Youth Participatory Action Research: A Tool to Address School Climate Issues

Summary

The Northside Research Team consists of young individuals with personal ties to the North Side, focusing on reversing the typical corporate 'trickle-down' approach. They conduct thorough research, building relationships with the community to understand local needs. The team aims to highlight the often-overlooked potential and achievements of North Minneapolis youth, emphasizing leadership development and asset-based recognition. The director of Solutions Not Suspensions and the Minnesota Black Male Achievement Network emphasizes the importance of youth participatory research, noting its potential for broader community impact and national replication, with the Youth Prize's involvement in supporting and maintaining the visibility of these efforts.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The Northside Research Team is composed of young individuals with personal ties to the North Side, either through residence, family, or friends.
• 🔍 The team aims to reverse the typical trickle-down effect by conducting research focused on helping the North Side community.
• 💼 The research is thorough and relationship-based, going beyond mere surveys to build connections with the community.
• 📚 The team believes that they, as residents experiencing the conditions, are best suited to tell their own stories and advocate for their needs.
• 💰 The investment in young people is seen as crucial, as they have the energy, time, and knowledge to drive change.
• 🌈 The team highlights the potential and achievements of North Minneapolis youth, aiming to bring these stories to a broader audience.
• 💡 The project has the potential to expand beyond North Minneapolis, possibly being replicated nationally in similar contexts.
• 👥 The importance of youth participatory research is emphasized, with the team having previously organized a summit to discuss solutions and suspensions.
• 📝 A policy brief was published from the summit, giving voice to young people and providing guidance to school districts.
• 🌐 The director of Solutions Not Suspensions and the Minnesota Black Male Achievement Network sees a unique value in youth-led research and its impact on policy and community engagement.
• 🔑 Youth Prize's involvement is highlighted as crucial in supporting young people and keeping their concerns at the forefront of public attention.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of the Northside Research Team?

The Northside Research Team focuses on researching the Northside community, aiming to help its residents by understanding their conditions and needs, and reversing the typical trickle-down effect often seen in corporate initiatives.

Why is the Northside Research Team unique in their approach to research?

The team is unique because its members have a personal connection to the Northside, either through living there, having family or friends in the area, or attending school there, which allows them to build relationships during the research process.

How does the Northside Research Team ensure their research is thorough?

The team ensures thoroughness by building relationships with the people they survey, going beyond just asking questions and instead engaging with the community to understand their experiences and needs deeply.

What is the significance of the Northside Research Team's work in terms of community representation?

The team's work is significant because they are the ones experiencing the conditions they research, which allows them to authentically represent and tell the story of the Northside community.

How does the Northside Research Team view the potential of the youth in North Minneapolis?

The team sees the youth as a valuable asset with untapped potential, believing that they have a lot to offer and should be given opportunities to shine on a broader stage.

What is the Northside Research Team's approach to leadership development?

The team focuses on asset-based recognition rather than deficit-based approaches, aiming to highlight the strengths and potential of the community and its members.

What is the potential impact of the Northside Research Team's work beyond North Minneapolis?

The work has the potential to go community-wide in North Minneapolis and could even be replicated nationally, given the right environment and support for such projects.

How does the script mention the importance of youth participatory research in the context of solutions and suspensions?

The script highlights the importance of youth participatory research through a summit that convened young people to discuss issues around solutions and suspensions, leading to the publication of a policy brief that gave them a voice and direction to school districts.

What role does the director of solutions not suspensions play in supporting the work of the Northside Research Team?

The director plays a crucial role by encouraging and supporting the school districts to engage in the work of youth participatory research, ensuring that the young people's concerns and solutions remain at the forefront of attention.

Why is the involvement of Youth Prize in the work of the Northside Research Team significant?

Youth Prize's involvement is significant because it supports the young people in their research efforts, helping to keep their work and the issues they address in the spotlight, preventing them from fading away over time.

What is the script's perspective on the sustainability of ideas and concepts related to youth participatory research?

The script suggests that engaging young people is key to the sustainability of ideas and concepts, as they are the ones who can keep the momentum going and ensure that the work continues to evolve and have an impact.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Youth-Led Research for Northside Community Development

The script describes the Northside research team as a group of young individuals with personal ties to the Northside area. They are dedicated to reversing the typical 'trickle-down' corporate approach by conducting research focused on improving conditions for the local community. The team emphasizes building relationships during their research process, which includes surveys and personal interactions, to gain a deeper understanding of the community's needs. The goal is to highlight the potential and achievements of the Northside's youth, which are often overlooked, and to provide them with opportunities to shine on a larger stage. The speaker also mentions the importance of recognizing assets rather than deficits in social services and the potential for the project to have a broader impact, possibly being replicated nationally.

Keywords

💡Northside Research Team

The 'Northside Research Team' refers to a group of young individuals who have a personal connection to the north side of the city, either by living there, having family or friends in the area, or attending school there. This team is central to the video's theme as they represent the community they are researching and aim to reverse the 'trickle-down effect' typically seen in corporate settings. Their research is more thorough due to the relationships they build with the community, which is a key aspect of their approach.

💡Trickle-Down Effect

The 'trickle-down effect' is an economic theory suggesting that benefits given to the wealthy will eventually 'trickle down' to the less fortunate. In the context of the video, it is used metaphorically to describe the top-down approach often taken by corporations, where decisions are made without input from the community. The Northside Research Team is working to reverse this by conducting research that is grounded in the community's experiences and needs.

💡Community Engagement

Community engagement is the process of involving community members in activities that affect their lives. In the video, the Northside Research Team exemplifies this by not just distributing surveys, but by building relationships with the people they are researching. This approach is crucial to the video's message, emphasizing the importance of understanding and addressing the community's needs from a grassroots level.

💡Youth Participatory Research

Youth participatory research is a method where young people are actively involved in the research process, giving them a voice and agency in identifying and addressing issues that affect them. The video highlights the importance of this approach, as it ensures that the solutions proposed are relevant and owned by the community, particularly in the context of the 'solutions not suspensions' project.

💡Asset-Based Approach

An 'asset-based approach' focuses on identifying and building upon the strengths and resources within a community, rather than focusing on its deficits. The video emphasizes this concept as a way to empower communities and individuals, shifting the narrative from what is lacking to what is abundant and can be leveraged for positive change.

💡Leadership Development

Leadership development is the process of nurturing and enhancing the leadership skills of individuals. The video discusses this in the context of the Northside Research Team, suggesting that their involvement in community research provides a platform for young people to develop leadership skills and take on roles that can influence broader social change.

💡Hidden Gems

'Hidden gems' in the video refers to the untapped potential and positive aspects of the North Minneapolis community that are not commonly recognized or highlighted. The speaker emphasizes the importance of bringing these 'gems' to light, showcasing the community's strengths and the opportunities it offers.

💡Opportunity

Opportunity, in the context of the video, is about providing a platform for the youth of North Minneapolis to shine and be recognized for their potential. It is about creating spaces where they can be seen and heard, and their talents can be showcased on a larger scale.

💡Youth Prize

Youth Prize is mentioned as an organization or initiative that supports young people in their research and advocacy efforts. It is portrayed as a catalyst that keeps youth participation and the issues they care about at the forefront of public attention.

💡Solutions Not Suspensions

The 'Solutions Not Suspensions' project is a specific initiative discussed in the video that aims to address the issue of school suspensions by finding alternative solutions that are more constructive and supportive of students. It is an example of how youth participatory research can lead to policy changes and improvements in educational practices.

💡Policy Brief

A 'policy brief' is a document that summarizes a particular policy issue and offers recommendations for action. In the video, the speaker mentions a policy brief published as a result of a youth summit, which gave young people a platform to voice their perspectives on the issue of school suspensions and influenced school districts' approaches.

Highlights

The northside research team is composed of young individuals with personal connections to the north side.

The team aims to reverse the trickle-down effect often seen in corporate buildings.

Research focuses on helping the people on the north side, with information gathered from the community.

The research is thorough and involves building relationships with the community.

The team believes they are the best to tell their own stories due to their personal experiences.

Investment in young people is seen as crucial due to their energy and time.

Hidden gems in North Minneapolis are often overlooked, but the team aims to highlight them.

The team seeks to give opportunities to young people to shine on a larger stage.

Leadership development is a key focus, aiming to recognize assets rather than deficits.

The project has potential to expand community-wide in North Minneapolis and beyond.

The director of solutions not suspensions and the Minnesota Black Male Achievement Network are involved.

Youth participatory research is valued for its importance in addressing issues like solutions and suspensions.

A policy brief was published from a youth summit, giving voice to young people.

Support and encouragement from behind the scenes are crucial for the success of such initiatives.

Youth Prize is involved in supporting young people and keeping their issues at the forefront.

Engaging young people is key to maintaining momentum and progress on issues they care about.

Transcripts

basically how I like to describe the

northside research team is a group of

young people who have a personal

connection to the north side or whether

they live there they live primarily

close there or they have family members

that live there or close friends or they

went to school there whatever the case

may be and it's basically reversing the

trickle-down effect that a lot of

corporate buildings tend to have so like

they do the research on the north side

oh how can we help these little people

on the north side and then they try to

give us that information as if we

wouldn't know so it's a bunch of you

basically grabbing the information for

themselves and then giving it to them

this research that we do is a lot more

thorough because we gain relationships

as we do the research you don't really

just always give people surveys with the

answer no questions a lot of the times

we try to build relationship that come

with those surveys on what those are so

it matters because we are the ones

experiencing these conditions and we

should be the worst as near rain our

story you feel like

the best investment that we

not put in but get out our money and our

time is tougher that we young people

because they have the energy they have

the time they have to know how and we

don't that there are a lot of hidden

gems in North Minneapolis and they're

more kids that are doing well that I'm

not but that's not what's highlighted

and we chose to bring that to light by

saying look all these kids have

something no they all shine all the time

they just don't get the opportunity to

do so on a broader scale any chance we

get to put them on there on stage that

bigger stage we're going to do it

because we know they have a lot to offer

it's really a leadership development

opportunity because we want are used to

be recognizes asset based instead of

decimal deficit base which is a real

common approach in social service

particularly I mean there's potential

for this

project in this type of work to go

community-wide in North Minneapolis to

go broader than that have a bigger

footprint and even to be replicated

nationally obviously in the context of

the environment where the projects would

be held as a director of solutions not

suspensions and the Minnesota black male

achievement Network we have a unique

perspective on the importance and value

of youth participatory research last

year we had a summit of young people we

brought together that really convened

and talked about what this issue is

around solutions and suspensions and

from that we were able to publish a

policy brief that gave voice and young

people and gave direction to the school

districts that were working with and and

these things can't really happen unless

there's somebody behind the scenes

that's really encouraging and supporting

the districts to do this work and that's

why I'm really excited about youth prize

in youth prizes involvement in this work

and supporting the young people and

making sure that it stays at the front

of people's attention because frequently

we have concepts or ideas that we really

want to see implemented but after two or

three years they kind of

away but when we engage our young people

but these solutions are they are the

ones that are holding the issue holding

the concern moving it forward