Special Issue: Understanding Meaningful Engagement of Youth in Research and Evaluation

“This special edition of the International Journal of Qualitative Research contributes to the youth engagement movement, informing how we approach especially qualitative, participatory action research (PAR) and mixed methods research with youth, contributing to the theory and practice of adolescent development-focused research. It builds on a workshop held in June 2015, focused on Understanding Meaningful Engagement of Youth in Research and Evaluation (funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada). These concerns regarding youth engagement necessarily draw attention to the ways in which we generate the knowledge that informs theories and practice. This collection of articles contributes to our understanding of the models of research required for the cocreation of knowledge and related policies and programming that will enable youth to flourish. The authors include youth, community research partners, and researchers, who share their experience of how to meaningfully engage youth in research from planning, ethics, and fieldwork through to analysis and dissemination. The goal of this edition on Understanding Meaningful Engagement is to facilitate knowledge sharing between a diverse group of actors engaged in research (i.e., researchers, community partners, and youth research participants) and to disseminate new knowledge about how to meaningfully engage youth in research and evaluation so as to reverse the flow of knowledge from youth who are often silenced to adults in positions of decision-making power. In bringing together leading and emerging experts in research with youth, and drawing on their experiences of meaningfully and successfully engaging youth in research and evaluation, our hope is that innovative practices and knowledge systems are amplified” (From the Editor’s Introduction).

The articles included in this Special Edition are as follows:

Editor’s Introduction to the Special Issue: Understanding Meaningful Engagement of Youth in Research and Dissemination of Findings - by Linda Liebenberg

Navigating Ethical Challenges in Qualitative Research With Children and Youth Through Sustaining Mindful Presence - by Roberta L. Woodgate, Pauline Tennent, Melanie Zurba
Abstract: This article explores ethical challenges in qualitative research by bringing forward examples from the literature and from IN•GAUGE®, a research program spanning over 15 years and focusing on the significance of multiple perspectives and the value of gauging the health needs of young people and their families. In addition to exploring the ethical challenges in working with children and youth in research, we make the case that ethical considerations need to extend beyond research ethics boards protocols and present “sustaining mindful presence” as a conceptual frame practical guide for working through ethical challenges in qualitative research. We contend that greater participation of research subjects, including children and youth, is the way forward for developing more holistic and effective approaches to ethics within research institutions.

Ceremonies of Relationship: Engaging Urban Indigenous Youth in Community-Based Research - by Kelley Bird-Naytowhow, Andrew R. Hatala, Tamara Pearl, Andrew Judge, Erynne Sjoblom
Abstract: Indigenous communities from around the world, and particularly marginalized youth from within these communities, have not always been adequately included and valued as potential collaborators in various research processes. Instead, research has relegated Indigenous youth to subjects where adults, operating primarily from Western knowledge positions and assumptions, remain the experts. Given the role of research in informing programs and policies, the ways research meaningfully engages and includes Indigenous youth are of key concern. This article presents experiences gained throughout the duration of a study that sought to identify the knowledge, resources, and capabilities required to support the health, resilience, and well-being of Indigenous youth within an urban Canadian context. In particular, this article focuses on methods and approaches of integrating Indigenous knowledge systems throughout the research process and how this can in turn foster meaningful and transformative engagements with Indigenous youth. We argue for the importance and value of traditional cultural practices and knowledge systems and what we call ceremonies of relationships, existent within Indigenous communities around the world, and how their integration in research processes can support constructive and meaningful engagements with Indigenous youth research collaborators.

Hidden in Plain View: Finding and Enhancing the Participation of Marginalized Young People in Research - by Jackie Sanders, Robyn Munford
Abstract: This article elaborates upon a model used to engage marginalized young people in a longitudinal study of youth transitions. The model PARTH elaborates upon a set of principles that were successfully used to engage marginalized young people in a 6-year project. PARTH principles focus researcher attention on the ways they think about and relate to young people and they support researchers to empowerment and the exercise of personal agency by young people. The model was instrumental in achieving high retention rates that exceeded 89% across the 6-year study.

In This Together: Relational Accountability and Meaningful Research and Dissemination With Youth - Jenny Reich, Linda Liebenberg, Mallery Denny, Hannah Battiste, Angelo Bernard, Kevin Christmas, Ronald Dennis, Dionne Denny, Ivan Knockwood, Raylene Nicholas, Hugh Paul
Abstract: This article explores what it means to engage youth in meaningful dissemination of research findings. To do so, the authors (a group of academic researchers and youth collaborators, aged 14-18) consider their experience working together on the Spaces & Places research project, a participatory visual methods research program that took place in Eskasoni, a Mi’kmaq community in rural Nova Scotia, Canada. Over the course of the project, we developed a strong sense of relational accountability. Reflecting on our experiences, we believe that this is central to the development of a dissemination process that is meaningful and engaging. To reflect on youth perspectives and experiences of the project’s dissemination process, we use a participatory action research technique - the Socratic Wheel - to explore six factors that contribute to a meaningful dissemination process: The degree to which the project is relationship building, strengthening, rewarding, able to reach our intended audience, provides opportunities moving forward, balances structure with flexibility, and allows youth to have a sense of ownership over their work.

“The Girl Should Just Clean Up the Mess”: On Studying Audiences in Understanding the Meaningful Engagement of Young People in Policy-Making - by Claudia Mitchell
Abstract: In this article, I seek to disrupt the idea of the meaningful engagement of young people in policy-making by raising questions about what it means to engage policy makers meaningfully in responding to the work of young people. Paradoxically, we have extensive work on how young people might become engaged in social research particularly through participatory visual methodologies and, increasingly work on how young people themselves voice their concerns about social issues through vlogs and other do-it-yourself social media platforms, and yet relatively little on how their productions can have an impact either directly or indirectly on the policy-making process. Participatory work with young people is often dismissed as being tokenistic or romanticized, and the term “from the ground up” policy-making runs the risk of being overused and undertheorized. To illuminate the issues, I draw on work with a group of policy makers responding to the photo images produced by young people, all students in Agricultural Technical Vocational Educational Training Colleges in Ethiopia. Critically their responses, ones like “the girl should just clean up the mess,” highlight the implications of audience and especially the notion of how adults/policy makers view young people in youth-focused projects.

Meaningful Engagement of Indigenous Youth in PAR: The Role of Community Partnerships - by Linda Liebenberg, Arnold Sylliboy, Doreen Davis-Ward, Amber Vincent
Abstract: This article presents the process used in a Participatory Research Project with Canadian Indigenous youth aimed at understanding their civic and cultural engagement. Specifically, we reflect on the approach taken, together with the core role of community partners in facilitating youth participation in this project. The process we used had three key aspects which facilitated effective youth engagement. First was flexibility and adaptability of the original study design, allowing the young people to adjust the project design, increasing their comfort levels and in doing so, assume as much or as little ownership of the process as they wanted. Second was building on preexisting relationships between mental health service provider staff and the community, which accelerated the establishment of trust. Through this trust, new relationships within the research team were able to develop. Third was the support of the youth engagement by the service provider staff, which provided support as required. This process improved the quality of the data collected, related findings, and for effective dissemination. Importantly, this staff–youth interaction has also increased longevity of the dissemination process. Our intent in reflecting on this process here is to further the dialogue on how to meaningfully engage ordinarily silenced and/or marginalized youth in research and evaluation as well as the sharing of findings.