Social+justice,+service+learning,+and+youth+participation

**Social justice, service learning, and youth particip****ation**  Joan Arches, Associate Professor and Program Director, Human Services, College of Public & Community Service, University of Massachusetts [joan.arches@umb.edu]



** Keywords: ** Youth impact, social action, K-12, methods

** Track: **Civic learning outcomes for students in K-12 and higher education

** Format: **Interactive workshop on research methodologies


 * Date & time: **Thursday 2:00-3:10
 * Location: **Salon 2

**Summary:** This presentation focuses on a university service-learning class working with middle school youth in a social change project. The university students facilitated a group in which the youth identified oppression by teachers in their school as an issue they wanted to address. The youth discussed the problem, designed surveys, analyzed the data, and presented their findings to their Principal and at a public school system event. The university students presented their work at three conferences. We will discuss the theoretical foundations, report on the youth impact, and the civic engagement outcomes for both groups.

The service-learning class had university students facilitating a program with middle schoolers at a public school located in a high crime, high poverty area. They applied self-directed group work, and social action to facilitate a process where the youth identified an issue, analyzed why it existed, decided on an action plan, and carried it out, while reflecting on their actions.

All our activities were grounded in the principles of Social Action as defined by the Centre for Social Action, located at DeMontfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom. This method is rooted in the belief that groups of people of all ages can improve their lives and take action on their own behalf to achieve their collectively identified goals.

The university students have presented at three venues, their journals indicate efficacy in applying theory to practice. My own observations and participation in the weekly youth groups and the youth outcomes, attests to their efficacy. This work contributes to the scholarship of engagement and the pedagogy of service-learning. The youth are making a significant culture change at their school and have developed skills in participatory action research.

** References: ** Berdan K., Boulton I., Eidman-Aadahl E., Fleming J., Gardner L., Rogers, I., & Solomon, A. (Eds.). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">(2006). //Writing for a change: Boosting literacy and learning through social action.// San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Flemming, J., & Ward, D. (1999). Research as empowerment: The social action approach. In W. Shera & L. Wells (Eds.), //Empowerment practice in social work// (pp. 371-389). Toronto, Canada: Canadian Scholars’ Press, Inc.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Mullendler, A., & Ward, D. (1991). //Self-directed groupwork//. London, U.K.: Whiting & Birch.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">**Please click here to access a pdf of this page:** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Arches_Social justice, service learning, and youth participation.pdf]


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