5: Study Overview

Using a Critical Youth Participatory Action Research (CYPAR) approach, the study that I conducted sought to enhance understanding of how leadership development programs can alienate youth from participating in or identifying as leaders. There were three guiding research questions for this process:

By engaging with youth who expressed negative associations with leadership and leadership development, this research highlighted alternative ways of knowing and leading that could strengthen youth development initiatives. The ultimate goal of this work is to foster more inclusive expectations of leadership within our communities. For this study to truly embody those qualities, it needed to engage entire communities, individuals, teachers, and organizations. The planning at every stage considered what it may mean to create a safe learning and research environment for youth who may not want to participate at all. I was also embarking on a journey where a tremendous amount of trust was to be given to the teen participants of my study; after all, they were being invited not just as research subjects but as cocreators.