Barry Checkoway, David Dobbie, Katie Richards-Schuster, University of Michigan

Youth participation in community evaluation research involves young people in knowledge development at the community level. The process includes efforts by adults to involve young people in the research or evaluation of public agencies and private institutions; by young people to organize their own research or evaluation projects; and by youth and adults to work together in intergenerational relationships.

There is increasing interest in this type of youth participation. For example, there are adults who conduct interviews and focus groups with young people whose self knowledge makes the work more age-appropriate; young people who select their own problems for study and strive for community solutions; and adults and youth who form equal partnerships in school and community research projects. There is increasing institutional interest in this work, including support from private foundations, intermediary organizations, and national networks.

Despite increasing interest, these efforts tend to operate in isolation, without mechanisms for communication, collaboration, or coordination on this common cause. Young people participate, to be sure, but this work remains relatively undeveloped as a field of practice or subject of study.

Wingspread Symposium
In 2002, youth leaders and adult allies participated in a symposium on youth participation in community evaluation research at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, Wisconsin.[1]

The symposium grew out of an initial one on the same topic at the University of Michigan School of Social Work in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in January 2001, and led to the formation of a planning committee to continue the discussion. With support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, committee members formulated the objectives, consulted with prospective participants, and drafted an agenda for the 2002 symposium. To the best of our knowledge, the Wisconsin and Michigan meetings were the first of their kind.

The overall purpose of the symposium was to develop specific strategies for strengthening youth participation in community research and evaluation, and for advancing this as a new field of practice. These strategies were intended to enable young people and adult allies to develop knowledge in ways that contribute to civic engagement and community change. Symposium objectives were to:

• Develop specific strategies for strengthening youth participation in community research and evaluation
• Identify age-appropriate and culturally sensitive research and evaluation practices and approaches
• Integrate and expand existing training curricula for involving young people in community research and evaluation
• Create ongoing opportunities and structures for sharing experiences, learning from one another, and building mutual support
• Increase communication and collaboration among allied fields for youth participation as a common cause
• Explore the implications of youth participation in community research and evaluation as a new field of practice

The symposium brought together a small number of carefully selected people with demonstrated commitment to youth participation, community organization, and program evaluation. These representatives of community-based organizations, civic agencies, youth services, private foundations, and universities came prepared to engage in intensive discussion rather than to make formal presentations or listen to lectures by experts.

A variety of formats were used, including plenary sessions, roundtable discussions, how-to workshops, and working groups focused on specific strategies. Participants were asked to make brief presentations and facilitate interactive discussions to share knowledge and encourage participation.

Symposium participants addressed a series of framing questions that had significance beyond the event, such as:

What is the rationale for youth participation in community research and evaluation? Why is it important and for whom? What does it give to young people, and to the communities of which they are part?

What are some specific examples of youth participation in community research and evaluation? What are the lessons learned and future directions?

What is the vision? What are the particular perspectives of youth development, community organization, and participatory evaluation, and what is the common vision among them?

What specific strategies will strengthen youth participation in community evaluation and research as a field of practice?

Symposium participants shared numerous resources on youth participation in community evaluation research. These included books, articles, reports, and training materials with featuring specific strategies and practical tools. Some of these materials were theoretical and conceptual, whereas others provided practical step-by-step instructions, role plays and simulations, small-group activities, and experiential exercises.

Participants formed working groups to formulate strategies for establishing this as a new field of practice. Each group generated ideas and discussed priorities, such as visioning the work, building institutional structures, expanding educational resources, and strengthening support for sustaining this work.

As part of the symposium, participants drafted the Wingspread Declaration of Principles for Youth Participation in Community Research and Evaluation (see sidebar). Prepared as a collaborative project with the leadership of Hanh Cao Yu, the declaration set forth the idea of youth participation as an empowering model that promotes mutually respectful partnerships and involves young people in all stages of research-from defining the problem to gathering the information to using the results.

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Youth participation in community evaluation research is conceived as a democratic process that seeks to equalize power between youth and adults, recognizes their respective roles and responsibilities, and places special emphasis on involving those youth that are traditionally underrepresented.

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According to the declaration, youth participation in community evaluation research is conceived as a democratic process that seeks to equalize power between youth and adults, recognizes their respective roles and responsibilities, and places special emphasis on involving those youth that are traditionally underrepresented.

Critical Issues
Symposium participants identified a number of unresolved issues, which were concerned with the purpose and process of participation. For example:

"Purpose" statements express values and provide direction for actions to be taken. They provide an intellectual, psychological, and political foundation for movements in the making, as well as criteria or benchmarks for assessing the work's progress.

Symposium participants expressed diverse purposes for youth participation, including aims to improve research and evaluation, strengthen social development, empower the participants, and create community change. While diverse views were expressed, there was consensus that participation should have an effect at the individual, organizational, and community levels.

Participation can take many forms. Thus the methods will vary if the purpose is to gather information from a representative sample, or assess neighborhood needs and assets, or involve traditionally underrepresented groups in planning, or create long-term changes in the community.

Symposium participants asked whether some methods were especially age-appropriate or culturally sensitive, or whether existing methods might be adapted to young people. They also raised questions about the so-called scientific rigor of research and evaluation, and whether standards of conventional science are appropriate for young people doing research. They drafted a set of guiding principles, which are summarized in the Declaration?

Symposium participants discussed the differences arising when youth participation is youth-led, adult-led, or intergenerational in nature. Even when there is agreement on the principal purposes, the roles of youth-for example, as subjects, partners, or directors-and adults-as teachers, coaches, or allies-are questionable.
How can youth and adults be effectively prepared for their roles? Lively discussion took place about models of training curricula for participation, with the conclusion that training will differ depending on the roles ascribed to its participants.

Youth participation in community evaluation research can be viewed as a stage in the evaluation of a number of related fields, including youth development, community organization, program evaluation, and social research. Any one or a combination of these and other fields can claim interest in increasing involvement of young people, just as it is possible to conceive of an entirely new field of practice in the making.

Some symposium participants saw the strategic significance of conceiving of youth participation in community evaluation research as its own emergent field, as a way to encourage its development. However, others argued that integrating the work into affiliated fields would be the most appropriate strategy.

Symposium participants recognized that youth participation operates in a field of forces, which might facilitate or limit the involvement of young people in research and evaluation activities traditionally dominated by adults. Thus there is need for systematic strategies and institutional structures to build the field's capacity over the long haul.

For example, what kinds of support will be needed from private institutions and public agencies, and what are some ideas for making this happen? Jonathan London of Youth in Focus [2] raised some of these questions in a paper prepared for the symposium.

Democratizing Knowledge
Symposium participants discussed youth participation in community evaluation research as part of the democratization of knowledge. At a time when expert, technical knowledge predominates over knowledge derived from everyday experience and active citizenship, new strategies are needed to allow traditionally underrepresented groups to develop their knowledge resources as part of the broader movement for democratization. This has potential to break the monopoly on knowledge development and enable young people to gain knowledge and skills for active participation in a democratic society.

At Wingspread, participants asked stimulating questions, identified important issues, and formulated ideas for youth participation in community evaluation research. They devised strategies for clarifying the purpose, building institutional capacity, and advancing the work. Perhaps most important, they came together, established working relationships, and built mutual support for a common cause. The very act of coming together affirmed that it is not only a few isolated individuals who are committed to this cause, but rather that youth participation is something shared in common by a number of groups. If our cause grew into a movement, the results would be extraordinary.

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The very act of coming together affirmed that it is not only a few isolated individuals who are committed to the cause [of youth participation in community evaluation research], but rather that youth participation is something shared in common by a number of groups. If our cause grew into a movement, the results would be extraordinary.

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Sidebar 1 Wingspread Declaration of Principles for Youth Participation in Community Research and Evaluation

Authors

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Barry Checkoway is a professor of social work and urban planning and the founding director of the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning at the University of Michigan.

David Dobbie is a doctoral student in social work and sociology at the University of Michigan and works with young people organizing for social justice in Southwest Detroit.

Katie Richards-Schuster is a doctoral student in social work and sociology at the University of Michigan and national evaluation coordinator of Lifting New Voices.

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References

Asberry, A. et al. (1999). Through our eyes: Seeing the power of the San Francisco Children's Fund. San Francisco: Mayor's Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families.

Brown, K. M. et al. (2001). Developing youth capacity for community-based research: The Sarasota County demonstration project. Journal of Public Health Management Practice, 7(2), 53--60.

Chawla, L. (2002). Growing up in an urbanizing world. New York/Paris: UNESCO/Earthscan.

Checkoway, B. & Richards-Schuster, K. (1999). User's guide to participatory evaluation for Lifting New Voices. Ann Arbor: Lifting New Voices, School of Social Work, University of Michigan.

Checkoway, B. & Richards-Schuster, K. (2002). Lifting New Voices for socially just communities. Community Youth Development Journal, 2(4), 32--37.

Dobbie, D. et al. (2002). Wingspread Symposium on Youth Participation in Community Research: Summary of Proceedings. Ann Arbor: School of Social Work, University of Michigan.

Driskell, D. (2002). Creating better cities with children and youth. New York/Paris: UNESCO/Earthscan.

Fernandez, M. et al. (2001). Youth engaged in leadership and learning: A handbook for supporting community youth researchers. Palo Alto: John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, Stanford University.

Institute for Community Research. (n.d.). Empowered voices: A participatory action research curriculum for girls. Hartford: Author.

Institute for Community Research. (n.d.). Participatory action research curriculum for empowering youth. Hartford: Author.

Kirschner, B. et al. (2002). Youth community engagement: A sociocultural study of participatory action research. Palo Alto: John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, Stanford University.

Landis, D. C. (1999). Training youth to conduct focus groups and interviews. Social Marketing Quarterly, 5(4): 23--29

London, J. (2002). Youth involvement in community research and evaluation: Mapping the field. Racine: Wingspread Symposium on Youth Involvement in Community Research and Evaluation.

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Footnotes:

1 Martineau, D. et al. (2001). National Symposium on Involving Young People in Community Evaluation Research: Summary of Proceedings. Ann Arbor: School of Social Work, University of Michigan. (back)

2 Tiffany, J. (2002). What every adolescent has a right to know: Participatory action research in the context of Right to Know. Ithaca: Cornell University. (back)