Youth Involvement in Research - Challenges and Opportunities

Youth involvement in research- challenges and opportunities Youth involvement in research is on the rise and is important for both ideological and scientific reasons. A growing body of research is taking the voices of young people into account, by listening to their stories and experiences. Youth are also involved in collaborative and participative research designs as consultants and partners. Youth involvement in knowledge development and research is connected to citizen rights, values and understandings of knowledge. How we understand knowledge and what counts as valid knowledge is related to political, ethical and value-based questions. This requires a constant awareness of the research process, collaboration and dialogues with the young people involved. Examples from research projects describing different ways and patterns of youth involvement will be presented and reflected upon. The presentation will shed light on how different ways of youth involvement in research and collaborative practices is related to philosophy of science, concepts of knowledge and value based issues. The presentation will also include a discussion of possible challenges and opportunities that may come to the fore when involving youth in research