Module 19: Student Voice & Agency – Project READY: Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth

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• Studies have found that youth improved academically when teachers constructed their classrooms in ways that valued youth voices (Mitra, 2004; Oldfather, 1995; Rudduck & Flutter, 2000). Increasing student voices in schools helps to reengage alienated youth, provide them with a strong sense of their abilities, and build their awareness that they can make change (Oldfather, 1995). Students report valuing their schools and their education more when their teachers heard their voices and honored them (Mitra, 2004). Increasing student voice improves students’ understanding of how they learn (Johnston & Nicholls, 1995; Mitra, 2004). Agency can act as a source of social capital for BIPOC, leading to further educational, employment, and enrichment opportunities (Mitra, 2004). Youth voice initiatives give BIYOC  a platform to assert their identities as intelligent young people who have much to offer the world – identities that are often suppressed in schools. Youth voice initiatives provide a context for literacy learning – one that allows BIYOC to develop and utilize multiple literacies. Youth voice initiatives, especially YPAR, helps BIYOC learn academic language, build leadership skills, gain confidence, and develop a sense of social responsibility (Morrell, 2004, 2006). The development of youth voice instills in BIYOC the belief that they can transform themselves and institutions (Mitra, 2004).

• The concepts of voice and agency are critical to developing inclusive library programs and services where BIYOC can develop and thrive. Providing opportunities for BIYOC to share their personal narratives, to express their ideas and their opinions, and to speak and write their truths legitimizes their lived experiences,  celebrates their culture, and encourages them to use their voices for personal, civic, and political reasons.  As we’ll discuss below, when adults work with BIYOC to develop their voices and agency, BIYOC strengthen their academic skills and competencies, develop their leadership abilities, build strong relationships with adults, and feel empowered to use their voices to effect change.

• As these four examples demonstrate, youth voice has two dimensions. One dimension recognizes that BIYOC have stories to tell, that their stories are important, and that by telling their stories they enrich the narrative about what it means to be a BIYOC in the United States today. The second dimension includes a social action component – one that recognizes that youth can provide a unique insight into the issues facing BIYOC and their communities. This dimension supports youth agency and positions youth as agents of change in their schools and communities.

• participating in collection development, policy, and programming decisions influencing class topics, activities, and final products sharing their ideas about problems that exist in their schools, libraries, and communities and offering potential solutions collaborating with other youth and with adults to engage in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)

• Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)A research method in which youth who identify as BIPOC who are directly impacted by a problem engage as co-researchers in the research process. In collaboration with adults, BIYOC (1) identify an issue that is affecting their own education, library, or community; (2) determine how to best study the issue; (3) conduct the research; and (4) develop and enact solutions that effect change. For more information, see the YPAR Hub website.

• In your journal, brainstorm a list of issues that are important to BIYOC in your school, library or community  – issues they care about and that impact their lives.  To make your list more inclusive and authentic, think about ways to get input from the youth you work with. Possible ideas include surveys or questionnaires, focus groups or forums, graffiti boards, or direct conversation (if you have a trusting relationship).

• IMAGES OF PRACTICE In this Image of Practice, learn how school librarian Julie Stivers worked with three of her eighth-grade students at Mount Vernon Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina to develop student-led professional development for librarians on how to create equitable and inclusive libraries.  Over the course of several months students Jaida Morris, Cesar Falcon, and Jose Gomez engaged in YPAR. They began by reading academic research that directly related to the topic and then embarked on their own action-based research.  Based on their research, they developed The #LibFive: Five Key Foundations for Building Inclusive Libraries. Watch this video to hear from Jaida, Cesar, and Jose about the process and the #LibFive concepts.

• In this Image of Practice, learn how school librarian Julie Stivers worked with three of her eighth-grade students at Mount Vernon Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina to develop student-led professional development for librarians on how to create equitable and inclusive libraries.  Over the course of several months students Jaida Morris, Cesar Falcon, and Jose Gomez engaged in YPAR. They began by reading academic research that directly related to the topic and then embarked on their own action-based research.  Based on their research, they developed The #LibFive: Five Key Foundations for Building Inclusive Libraries. Watch this video to hear from Jaida, Cesar, and Jose about the process and the #LibFive concepts.

• Counterstorytelling is “a method of telling the stories of those people whose stories are often not told,” especially those who do not belong to the dominant white, cis, heterosexual, able-bodied culture (Solorzano & Yosso, 2002, p. 26).

• ensures that the voices of BIPOC and other marginalized youth are heard, but it also validates their life experiences,  provides a venue for them to share their own narratives and community wealth, and serves as a powerful way to challenge and subvert the versions of reality held by the privileged.

• help them overcome their “ethnocentrism and the unthinking conviction that [their] way of seeing the world is the only one

• RESPOND In your journal, brainstorm a list of ways library staff can work with BIYOC  to create their own counterstories and share them with their peers and the broader community. In addition to traditional storytelling methods, consider how you might use digital storytelling tools. AASL creates a list of the best websites for teaching and learning that contains links to recommended digital storytelling tools, many of which are free.

• READ Learner Voice Demonstrates Commitment to Building Agency – The authors of this blog post discuss how educators can provide a learning environment that encourages learner voice. You’ll definitely want to check out the Continuum of Voice Chart they created. Student Choice Leads to Student Voice – in this blog post for Edutopia learn about how teachers at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia cultivate student voice and agency in their classrooms. Be sure to click on the embedded links in the blog post to see examples of student work.

• EXPLORE Learning for Justice’s Framework for an Anti-Bias Curriculum includes social justice standards.  In addition to helping students develop knowledge and skills related to prejudice reduction, many of the standards support voice and agency.  As you explore the standards, think about how you can work with teachers to incorporate them into the classroom. You will also want to explore the instructional units Teaching Tolerance has developed to support the development of each standard.

• EXPLORE Learning for Justice’s Framework for an Anti-Bias Curriculum includes social justice standards.  In addition to helping students develop knowledge and skills related to prejudice reduction, many of the standards support voice and agency.  As you explore the standards, think about how you can work with teachers to incorporate them into the classroom. You will also want to explore the instructional units Teaching Tolerance has developed to support the development of each standard.