Youth-led participatory action research in school counseling as a vehicle for antiracist SEL

Youth Participatory Action Research as School Counseling Praxis: A Scoping Review

“…Six of the articles explored in this study posited that YPAR is an effective medium for aiding students' social/emotional development. Specifically, school counselors can apply YPAR to address race-related stressors inside and outside of school stressors (Edirmanasinghe et al, 2022;Williams et al, 2020) and poverty-related stressors (Smith et al, 2018); to promote emotional processing, well-being, and connectedness (Levy et al, 2018;Smith et al, 2010Smith et al, , 2012; and to decrease anxiety, stress, and/or depression symptoms (Levy & Travis, 2020). According to studies considering youth's college and career development (n = 4), school counselors can use YPAR to grow college-ready research skills and critical consciousness (Scott et al, 2015), career self-efficacy (Edirmanasinghe & Blaginin, 2019), and leadership skills (Ozer & Wright, 2012), and to explore issues of college access (Cook et al, 2019).…”

“…Through YPAR in schools, youth engage in an action-based research process in which they identify a research topic, plan for and collect data, digest research findings to produce a product, and collaboratively design the dissemination of data to effect change on a real-world issue (Langhout & Thomas, 2010; Smith et al, 2010). Unfortunately, research exploring the use of YPAR in school counseling practice is limited because YPAR has predominantly been studied in teacher education/teaching (Edirmanasinghe et al, 2022). Therefore, this study engaged in a scoping review of YPAR research to assess how YPAR might benefit school counselors.…”

“…Critical consciousness, the ability to identify sociopolitical contradictions within oneself and the systems within which one functions to actively dismantle oppression (Freire, 2018), is foundational within both YPAR and antiracist school counseling (Mayes & Byrd, 2022). To prevent performative approaches to YPAR, the school counseling scholarship must highlight intentional YPAR practices that treat students as active collaborators toward systemic change and engage youth in exchanges of knowledge where both the adults and students are treated as experts in resolving issues in schools (Edirmanasinghe et al, 2022). Although the research in school counseling is limited, we share the findings of a scoping review that explored how YPAR could be used in school counseling.…”

Supporting All Students: Multitiered Systems of Support from an Antiracist and Critical Race Theory Lens

“…The process helped students reflect on the impact of the problem on them personally while also showing them that the school staff valued their voice. More on YPAR can be found in Edirmanasinghe (2020) and Edirmanasinghe et al (2022). Last, the team reviewed their procedures for students, families, and community stakeholders to access the school counseling program.…”

School Counselors and Principals Serving as Co-Conspirators for Antiracist Program Evaluation

“…By including all stakeholders, co-conspirators gather a rich picture of how programs/interventions are being received and the impact they make. Edirmanasinghe et al (2022) propose using youth participatory action research (YPAR) when engaging in antiracist work. YPAR is a youth-led, group work practice that combats racist practices/policies in schools by empowering students to engage in self-advocacy by reflecting on their own experiences and imagining ways they can collectively address systemic challenges (Edirmanasinghe et al, 2022).…”