Centre of Excellence for Black Student hosts 3rd Annual Youth Participatory Action Research Conference

BY PAUL JUNOR

It was a great turnout at the third annual student-led Youth Participatory Action

Research (YPAR) hosted by the Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement on Saturday, October 26^th, 2024. It was held at the Kerr Hall Gymnasium at the Toronto Metropolitan University. The theme of the conference was, “It takes a Village: Nurturing and Celebrating Black Youth Identity in K-12 Schools and Community.” There were many Toronto District School Board (TDSB) teachers, students, and professors in attendance. There were booths from several local colleges present with representatives.

Tanitia Munroe, Senior Research Coordinator affiliated with the Centre and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), describes the importance of YPAR. She states “It is a transformative approach that empowers students and drives social justice and educational change. By creating opportunities to hear from Black students, we provide educators with valuable insights into their unique aspirations and perspectives, while strengthening their: leadership, agency, academic achievement, and social and emotional well-being.”

The program states further that it serves as a tool to increase youth involvement in social movement organizing, generating renewed enthusiasm for social change, and creating new leadership opportunities. It involves young people gathering knowledge by identifying, researching, and addressing social problems through partnerships with adults.

The following are five YPAR skills that students develop based on Afrocentric paradigm and principles:

• African ways of knowing and existence result in the implantation of principles, methods, concepts, and ideas that are derived from our Africana cultural experiences (Mazama,2003).
• Black experiences are worthy of intellectual endeavors and with them come distinctive cultural and historical experiences (Kershaw,1992).
• An Afrocentric approach to research can be used to challenge the Eurocentric research methods that undermine the local knowledge and experiences of Black communities and groups (Mkabela,2005).
• For research to be relevant and thus improve the quality of life of Black people, it should be driven by their: worldviews, identities, intersectionalities, cultural values and a language that is relevant to them(Evans-Winters,2019).
• There is a recognition that individual and community assets are important when conducting research. (Asante,2007).

The hosts for the conference were: Meron Bayu (Youth Ambassador for Peacebuilders Canada and a first year student at the University of Toronto in Public Policy and International Relations(Hons), and Amontaya Mullings(Grade 11 student at Oasis Alternative Secondary School). The conference opened with a plenary session titled ,”It Takes a Village to Raise a Black Child: Understanding and Expanding the Concept of the “Village in K-12 Education.”

It featured six panelists: Dr. Njoki Wane (Distinguished scholar, educator and professor at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto), Dr. Beverly-Jean Daniel(Director of the School of Child and Youth Care at Toronto Metropolitan University), Colleen Russell-Rawlins ( Director of Education for the Toronto District School Board), Misstura Brimah ( first year undergraduate in the Creative School at TMU), Ocean Ruel (Grade 12 student at Bloor Collegiate Institute), and Edna Nortey  (Grade 12 student at William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute).

The theme for the morning session was, “Listening and Learning: Elevating Student Voice.” It featured four presenters.

The themes for the afternoon sessions were:

• Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools and Community
• Bridging Perspectives: Black Students in STEM
• Empowering Futures: Confronting Anti-Black Racism and Academic Achievement
• Beyond the Field: Promoting Equity in Sports & Extracurriculars
• Differentiated Instruction: Meeting the Needs of All Learners
• Listening and Learning: Elevating Student Voice
• Career Pathways: Building Roadmap for Our Future

There were reflection questions directed to the attendees:

• How can you contribute to building a supportive “village” for Black children in your own community?
• What challenges have you faced in trying to involve families and community members in the education of Black students?
• In what ways do you believe schools can better reflect the needs of the communities they serve?
• How can you measure the effectiveness of community involvement in the academic success of Black students?

There was a message from Tanitia Munroe posted on her Linked page on Saturday, October 26^th. It reads, “I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended the third annual student YPAR Conference!” She elaborates further, “As Dr. Shawn Anthony Robinson poignantly states, ‘It takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to nurture their identity.’ This underscores the collective responsibility we all share in uplifting and supporting our Black youth, fostering resilience, empowerment, and a profound sense of belonging.”