2026 Conference Archive
Voices of Youth and Parents in Designing Collaborative School Reform
Location
Boston 2&3
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
This Participatory Action Research (PAR) project engaged parent and youth participants in an analysis of the experiences and needs of parents, youth, and educators in an urban school district. The central research questions guiding this study are: 1) What do parents and youth need from their school district? and 2) How do they want to be involved in advancing reforms? Participants examined systemic inequities in collaboration, access to resources, communication, and curriculum. This study examined transcribed data and artifacts from the PAR meetings. Findings indicate that parents and youth want to move beyond consultation towards partnership with the district and schools in decision-making. Parents emphasized the need for the district and schools to increase communication and recognize their expertise, while youth requested more structured inclusion of their voices in initiatives and decision-making. These findings resonate with broader scholarly conversations advocating for culturally responsive collaboration and shared governance (Batarse, 2024; Shyman & Rodriguez, 2023). Implications for practice include the need for districts to provide educators with culturally responsive professional development to engage families, and structured support for participation in collaborative decision-making. By bringing together the voices of youth and parents with reform efforts, schools can advance racial equity and enhance school-community relationships.
Keywords
Participatory action research, parents, youth, school reform, school-community partnership
Professional Bio
Adrienne Goss is an associate professor and director of the PhD program in the Whitney M. Young Jr. School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University. Her research focuses on equitable educational and social policy, parent and community engagement, and school reform. Lukman Adekunle Adebayo is a PhD student in the Whitney M. Young Jr. School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University. His research interests are in disparities in healthcare, education, and social welfare policies.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Goss, Adrienne C. and Adebayo, Lukman Adekunle, "Voices of Youth and Parents in Designing Collaborative School Reform" (2026). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 82.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2026/2026/82
Voices of Youth and Parents in Designing Collaborative School Reform
Boston 2&3
This Participatory Action Research (PAR) project engaged parent and youth participants in an analysis of the experiences and needs of parents, youth, and educators in an urban school district. The central research questions guiding this study are: 1) What do parents and youth need from their school district? and 2) How do they want to be involved in advancing reforms? Participants examined systemic inequities in collaboration, access to resources, communication, and curriculum. This study examined transcribed data and artifacts from the PAR meetings. Findings indicate that parents and youth want to move beyond consultation towards partnership with the district and schools in decision-making. Parents emphasized the need for the district and schools to increase communication and recognize their expertise, while youth requested more structured inclusion of their voices in initiatives and decision-making. These findings resonate with broader scholarly conversations advocating for culturally responsive collaboration and shared governance (Batarse, 2024; Shyman & Rodriguez, 2023). Implications for practice include the need for districts to provide educators with culturally responsive professional development to engage families, and structured support for participation in collaborative decision-making. By bringing together the voices of youth and parents with reform efforts, schools can advance racial equity and enhance school-community relationships.
