Understanding the development of civic engagement among minoritized youth in activist communities

Enid Rosario-Ramos

This study investigates the development of civic engagement skills and participation in social action among minoritized youths living in urban contexts. The project utilizes Participatory Action Research (PAR) to examine how educational programs’ instructional approaches and initiatives promote students’ civic identity and participation. It is hoped that such a study can contribute to knowledge on innovative approaches that can involve youth, particularly those living in low-income communities of color—who have disproportionately low rates of civic participation (Levinson, 2009)—in civic action on behalf of their communities, as well as elaborate a more nuanced and robust definition of civic identity and engagement.This project builds on previous work about the role of community-based organizations and educational institutions in engaging young people in counter-storytelling practices and social change (Rosario-Ramos & Johnson, 2013). Grounded in the tradition of participatory action research (see Hall, 1992; Lather, 1986), the research is being conducted in collaboration with educators and administrators who serve as co-researchers. I am particularly interested in understanding how educators integrate the civic engagement goals of the educational organizations into their instructional practices. I also want to identify the kinds of knowledge that students acquire through their participation with other community members and peers, and the skills they develop as they contribute to the well-being of their communities. Finally, I am interested in the role of literacy and literacy learning in students’ growth as active members of their communities.

About Enid Rosario-Ramos

Enid M. Rosario-Ramos is an Assistant Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Michigan’s School of Education. Her research focuses on studying the intersections between adolescents’ development of civic engagement skills and identities and their devlopment of critical literacy skills. Her previous work looked at the ways in which a school’s institutional structures, teachers’ discursive practices, and classroom instruction supported and encouraged adolescents to critically examine their worlds and their textual representations. With the support of the Spencer postdoctoral fellowship, she hopes to investigate the development of civic engagement skills and participation in social action among minoritized youths living in urban contexts and participating in educational programs that encourage their development as critical and active members of their communities. Additional research interests include teacher education, disciplinary literacies, and social justice education. Rosario-Ramos teaches courses in Secondary Teacher Education and Educational Studies.