special courses inside schools such as electives. Hence, the findings of existing research may not adequately predict the experiences of teachers implementing YPAR within the constraints and requirements of core academic classrooms. Using action research and ethnographic approaches including interviews, field notes, teaching artifacts from classroom observations, and reflective conversations with teachers, I found that the two teachers successfully implemented the epistemological tenets of YPAR in many ways and achieved positive outcomes. However, they were also stymied by structural issues common to core academic classrooms, such as required curricula, standardized testing, and large class sizes. Keywords: youth participatory action research, youth activism, critical pedagogy, public schools, teaching and learning Over the past two decades, a growing number of university-based researchers have been partnering with youth through Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR2 ; Caraballo, Lozenski, Lyiscott, & Morrell, 2017; Mirra & Rogers, 2016) . YPAR comes out of the critical research tradition that seeks to link reflection (i.e., research and analysis) with practice (i.e., action) in what Freire (2008) referred to as praxis. As such, young people who engage in YPAR with adult collaborators conduct root-level analyses of structural oppression that affects them directly with the aim of taking action to change those structures. Thus, YPAR advocates believe that young people can create change now, not in some distant future. 1 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Christopher J. Buttimer. Email: [chrisbuttimer4444@gmail.com](chrisbuttimer4444@gmail.com). 2 Also referred to in the academic literature as PAR with youth, yPAR, CPAR, or just PAR. Berkeley Review of Education Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 39–81 40 Buttimer University-based researchers engaging in YPAR have begun to build a body of empirical evidence that demonstrates a link between YPAR and various youth development outcomes, such as increased engagement, motivation, and sociopolitical awareness (Cammarota & Romero, 2009; Ozer & Douglas, 2013), as well as academic outcomes in subjects such as literacy (Van Sluys, 2010) and math (Yang, 2009). An emergent body of studies using quantitative and quasi-experimental designs have also begun to amass evidence about the impact of YPAR on student outcomes, including engagement, attendance, graduation, and academic achievement scores (Cabrera, Milem, Jaquette, & Marx, 2014; Voight & Velez, 2018) . Advocates have argued that engaging young people in YPAR not only has educational and youth-development benefits, but also the potential for young people to create c

FAQs

What does the study focus on regarding youth participatory action research (YPAR)?

The study examines both challenges and successes experienced by two public school teachers implementing YPAR with students in core academic classrooms.

Why does the paper argue existing YPAR research may not transfer well to core classrooms?

It notes that much prior YPAR work centers on university-based implementations or special courses outside core classroom constraints, so findings may not predict teacher experiences in required subjects.

What structural issues hinder YPAR in core academic classrooms?

The paper identifies barriers such as required curricula, standardized testing, and large class sizes.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man