Education & Research with/by/for Youth

Education takes many forms outside of the Western, Eurocentric classroom model. Our Lab engages in modes of teaching and learning that utilize facets of culture, tradition, engagement, participation, community and family, truth and reconciliation, decolonization, project-based learning, and prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR).

By incorporating notions of care, relevance and wellbeing throughout our work, we partner with young people, communities, governments and non-government organizations to better understand how education can truly improve the lives and livelihoods of those it serves.  We look at –and beyond– current education designs to ask questions about what education should actually look like, how it should operate with and for young people and their communities, and how notions of success, knowledge, and achievement should be evaluated. We seek to transform models as well as access to education for youth around the globe so that all young people are given opportunities to thrive and develop into the informed and impassioned leaders and citizens we need for the future.

Our research focuses on methods of decolonization, inclusivity, and respect. Through our work we seek to broaden the understandings of traditional concepts of theory and method around young people, education, social policy, mental health, wellbeing, and technology.

We work with many partners who share our vision for conducting participatory action research with and for youth and their communities in identifying, discussing, and improving the factors that impact their daily lives as they negotiate pathways to adulthood.