Participatory Research, Culture and Youth Identities

An Exploration of Indigenous, CrossCultural and Trans-National Methods

Abstract

*Focus on Australia and New Zealand/Aotearoa | Research Articles

This paper addresses the benefits of participatory youth research for young people who do not have the opportunity to speak out in their own immediate familial and cultural environments. Different cultural methodological processes are described with the intent of illustrating the limitations of blanket participatory designs for young people of indigenous, cross-cultural and trans-national identities. The paper includes a detailed discussion of three individual research projects developed by the author. Two involved young women of Samoan descent in New Zealand and one involved the participation of young people of diverse backgrounds in New York. These studies accentuate the potential for participatory research methods to empower young people not only within the immediate research context but also across cultures and geographical locations.