Open AccessYouth Participatory Action Research as a Catalyst for Health Promotion in a Rural South African School
Author(s) -
Maite Mathikithela,
Lesley Wood
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
qualitative research in education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 2
ISSN - 2014-6418
DOI - 10.17583/qre.2021.7166
Subject(s) - participatory action research , psychology , citizen journalism , health promotion , pedagogy , promotion (chess) , action research , action (physics) , public relations , sociology , political science , health care , politics , physics , quantum mechanics , anthropology , law
Rural schools in South Africa face many social and environmental challenges which impact negatively on learner wellbeing and performance. Given the severity and history of these problems, the situation is unlikely to change in the near future. Yet, schools are supposed to be enabling environments, providing holistic support to learners from communities plagued by severe economic, health and social challenges. A different strategy is clearly needed to promote the health and wellbeing of learners. Youth participatory action research (YPAR) appears to offer a plausible approach to kick start improved, health-promoting responses from within the school. We facilitated a YPAR process with volunteer learners from Grade10 to find out how they could begin to transform their rural school. Using arts-based methods, the learners were successful in raising awareness of the negative effects they were suffering as a result of the poor social-emotional climate in the school, the unsanitary facilities and the lack of opportunities to engage in physical exercise. The actions they took to address these issues were a catalyst for ongoing positive change in the school. The findings add to literature about how YPAR can make schools more enabling spaces.