'Why Don't They Just Move Closer?': Adolescent Critical Consciousness Development in YPAR about Food Security
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| Title: | 'Why Don't They Just Move Closer?': Adolescent Critical Consciousness Development in YPAR about Food Security |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Amy J. Anderson (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Adolescent Research. 2024 39(4):861-887. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 27 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | High Schools Secondary Education Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 |
| Descriptors: | High School Students, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12, Food, Hunger, Nontraditional Education, Participatory Research, Action Research, Personal Autonomy, Change Agents, Equal Education, Research Utilization, Student Research, Community Problems, Problem Solving, Agriculture, Elective Courses, Critical Theory, Consciousness Raising, Student Diversity |
| Geographic Terms: | Alabama |
| DOI: | 10.1177/07435584211065343 |
| ISSN: | 0743-5584 1552-6895 |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to explore high school students' critical consciousness development in the context of youth participatory action research (YPAR) focused on food security at an alternative school in Alabama. The YPAR project took place in an elective agriscience class with 10 students (Seven Black, two white, one Latino) who were in the 10th to 12th grades. Utilizing data from researcher notes, classroom observations, and archival classroom documents, we present students' YPAR project outcomes to share their research-driven solutions to food insecurity in their community. Vignettes of classroom dialogue are also constructed to illustrate moments of reflection in the YPAR context about food security. We present three "critical moments," or instances of social analysis, to illustrate how students' individual-level attributions occurred alongside teacher dialogue and student-led investigation of structural inequities in the community. Findings illustrate how students' nonlinear critical consciousness development consisted of reliance on individual-level attributions in classroom dialogue co-occurring with systems-thinking activities and other YPAR project outcomes. This paper has implications for research on the imperfect and wavering nature of adolescent critical consciousness development in YPAR. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1427832 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to explore high school students' critical consciousness development in the context of youth participatory action research (YPAR) focused on food security at an alternative school in Alabama. The YPAR project took place in an elective agriscience class with 10 students (Seven Black, two white, one Latino) who were in the 10th to 12th grades. Utilizing data from researcher notes, classroom observations, and archival classroom documents, we present students' YPAR project outcomes to share their research-driven solutions to food insecurity in their community. Vignettes of classroom dialogue are also constructed to illustrate moments of reflection in the YPAR context about food security. We present three "critical moments," or instances of social analysis, to illustrate how students' individual-level attributions occurred alongside teacher dialogue and student-led investigation of structural inequities in the community. Findings illustrate how students' nonlinear critical consciousness development consisted of reliance on individual-level attributions in classroom dialogue co-occurring with systems-thinking activities and other YPAR project outcomes. This paper has implications for research on the imperfect and wavering nature of adolescent critical consciousness development in YPAR. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0743-5584 1552-6895 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/07435584211065343 |
