Youth Participatory Action Research

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) has been posited to be an encouraging tool for engaging young people in youth-driven transformative systemic change. YPAR amplifies the perspectives and ideas of children and youth by centering them in the research and situating them as legitimate, valuable research partners. Adult scholars engaged in YPAR afford young people with disabilities meaningful opportunities to engage in critical and reflexive inquiry regarding their experiences and concerns. By employing YPAR methodology, children and youth examine the social problems impacting their lives and then determine actions to resolve inequities and injustices. As such, young people’s perspectives and decisions are cornerstone to the scholarship. Yet, research led by multiply-marginalized disabled children and youth is an emerging area of scholarship. First, this encyclopedia entry discusses the underpinnings and objectives of YPAR. Then, key practices for conducting YPAR projects that center the experiences and perspectives of multiply-marginalized children and youth with disabilities are outlined. Finally, methodological and ethical considerations are delineated.