Community & Youth Organizing
In the last 15 years, community and youth organizing groups increasingly have turned their attention to improving public education. Research for Action has a deep understanding of the role these groups are playing in school reform, and the challenges they face to make public education more equitable. Following several years of evaluating community organizing in Philadelphia, RFA conducted the first national study of community organizing in 1999-2002. In addition to research and evaluation, we provide direct research support to community and youth organizing groups, including facilitating youth participatory research on issues important to the campaigns of youth organizing groups.
RFA believes the voices of youth and community leadership—those most affected by school policy and practice—are vital to making sure that school reform is responsive to the needs of communities and becomes embedded in larger agendas for community development and sustainability. We are committed to conducting rigorous research that investigates the work of these groups and their influence on education policy and practice.
New Media, New Literacy: Learning from Youth in Philadelphia and Chester
Can you find a teenager today who doesn’t have a cell phone, iPod, laptop computer or digital camera? Teachers in classrooms everywhere are in a near-constant battle to pull students’ attention from gadgets – but they hold untapped potential as learning tools. What can we learn from students’ interest in technology and communication to enhance their literacy skills and improve their education? That was the question posed by Joslyn Young as she spent a year in residence at Research for Action as a Stoneleigh Junior Fellow studying the role of out-of-school media literacy and its effect on learning. Click here to access her portal of information on the role of media literacy and its effect on student learning.
Selected Activities
- Member, Grassroots and Youth Organizing Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- Member, Cross City Campaign for Education Reform – Philadelphia, PA
Selected Projects
Southeastern Pennsylvania was selected as one of four sites for funding from Communities for Public Education Reform (CPER), a national philanthropic collaborative aimed at increasing student and parent power to affect school reform. CPER-funded groups seek to improve education for all students by building the power of low-income and minority communities to influence educational policies at the local and state levels. The funded groups include ACORN, Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project, Good Schools Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Student Union, and Youth United for Change. RFA is providing technical assistance about how to incorporate research evidence into the coalition's campaigns. Two other groups -- Education Law Center and the Philadelphia Public School Notebook -- are also playing supportive roles. All of the funded groups are members of Philadelphia Cross City Campaign for School Reform, which serves as a forum for coordination. CPER-funded work will focus on two primary campaigns, one for school funding reform both statewide and locally and one for high school reform in Philadelphia.
RFA is analyzing the campaigns of two Philadelphia youth organizing groups, the Philadelphia Student Union (PSU) and Youth United for Change (YUC), to transform their neighborhood high schools into small schools. RFA's study investigates how the youth groups build alliances in their neighborhoods and city-wide in order to influence the School District of Philadelphia's high school planning process. In addition, RFA staff are working with student researchers from each of the youth groups, teaching them research skills, so they can document their campaigns and the changes in their schools.
The Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform and RFA developed the Indicators Framework, which is being used to document the impact of community organizing for school reform. RFA has used the Indicators Framework in case studies of five community-organizing groups nationwide to portray these groups\' achievements in moving forward the process of school improvement and strengthening school/community connections.
YUC is a group of Philadelphia students organizing to change their high schools. RFA was asked to interview the students and adults with whom YUC worked closely and to create a summary of different perspectives on YUC so that YUC could use this information as it continued its work and planned for the future. RFA also provided YUC with technical assistance around research skills and assisted the students in writing research papers required for graduation. From this work, the researcher developed a Guide to facilitating action research for youth, which was created to aid youth activists and youth development organizations that are using research as a tool to engage youth in school reform and develop their leadership and literacy skills.
