Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Supporting Critical Social Analysis: Empowering Processes in a Youth Organizing Group

  • Published:
The Urban Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Critical social analysis is a foundational sociopolitical learning experience which supports youth development and social action. While practical guidance for facilitating critical social analysis exists, there is a need for empirical work exploring educator and participant experiences. To understand how urban educators implement critical social analysis and how participants experience it, reflective interviews were conducted with adult leaders and former youth organizers in Teen Advocates for Sexual Health. In a highly-segregated midwestern city, leaders engaged diverse youth in critical social analysis and social action around access to comprehensive school-based sexual health education. Three empowering interpersonal processes supported critical conversations on power, privilege, and sexual health. First, adult leaders established norms for power sharing and group communication. Second, leaders helped youth distinguish between feeling uncomfortable, integral to social justice learning, and feeling emotionally unsafe. Third, leaders supported emotional safety, allowing youth to determine their level of participation. Youth were empowered to remain engaged when uncomfortable, take action if they felt unsafe, and share responsibility for community safety. Combined with other organizing experiences, critical social analysis empowered participants as teens and contributed to adult social justice commitments. Findings contribute to literature on how urban educators can support sociopolitical development across settings.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, M. (2016). Pedagogical foundations for social justice education. In M. Adams & L. A. Bell (Eds.), Teaching for diversity and social justice (3rd ed., pp. 27–54). New York: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Adams, M., & Bell, L. A. (Eds.). (2016). Teaching for diversity and social justice (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adams, M., & Zúñiga, X. (2016). Getting started: Core concepts for social justice education. In M. Adams & L. A. Bell (Eds.), Teaching for diversity and social justice (3rd ed., pp. 95–130). New York: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Advocates for Youth. (2001). Sex education programs: Definitions & point-by-point comparison. Transitions, 12(3), 4. Retrieved from https://advocatesforyouth.org/resources/fact-sheets/sex-education-programs-definitions-and-point-by-point-comparison/.

  • Bailey, A. (2011). Reconceiving surrogacy: Toward a reproductive justice account of Indian surrogacy. Hypatia, 26(4), 715–741. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2011.01168.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, L. A. (2016). Theoretical foundations for social justice education. In M. Adams & L. A. Bell (Eds.), Teaching for diversity and social justice (3rd ed., pp. 3–26). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, L. A., Goodman, D. J., & Oullett, M. L. (2016). Design and facilitation. In M. Adams & L. A. Bell (Eds.), Teaching for diversity and social justice (3rd ed., pp. 56–94). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braxton, E., Buford, W., & Marasigan, L. (2013). National field scan. The funders’ collaborative on youth organizing. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://fcyo.org/resources/type/research.

  • Carlisle, L. R., Jackson, B. W., & George, A. (2006). Principles of social justice education: The social justice education in schools project. Equity & Excellence in Education, 39(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665680500478809.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Division of adolescent and school health 2015 annual report. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/about/pdf/DASH2015AnnualReport.pdf.

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016a). Sexually transmitted diseases surveillance. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats16/default.htm.

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016b). MMWR recommendations and reports: Past volume (65). Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/indrr_2016.html.

  • Chrisler, J. C. (Ed.). (2012). Reproductive justice: A global concern. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conner, J. (2011). Youth organizers as young adults: Their commitments and contributions. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(4), 923–942. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00766.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conner, J. (2016). Pawns or power players: The grounds on which adults dismiss or defend youth organizers in the USA. Journal of Youth Studies, 19(3), 403–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2015.1083958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corbin, J. M., & Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corrêa, S., Petchesky, R., & Parker, R. (2008). Sexuality, health and human rights. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • DeJong, K., & Love, B. (2013). Ageism & adultism introduction. In M. Adams, W. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (3rd ed., pp. 535–588). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dibennedetto, A. (1991). An analysis of youth empowerment through group involvement (EdD dissertation). University of Massachusetts - Amherst.

  • Elia, J. P., & Eliason, M. J. (2010). Dangerous omissions: Abstinence-only-until-marriage school-based sexuality education and the betrayal of LGBTQ youth. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 5(1), 17–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • For the sake of all: A report on the health and well-being of African Americans in St. Louis and why it matters for everyone. (2014). St. Louis, MO: Washington University and St. Louis University. Retrieved from https://forthesakeofall.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/for-the-sake-of-all-report.pdf.

  • Ford, J., Barnes, R., Rompalo, A., & Hook, E. W. (2013). Sexual health training and education in the U.S. Public Health Reports, 128(Suppl 1), 96–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. (M. B. Ramos, Trans.) (30th Anniversary edition). New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

  • Gee, J. P. (2011). How to do discourse analysis: A tool kit. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ginwright, S. (2002). Youth organizing: Expanding possibilities for youth development. Occasional Papers Series on Youth Organizing #3. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://fcyo.org/uploads/resources/4243_Papers_no3_v3.qxd.pdf.

  • Gordon, C. (2009). Mapping decline: [City] and the fate of the American city. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guttmacher Institute. (2018). State laws and policies. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/laws-policies.

  • Hackman, H. W. (2005). Five essential components for social justice education. Equity & Excellence in Education, 38(2), 103–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665680590935034.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heathcott, J. (2005). Black archipelago: Politics and civic life in the Jim Crow city. Journal of Social History, 38(3), 705–736. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsh.2005.0035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). New York, NY: Harper and Row.

  • Jennings, L. B., Parra-Medina, D. M., Hilfinger-Messias, D. K., & McLoughlin, K. (2006). Toward a critical social theory of youth empowerment. Journal of Community Practice, 14(1–2), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1300/J125v14n01_03.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, D. (2007). Emerging answers 2007: Research findings on programs to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krings, A., Austic, E. A., Gutiérrez, L. M., & Dirksen, K. E. (2015). The comparative impacts of social justice educational methods on political participation, civic engagement, and multicultural activism. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48(3), 403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, V., Tobin, J. M., & Foley, E. (2006). Relationship of cervical ectopy to chlamydia infection in young women. The Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, 32(2), 104–106. https://doi.org/10.1783/147118906776276440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leonardo, Z., & Porter, R. K. (2010). Pedagogy of fear: Toward a Fanonian theory of ‘safety’ in race dialogue. Race Ethnicity and Education, 13(2), 139–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2010.482898.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis-Charp, H., Yu, H. C., Sengouvanh, S., & Lacoe, J. (2003). Extending the reach of youth development through civic activism. Takoma Park, MD: Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luna, Z., & Luker, K. (2013). Reproductive justice. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 9(1), 327–352. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-102612-134037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mira, M. L. (2013). Pushing the boundaries what youth organizers at Boston’s Hyde Square Task Force have to teach us about civic engagement. Democracy & Education, 21(1), 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholas, C., Eastman-Mueller, H., & Barbich, N. (2019). Empowering change agents: Youth organizing groups as sites for sociopolitical development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 63(1–2), 46–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, M. Q. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Planned Parenthood. (2018). By the numbers. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/27/8a/278af3a4-8b4c-4289-bfe6-52ee2c3c048a/pp_by_the_numbers_2018.pdf.

  • Planned Parenthood Action Fund. (2016). Sex education. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/sex-education/.

  • Planned Parenthood of the the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri. (2017). Teen Advocates for Sexual Health (TASH) program manual.

  • Pugh, G. L. (2014). The experiential learning cycle in undergraduate diversity and social justice education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 34(3), 302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Racette, R. (2016). Another 40 years of inequity: Two-tier schooling as the lasting legacy of desegregation policy in St. Louis, Missouri. (Ph.D. dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database (UMI No. 10153731).

  • Rogers, J., Mediratta, K., & Shah, S. (2012). Building power, learning democracy: Youth organizing as a site of civic development. In K. M. Borman, A. B. Danzig, & D. R. Garcia (Eds.), Education, democracy, and the public good (Vol. 36, pp. 43–66). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santelli, J. S., Kantor, L. M., Grilo, S. A., Speizer, I. S., Lindberg, L. D., Heitel, J., et al. (2017). Abstinence-only-until-marriage: An updated review of U.S. policies and programs and their impact. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(3), 273–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.05.031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schutz, A. (1967). The phenomenology of the social world. (G. Walsh & F. Lenhert, Trans.). Chicago, IL: Northwestern University Press.

  • Seidman, I. (2009). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (3rd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seidman, I. (2012). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (4th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanger-Hall, K. F., & Hall, D. W. (2011). Abstinence-only education and teen pregnancy rates: Why we need comprehensive sex education in the U.S. PLOS ONE, 6(10), e24658. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storms, S. B. (2012). Preparing students for social action in a social justice education course: What works? Equity & Excellence in Education, 45(4), 547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R., Williams, N., & Jagers, R. (2003). Sociopolitical development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31(1–2), 185–194. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023091024140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R. J., & Flanagan, C. (2007). Pushing the envelope on youth civic engagement: A developmental and liberation psychology perspective. Journal of Community Psychology, 35(6), 779–792. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R. J., & Guessous, O. (2006). Sociopolitical development: The missing link in research and policy on adolescents. In S. Ginwright, P. Noguera, & J. Cammarota (Eds.), Beyond resistance! Youth activism and community change: New democratic possibilities for practice and policy for America’s youth (pp. 59–80). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R. J., & Hipolito-Delgado, C. P. (2015). Thinking ourselves to liberation? Advancing sociopolitical action in critical consciousness. The Urban Review, 47(5), 847–867. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-015-0341-x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welton, A. D., Harris, T. O., La Londe, P. G., & Moyer, R. T. (2015). Social justice education in a diverse classroom: Examining high school discussions about race, power, and privilege. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48(4), 549–570. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2015.1083839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zembylas, M. (2015). ‘Pedagogy of discomfort’ and its ethical implications: the tensions of ethical violence in social justice education. Ethics & Education, 10(2), 163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, M. A. (2000). Empowerment theory. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.), Handbook of community psychology (pp. 43–63). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4193-6_2.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Zion, S., Allen, C. D., & Jean, C. (2015). Enacting a critical pedagogy, influencing teachers’ sociopolitical development. The Urban Review, 47(5), 914–933. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-015-0340-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zúñiga, X., Naagda, B. A., & Sevig, T. D. (2002). Intergroup dialogues: An educational model for cultivating engagement across differences. Equity & Excellence in Education, 35(1), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/713845248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Celeste Nicholas.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Codebook

Empowering interpersonal processes supporting critical social analysis in TASH

 

Adult practices

Youth experiences

Broader interpersonal processes

Youth empowerment philosophy

“I think we let youth know in the beginning that this is gonna be your organization and not ours…it’s that old saying that, “youth are our future leaders,” and we used to say, “no, they’re our leaders right now”

“The adult educators would be there to kind of help navigate if need be, but it was our discussion, and, I don’t think that’s an opportunity given to a lot of youth.”—A

Community norms

Discussion norms

Shared leadership

Youth feedback

Open housekeeping

“We had solid discussion norms that were tied into classic step up, step back that were tied into the anti-oppression curriculum.”—T

Embracing discomfort

Learning and discomfort pedagogy

“If you get to space of where you’re uncomfortable, and you can push it, your learning’s right there”

“We go (to TASH) to have uncomfortable conversations, to step out of the comfort zone.” M.2

Feeling unsafe vs. uncomfortable

“We do a whole session at the beginning of the year, ‘I feel uncomfortable, I feel unsafe.’ There is a difference”

“I felt really uncomfortable but I didn’t feel unsafe. I felt like other people shared my discomfort, and it was gonna be ok. We were gonna work through it,’ T.2

Fostering emotional safety

Flexible participation

“Sometimes the safe way to be in a space is to not be in that space, and so that’s something we try to really protect the students’ right to do.” H.2

There were a few times when I would feel too triggered, and I would leave, and the great thing about those open housekeeping rules is I wasn’t embarrassed about feeling triggered” K.2

Appendix 2

Member check table with study participants

Participant

Comments

Action taken

Program coordinator

“Very impressive, and more-so, I think it’s very credible. I would agree that the messages you’ve gotten from the students reflect how I see TASH”

No action needed

Social justice coordinator

Acknowledged receipt of the document but made no suggestions

No action needed

Pat

Responded, “it’s fine”

No action needed

Heather

“Overall, I think it is a great overview! Thank you for your work!” “I’m just really pleased to be quoted as saying ‘whatevs.’ Awesome! (seriously no sarcasm in this comment-it genuinely makes me happy)”

No action needed

Aubrey

Acknowledged receipt of the document but made no suggestions

No response

Michael

“I love what I read! Good synopsis of our conversations :)”

No action needed

Kayla

acknowledged receipt of the document but made no suggestions

No action needed

Taylor

“On the whole I found this really interesting to read, and did not have substantive issues with the characterization of my relationship to TASH.” Requested two changes of phrasing regarding characterization of Taylor’s leadership and politics

Phrases changed to mutually agreed upon descriptions

  1. All correspondence occurred November 2016–December 2017

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nicholas, C., Eastman-Mueller, H. Supporting Critical Social Analysis: Empowering Processes in a Youth Organizing Group. Urban Rev 52, 708–729 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-020-00548-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-020-00548-0

Keywords

Navigation