Participatory space: navigating power in participatory research with youth

Despite the explosion of collaborative, co-designed and participatory research approaches with children and young people in recent years, there is still much to learn about processes of intergenerational power-sharing between adults and young people. Applying a Foucauldian analysis of networks and flows of power, in this paper, we examine power dynamics between adults and youth during an 18-month Youth Participatory Action Research [YPAR] project. To understand this, we analysed data from both young people and adults involved in the project, including journal notes and reflections by adult leaders, observations and interviews with young people at different phases of the research, including a post-research written response. This analysis led us to propose the concept of participatory space, which was created through multiple factors including (i) trusting relationships, (ii) the negotiation of intergenerational roles and responsibilities and (iii) a disposition of responsiveness to pace, mood and resources. Characterised by flexible and dynamic power-sharing, participatory space acknowledges the relative strengths of adults and youth in their creativity, knowledge, experiences and resources. The notion of participatory space conveys an intergenerational approach that values and responds to dynamic flows of power in order to facilitate sustained collaborative partnerships between young people and adults in YPAR.