Youth Voice in Urban High School Transformation

“We’re Talking… Is Anyone Listening?”

Abstract

*Youth and School Transformation | Reports from the Field

Youth voice is an emerging focus within recent efforts to transform urban U.S. high schools into learning environments where academic achievement and high standards of success are emphasized for all students. Evidence shows increasing youths’ participation leads to higher levels of youth development. Unfortunately, as this paper will demonstrate, students face barriers when trying to make a difference in their school, such as youth-adult power dynamics and adults’ lack of clarity about authentic student participation. This essay provides examples of these issues through several case studies in which young people become student action researchers in the small learning communities of Worcester, Massachusetts.