Youth 'At the Margins': Critical Perspectives and Experiences of Engaging Youth in Research Worldwide (New Research - New Voices)

This volume comes at a critical juncture, as global commitments transition from the Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals and the wider post-2015 development agenda is being discussed and debated. In these discussions, children and youth have been recognized as one of the nine major groups of civil society whose participation in decision making is essential for achieving sustainable development. There is also a concomitant need for action - innovative, evidence-based approaches to addressing entrenched global challenges or 'wicked problems' and engaging youth in those efforts. Within academic discourse, the perspectives and active participation of youth in research has long been debated. It is widely believed that their participation can result in better policy responses and contribute to the development of more relevant and effective interventions and programs to address their needs. However, the engagement of youth in research processes is not without critique; issues such as how to move from tokenism towards authentic participation and empowerment have been critically discussed, and many question if youth can or should even be expected to make change happen. Youth 'At the Margins': Critical Perspectives and Experiences of Engaging Youth in Research Worldwide brings together a range of critical and empirical contributions from emerging scholars and seasoned academics alike. Each contribution provides a unique perspective on the potentialities and challenges associated with youth engaged research. The chapters presented in this volume strive to critically interrogate and debate important foundational issues to consider when engaging youth in the research process, such as epistemological and methodological considerations. Important insights into the ethical, pedagogical and practical aspects one must contend with can be gleaned from the selection of chapters here; some of which are primarily theoretical and descriptive, whilst others present empirical data with case examples from around the world. This volume is devoted to showcasing high quality contributions to the scholarly literature on youth engaged research in order to spur further critical debate on the various epistemological, methodological and ethical issues associated with engaging youth in research processes and in addressing intractable global issues. The audience for this volume includes students, researchers and academics within a broad range of fields who are interested in understanding the range of approaches being used worldwide to include youth in research endeavors on issues of global importance including poverty, social exclusion, structural violence, un- and under-employment, education and health. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABOUT THE COVER 1. GROWING UP GLOBAL: Towards the Critical Engagement of Youth and Youth Voices in Research to Address Global Wicked Problems INTRODUCTION THE GLOBAL CONTEXT THE INCLUSION OF YOUTH PERSPECTIVES TOWARDS CONTEXTUALIZED UNDERSTANDINGS OF “CHILDREN” AND “YOUTH” WICKED PROBLEMS AND THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF YOUTH IN ADDRESSING GLOBAL CHALLENGES A RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH TO RESEARCH YOUTH-ENGAGED METHODOLOGIES OVERVIEW OF THE VOLUME REFERENCES SECTION I: (RE)VISITING CRITICAL EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ENGAGING YOUTH IN RESEARCH 2. YOUTH AT THE MARGINS OF CITIZENSHIP: A Review of European Youth Policy INTRODUCTION YOUTH AT THE MARGINS THE DEFINITION OF CITIZENSHIP AND ITS ASSOCIATIONS WITH MARGINALIZATION AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION DATA AND METHODS THE CONCEPT OF CITIZENSHIP IN EUROPEAN POLICIES The European Union The Council of Europe THE YOUNG CITIZENS IN EUROPEAN POLICIES Youth Citizenship as Active Participation Youth Citizenship as Learning to Actively Participate EUROPEAN YOUTH CITIZENSHIP: EVERTHING BUT RIGHTS NOTES REFERENCES APPENDIX 3. EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES IN RESEARCH CONCERNING YOUTH AT THE MARGINS INTRODUCTION EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH Culturalization of Youth ‘at the Margins’ DIALECTIC MATERIALISM The Economic Structure and Class Relations Constitute Consciousness The Ruling Ideas Are the Ideas of the Ruling Class POST-STRUCTURAL EPISTEMOLOGY Discourse Is a Social Practice That Systematically Forms the Objective of Which It Speaks Ethics COUNTER-HEGEMONIC EPISTEMOLOGIES YOUTH UPRISINGS AND RESISTANCE Power and Knowledge Discipline and Criminalize Youth Resistance METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS Institutional Racism in School A Study of ‘Immigrant’ Youth and Their Resistance to Categorization SOCIAL JUSTICE: REDISTRIBUTION AND RECOGNITION CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY AND PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH CONCLUDING REMARKS NOTE REFERENCES 4. THE EXPERIENTIAL BOND: The Impact of Research with At-Risk Youth – The Relational and Ethical Challenges of Qualitative Research INTRODUCTION IMPLICATIONS FOR ACTION AND PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH AN ‘ETHICS’ FOR DIALOGIC RESEARCH BEYOND QUALITATIVE ‘INDIVIDUALISM’: SITUATED PRACTICES OF SOCIAL KNOWING POLITICAL AND ETHICAL CHALLENGES FOR RELATIONAL RESEARCH A RELATIONAL APPROACH TO YOUTH RESEARCH THE ENACTMENT OF MARGINALIZED YOUTH VOICE i) Decolonising Qualitative Methods: The Experiential Bond inside a Culture ii) De-Stigmatising Research: Resistances and Participation of at-Risk Youth ESTABLISHING RESEARCH RELATIONSHIPS THAT INCLUDES YOUNG PEOPLE’S VOICE CONCLUSION REFERENCES 5. UNDERSTANDING THE ETHICAL REQUIREMENT FOR PARENTAL CONSENT WHEN ENGAGING YOUTH IN RESEARCH INTRODUCTION CHALLENGES POSED BY THE PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT CAPACITY TO CONSENT AND THE LAW ETHICAL GUIDANCE Requirement of Parental Consent in All Circumstances up to the Age of 18 Provision of Prescribed Age Limits below the Age of 18 Parental Consent Is Required up to the Age of 18 but Allowance Is Made for a Waiver ETHICALLY COMPLIANT PRACTICE CONCLUSION NOTES REFERENCES 6. THE VOICE OF THE VOICELESS: Limitations of Empowerment and the Potential of Insider-Activist Methodologies with Anarcho-Punk Youth INTRODUCTION WHO ARE ANARCHO-PUNKS? Anarcho-Punk Youth: ‘Violent’, ‘Rebellious’, ‘Dangerous’ Anarcho-Punk Theory: Anarchism, Autonomy, and (Anti-)Politics Anarcho-Punk Logic: Direct Action Anarcho-Punk Practice: Recycling, Cooking, and Eating THE LIMITS OF ‘EMPOWERMENT’ The Voiceless: Marginalization and Disempowerment The Voice of the Voiceless: Counterdiscourses and Confrontations Towards Engagement and Advocacy Insider-Activist Ethnographic Research Towards Co-Empowerment CONCLUSION NOTES REFERENCES SECTION II: CASE STUDIES OF YOUTH AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT AND ACTIVISM 7. BENGALI YOUTH SPEAK OUT FOR CHANGE: Knowledge and Empowerment of Youth in West Bengal, India INTRODUCTION OUR RESEARCH SOCIETAL CONTEXT FOR YOUTH IN WEST BENGAL Teacher-Student Relationships Sexual Orientation Gender and Violence Sexuality and Sexual Health Smoking, Alcohol, and Illicit Drugs Physical and Mental Health Resources on Health and Human-Rights Issues Youth Community Involvement VOICES OF BENGALI YOUTH Access to Information and Resources Drug Abuse Sexuality and Sexual Health Sexual Assault and Harassment Female Youth: Intersection of Age and Gender Youth Community Involvement Youth Empowerment ENGAGING BENGALI YOUTH IN HEALTH PROMOTION CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NOTES REFERENCES 8. KENYAN YOUTH LEFT TO STAND ALONE?: Engagement, Solidarity and Meaningful Exchange INTRODUCTION Meaningful Exchange Youth-Headed Households in Kenya: Context of Marginalization and Policy Climate Participation, Empowerment and Youth Agency BACKGROUND Approach in This Study: Identity and Reflexivity RESEARCH DESIGN: GROUND-UP POLICY PROCESS ACTION RESEARCH: YOUTH ENGAGEMENT Methods Bringing the Youth Together Deciding What Needs to Be Told to Others Presenting and Engaging with Wakubwa YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: OPPORTUNITIES AND TRANSFORMATION Research in an ‘Unjust World’: Engagement and Ambiguity CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NOTES REFERENCES 9. CONDUCTING FLUID AND TIMELY RESEARCH IN YOUTH ACTIVISM: Understanding Lessons from India INTRODUCTION YOUTH ACTIVISM YOUTH ACTIVISM IN INDIA YOUTH ACTIVISM AND QUALITATIVE INQUIRY METHODOLOGY AND STANCE DEVELOPING FLUIDITY IN RESEARCH Building a Research Agenda Engaging in the Research Process Distilling and Sharing Results NEGOTIATING TIMELY RELATIONSHIPS Relationships between the Researcher and the Participants Relationships between Researcher and the Readers/Audience of Their Research Relationship between Research and the Field within Which It Is Situated DISCUSSION AND LESSONS LEARNED NOTE REFERENCES 10. UNCANNY INSIGHT IN WITHDRAWN VOICES: Structural Violence, Aboriginal Hauntings and Youth-Powered Documentary in Western Canada INTRODUCTION MARGINALIZED YOUTH IN A BOOM TOWN AN URBAN ABORIGINAL YOUTH COUNCIL IN CALGARY STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE: WIDESPREAD AND OMNIPRESENT Identity Mental Health Socialization Identifying Solutions to Structural Violence UNCANNY INSIGHT IN WITHDRAWN VOICES CONCLUSION: THE REFUSED VOICE NOTES REFERENCES SECTION III: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUTH, INSTITUTIONS AND STRUCTURES 11. RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN OF PRISONERS: Methodological Considerations for Bringing Youth in from the Margins INTRODUCTION CHILDREN OF IMPRISONED PARENTS: UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT PREVAILING METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN CURRENT APPROACHES TO RESEARCH INTO THE EXPERIENCES OF CHILDREN WHOSE PARENTS ARE IN PRISON Reliance on Parents and Carers Including Children LESSONS LEARNED FROM RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS Strategies: Developing and Shaping Research Strategies: Gathering Data Strategies: Data Analysis and Reporting CONCLUSION NOTES REFERENCES 12. FIELDWORK DILEMMAS: Conducting Qualitative Research with Orphanage Youth in Ukraine INTRODUCTION UKRAINIAN ORPHANAGES FIELDWORK CHALLENGES AND DILEMMAS Research Design and Methodology Navigating Orphanages as Research Sites Ethical Considerations and Institutional Review Board Regulations in a Non-Western Context Building Rapport with the Youth Observing and Interviewing the Youth INSIGHTS FOR RESEARCHERS WORKING WITH ORPHANS RESEARCHER’S OBLIGATION AND IMPACT NOTES REFERENCES 13. RESEARCH AS PLAY: Discovering Roots of Educational Marginalization through Participatory Research with Indigenous Baka Youth in Cameroon INTRODUCTION THE BAKA PHASE ONE: LEARNING FROM MISTAKES PHASE TWO: EMBRACING AN EMPOWERMENT PERSPECTIVE Research Locations Gauging Assent GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCH Applying School Readiness and Assets-Based Lenses Respect for Children’s Capabilities Critical Constructivist Epistemological Approach FINDINGS Buba: A Case Study ANALYSIS AND IMPLICATIONS CONCLUSION NOTES REFERENCES 14. STAND BY ME: Empowerment of Immigrant Youth in Urban Japan INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY NEWCOMER STUDENTS AT FUJI SCHOOL REFORMS AT FUJI SCHOOL Field Notes from Interviews with Students in “Stand by Me” The International Classes and Cultural Intermediaries Cultural Intermediaries Who Work with the “Stand by Me” Program DISCUSSION CONCLUSION REFERENCES SECTION IV: DISPATCHES FROM THE FIELD 15. YOUTH RESEARCHING YOUTH: Reflections from a Multi-Country Study of Youth Claiming Rights to Education and Sexual Reproductive Health INTRODUCTION CONTEXT THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH METHODS YOUTH RESEARCHING YOUTH Potential Value Added by the YRs Potential Problematics of Including YRs CONCLUSIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REFERENCES 16. OUR MARGINS, THEIR FRONTLINES: Research with Child Soldiers and Armed Groups in Syria, Myanmar and Uganda INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY AND SCOPE OF STUDY RESEARCH ON YOUTH IN CONFLICT ZONES The Issue of Training The Usefulness of Research UGANDA Brief Overview of Ugandan Conflict Safety of the Researcher Ethical Concerns of Engaging with Youth Conduct of Research MYANMAR Brief Overview of Conflict in Myanmar Safety of the Researcher Ethical Concerns of Engaging with Youth Conduct of Research SYRIA Brief Overview of Syrian Conflict Safety of the Researcher Ethical Concerns of Engaging with Youth Conduct of Research GENERAL GUIDELINES CONCLUSION NOTES REFERENCES 17. YOUTH AS RESEARCHERS AND PARTICIPANTS: Engaging Marginalized Voices in Rural India INTRODUCTION THE INDIAN CONTEXT AIMS OF THIS CHAPTER THE INTERVENTION & RESEARCH PROJECT Aims Methodology PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH & YOUTH The Youth Surveyors Participatory Training Data Collection and Findings HARMONIZING RESEARCH ACROSS CULTURES COMMUNITY COLLABORATION AND ETHICAL ISSUES Participant Protection and Challenges Community Organization Collaboration CONCLUSION REFERENCES 18. VISUALIZING ABJECTION: The Making of a Photo Documentary in the ‘Other’ Worlds of Girlhood INTRODUCTION URBAN CANADIAN LANDSCAPES AND THEIR GLOBAL MANIFESTATIONS CONTEXTUALIZING THE WORKING-CLASS GIRL THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTING THE “OTHER” A Multi-Modal Methodological Frame FINDINGS: STAGING AND RESTAGING THE STORY Classifying Structures and Embodiment: Gender, Value, and Youthful Inscriptions Reclaiming Value Transformations of Space TOWARDS A SYNTHESIS NOTES REFERENCES ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS