Youth Participation and Action Research Node
Our node focuses on advancing evidence and action towards meaningful youth participation and power in the promotion of young people’s health and wellbeing, with an emphasis on YPAR (Youth Participatory Action Research). YPAR is an innovative, equity-focused approach to positive youth and community development in which young people conduct systematic research to improve their lives, communities, and the institutions intended to serve them. As a participatory research approach, YPAR values youth voice and promotes healthier development for young people across the lifespan. YPAR researchers and youth engaged in YPAR utilize a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods in cycles of inquiry and action.
The Youth Participation and Action Research Node is led by Emily Ozer, PhD and Marieka Schotland, PhD.
Mission
The LCIRN YPAR Node aims to connect YPAR researchers, practitioners, and youth to build shared opportunities for learning, evidence generation, and collaboration across disciplines focused on youth wellbeing and development. The YPAR Node is a generative space for reflection, empirical inquiry, and action via the following priority activities:
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Linkage of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to advance the evidence base and impact of YPAR on the settings and institutions that shape youth development, and the benefits for young people who participate;
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Knowledge exchange and collaboration to produce innovative research studies, publications and products within and beyond the node;
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Training and mentorship of the next generation of YPAR life course researchers;
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Identification of future directions for the field of life course research that centers youth expertise and power within systems that affect youth development;
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Collaboration with other research networks in the MCAH (maternal/child/adolescent health), developmental, and other relevant fields to embed and evaluate adaptive and meaningful approaches to youth participation in empirical research, interventions, and policy development.