I first saw the Youth Researchers for New Education System (YRNES)’s report a few months ago, but came across it again yesterday and just sat down to read it cover to cover. It is expertly done research with incredibly valuable findings. Most importantly the research was completed and led by youth, collecting the views of young people about their schools and education.
The YRNES study (direct PDF link), initiated in 2007 and published in 2008, is highly valuable because it brings youth voices to some of the core educational issues we need to think about if we are to bring about democratic educational change, education aligned with the dignity and human rights of young people. Those core issues include: the purpose of schooling, access to resources, relationships among students and teachers, and the extent to which young people are meaningfully involved in educational decision-making.
The youth researchers, primary investigator Eve Tuck, and the partnering organizations, The National Center for Schools and Communities (NSCS) at Fordham University, the Independent Commission on Public Education (iCOPE), and the Collective of Researchers on Educational Disappointment and Desire (CREDD), all deserve huge credit for this report.
I urge you to read through the whole study, though I wanted to cite some of the more powerful results.
FYI, the study surveyed 546 youth ages 14-22, reflecting racial and economic diversity of NYC public school students, and including a focus group of 18 youth activists.
The three major findings:
1) Young people in New York City believe their schooling is important to them
2) Resources and access to opportunities are unfairly distributed in our school system and in our schools
3) Young people in New York City want more meaningful opportunities to participate in decision making about schooling.
Some of the interesting stats:
- In response to the statement, “My classes give me useful preparation for what I plan to do in life,” only 46% of young people surveyed agreed, while 54% disagreed.
- Responding to, “I am getting a good education at my school,” 61% agreed and 39% disagreed. But take a look at the data from this question disaggregated for socioeconomic status and school type:
Low income Youth – 48% agreed 52% disagreed
Middle-High income Youth – 70% agreed 30% disagreed
Large/converted school – 54% agreed 46% disagreed
Specialized school – 66% agreed 34% disagreed
- The most common response to the question, “When do you feel safe in school?” was “Never.”
- “I think that my school’s rules are fair” 39% agreed 61% disagreed
And especially take a look at these about youth participation:
- “I would want to participate in setting the rules and policies of my school” – 80% agreed 20% disagreed
- “Seventy-six percent of youth told us, ‘I know the changes that need to be made in my school, but the power to make these changes is out of my hands.’
- “Members of my community have good ideas for programs or projects that would help solve the problems in my school” – 65% agreed, only 35% disagreed.
Finally, this quote by one of the youth in the focus group:
“I agree that sometimes we don’t pay attention [to fliers and announcements about existing opportunities] but I think that if we believed that they really cared about us, cared about us participating in these opportunities, we would look. If they actually cared, we would care too.”
How true. Why would anyone make an effort to participate unless they believed the opportunity was authentic and that their perspective was wanted?
Check out the report (and the Problem Tree they created), send it along to others. Show it to your principal or teacher or parent. Present it to your school board. Give it to a local or state politician. If you live in NYC, show it to anyone and everyone – it is increasingly relevant given the recent discussions over whether the law should be changed to give Mayor Bloomberg another term.
And let’s do more research, following YRNES’s excellent approach not only in research design – quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (quotations, stories, etc.) – but also involving youth as researchers and leaders in building an education system based on our democratic values and human rights.