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Title
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The Best Way Out Is Through: A Youth Participatory Action Research Study of the Affective Well-Being of High School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Abstract/Description
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on students and schools. Although significant attention has been devoted to issues of learning loss and academic implications of the pandemic and resultant school closures, educators and families have also identified young people’s affective well-being as a critical area of focus. The purpose of this study was to engage in collaborative critical inquiry with 12 young people to identify and implement effective supports for student affective well-being within the context of remote and hybrid learning in an urban high school during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used a youth participatory action research (YPAR) framework to identify generative themes in students’ pandemic-era experiences and explore issues of affective equality in school. Participants described feelings of alienation stemming from experiencing school support for their affective well-being as secondary to their academic achievement, as well as feelings of disengagement associated with the normative practice of didactic instruction during remote learning. These conditions worsened when combined with experiences of isolation and trauma during the pandemic. Participants also identified a process of downward emotional spiraling that typified many negative emotional states during remote learning. Critical reflection on these issues problematized participants’ perspectives on meritocracy, the purposes of schooling, and achievement ideology. As a result, participants developed recommendations for school improvement that were put into action during remote and hybrid learning, including the use of new learning technologies to support student-teacher interaction, sharing of coping strategies with students, and professional development for teachers on the use of social emotional check-ins and dialogue in classrooms. Implications for YPAR as a framework for insider research, education policy, social emotional teaching and learning, and school improvement are discussed. Participants expressed positive shifts in their own affective well-being spurred by the opportunity to interact with peers around common issues; participants also reported feelings of empowerment and school connectedness as a result of being included in the processes of school leadership.
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Date
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2022
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Committee
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Anderson, Gary L.
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Larson, Colleen
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Aragona, Steven
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IRE Approach/Concept
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Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)
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Language
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English
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Open access/full-text available
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en
No
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Peer reviewed
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en
No
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ISBN
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9798819376812
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Citation
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Ojeda, M. (2022). The Best Way Out Is Through: A Youth Participatory Action Research Study of the Affective Well-Being of High School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic [Ed.D., New York University]. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/2673576142/abstract/AC78DBB94D2E45B4PQ/10
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Place
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United States -- New York
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Rights
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Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.
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Type
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Ed.D.
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