Depreciation of Youth Voice and Self-Efficacy

Location

Online - Session 6A

Start Date

4-21-2021 6:00 PM

Major Field of Study

Education

Student Type

Graduate

Faculty Mentor(s)

Matthew Davis, , PhD

Presentation Format

Oral Presentation

Abstract/Description

This research explored reflective writing as a tool for understanding critical consciousness, with 10th and 11th grade history students as a form of engaged research toward understanding self-efficacy and civic agency. It was situated in a framework of Critical Race Theory (Bryant, Moss & Zijdemans Boudreau, 2015) critical consciousness (Furman, 2012; Shih, 2018), and Participatory Action Research (Maguire, 1987). Through in-depth interviews, focus groups and reflective writing prompts with 9 students and a faculty member, the findings showed that the deprecation of youth’s voice by adults affect youth’s sense of self-efficacy and perceived abilities to create change. It was further found that youth embrace, affirm and desire change, but find that adults, in their words, have “fixed mindsets”. Student participants also enumerated a value to the practice and pursuit of research when developing their own worldviews when they also believe that this work will lead to meaningful change in their communities and more specifically their schools. These findings have important implications for how reflective practices can be used in the classroom to further student understandings of structures of power and self-efficacy, and how school districts and educational policymakers can empower students with the opportunity and listening for civic engagement.

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Apr 21st, 6:00 PM

Depreciation of Youth Voice and Self-Efficacy

Online - Session 6A

This research explored reflective writing as a tool for understanding critical consciousness, with 10th and 11th grade history students as a form of engaged research toward understanding self-efficacy and civic agency. It was situated in a framework of Critical Race Theory (Bryant, Moss & Zijdemans Boudreau, 2015) critical consciousness (Furman, 2012; Shih, 2018), and Participatory Action Research (Maguire, 1987). Through in-depth interviews, focus groups and reflective writing prompts with 9 students and a faculty member, the findings showed that the deprecation of youth’s voice by adults affect youth’s sense of self-efficacy and perceived abilities to create change. It was further found that youth embrace, affirm and desire change, but find that adults, in their words, have “fixed mindsets”. Student participants also enumerated a value to the practice and pursuit of research when developing their own worldviews when they also believe that this work will lead to meaningful change in their communities and more specifically their schools. These findings have important implications for how reflective practices can be used in the classroom to further student understandings of structures of power and self-efficacy, and how school districts and educational policymakers can empower students with the opportunity and listening for civic engagement.