Date of Award
Winter 3-22-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Communication Studies
First Advisor
Kate Willink
Second Advisor
Erin Willer
Third Advisor
Darrin Hicks
Fourth Advisor
Frédérique Chevillot
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Adultism, Facilitation, Relational communication, Relational power dynamics, Youth participatory action research, Youth-adult partnerships
Abstract
This dissertation examines the communicative dimensions of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), with particular attention to the power dynamics embedded in the processual and relational aspects of the research process. Through a meta-level examination of a nearly two-year YPAR project, this study illuminates how communication can function for YPAR practitioners as they navigate YPAR's complex power structures, thereby addressing a significant gap in existing literature. The study employs Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis to reveal nuanced findings in two key areas. First, it identifies the communicative complexities of enacting multiple adult roles within YPAR, including those of "superior" adult, facilitator, educator, and trusted adult. This analysis introduces the novel "Spectrum of Adult Control" as a preliminary conceptual tool for understanding power fluctuations in YPAR practice, highlighting how practitioner flexibility and strategic role pivoting are essential to achieving YPAR's emancipatory aims. Second, the dissertation explores efforts to establish a confirming relational climate for youth co-researchers, applying Dailey's confirmation theory, Gibb's typology of defensive communication, and Wood's framework of confirming-disconfirming communication. This theoretical integration offers new insights into how relational dynamics influence participation and agency within YPAR collectives. The study makes significant contributions to both communication studies and Critical/YPAR scholarship by articulating the intricate intersection between processual and relational power dynamics.
Copyright Date
3-2025
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Lacey Nicole Stein
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
262 pgs
File Size
2.8 MB
Recommended Citation
Stein, Lacey Nicole, "Inside a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) Process: A Practitioner’s Communicative Experience Navigating Processual and Relational Power Dynamics within YPAR" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2534.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2534