Making the Implicit Explicit: An Illustration of YPAR Implementation and Lessons Learned in Partnership With Young Adults Who Have Experienced Family Member Incarceration

Abstract

Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) involves a youth-adult partnered or youth-led process of inquiry, critical reflection, and action to reduce inequities in areas important to youth with lived experience. YPAR has been linked to multi-level benefits, such as increased school connectedness, enhanced relationships between youth and adults, and policy changes. Most YPAR projects are conducted as electives in schools or afterschool programs, meaning that youth opt in and are likely already interested in social change. Less is known about the YPAR implementation process in more informal community settings with young adults who are not being served by traditional systems (e.g., public schools) and YPAR with specific populations, such as youth who have experienced family member incarceration. To fill this gap, we provided a step-by-step implementation guide of our curriculum, stages of research, and adaptations to YPAR with young adults who experienced family member incarceration, graduated from an alternative school, and worked in the community. We also provided lessons learned from both facilitator and young adult researcher perspectives to aid youth workers, facilitators, and others engaged in community practice with youth in the implementation of YPAR with this unique population and setting.