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High school students learn power of research to strengthen student voices

UCLA Today - August 12, 2008

By Mel Bertrand

Last month, a group of young people from across Los Angeles stepped hesitantly into the crowded lunch area of Woodrow Wilson High School, clutching video cameras, recording devices, pens and notepads. 

Unsure of what to do at first, these students from historically underachieving high schools in Los Angeles then began to break out of their huddle to get what they came for: honest answers from other students to bold questions: "How do you feel about school police on campus?" and "Do you feel like you have a voice on this campus?" 

This was the start of a unique research project for high school students participating in a summer seminar held by UCLA’s Institute of Democracy, Education and Access (IDEA). For three weeks, 25 incoming 11th- and 12th-graders from six LAUSD high schools learned how to conduct social research on tough issues in a program led by two UCLA faculty members in education. 

In its eighth summer, the program aims to train young people to become civically engaged researchers, but also to empower them to insert their voices into the public debate on education as members of the Council of Youth Research. Formed by a partnership between IDEA and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the council will meet regularly throughout the coming school year. 

"We envision the council as a model for how urban youth can become powerful in their communities, determine what’s wrong, and let others understand what they find," said Associate Professor of Education Ernest Morrell, who co-directs the program with Assistant Professor John Rogers, who is also co-director of IDEA.

Students spent time in the classroom and out in the field at six LAUSD high schools — Cleveland, Locke, Manual Arts, Opportunities Unlimited Charter, Roosevelt and Wilson — where they interviewed students and staff and collected data on their research topic: Are youth voices being heard? They also interviewed officials at Los Angeles City Hall and LAUSD administrators, including Senior Deputy Superintendent Raymond Cortines. 

In the classroom, the students discussed relevant issues, wrote about their own experiences and analyzed the data they collected from schools. They debated theories about civic engagement and grappled with the concept of transformative resistance, which the students defined as “challenging oppressive conditions,” and discussed how it can applied to their research. 

The program culminated Aug. 8 at City Hall where students gave presentations, enhanced with PowerPoint slides and documentary films they produced, to an audience of parents, other students, community members and elected officials. Their data and findings on the transformative potential of youths' voices will be released to the public at a later date. 

But as for now, there was no doubt in student Tyler Hill's mind about how these young researchers felt about their mission. 

"Nothing is stronger than a bunch of youth coming together to change the community," she said.

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