Youth-Led Antiracism Research: Making a Case for Participatory Methods and Creative Strategies in Developmental Science

• Published in: Journal of adolescent research Vol. 36; no. 6; pp. 654 - 685
• Main Authors: Aldana, Adriana, Richards-Schuster, Katie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.11.2021; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Action Research; Activism; Adolescents; Epistemology; Fairness; Participatory action research; Participatory Research; Paternalism; Racial Bias; Racial justice; Research Methodology; Social Justice; Social research; Social Science Research; Story Telling; Storytelling; Summer Programs; Systemic racism; White supremacy; Youth; Youth Programs; adolescence; social justice; community-based participatory research; race/ethnicity
• ISSN: 0743-5584; 1552-6895
• DOI: 10.1177/07435584211043289

In this article, we conceptualize youth-led antiracism research in developmental science. First, we discuss how Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) principles converge with critical race epistemological approaches to knowledge production. Second, we propose that youth-led antiracism research requires a commitment to multiple ways of knowing, countering paternalism, focusing on structural racism, and activist scholarship that advances racial equity. These commitments are necessary to challenge how White supremacy culture shapes social science research paradigms. We weave existing empirical evidence and theory on YPAR with counter-storytelling methodology to identify various participatory methods and creative strategies that exemplify these commitments and emerged from co-creating research projects with ethnically and racially diverse youth. We conclude with implications for developmental science and offer guiding questions that may help scholars reimagine research in partnership with youth in ways that advance racial justice.