Education MA Studies Youth Participatory Action Research in Classroom
Mel Debret, earned her Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Special Education, in May 2024. For her thesis she studied the effects that Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), centered in Disability and Social Justice, had on her Elsie Allen High School students who are labeled with emotional disturbance. YPAR is designed to empower young people by allowing them to select a topic they find important to study. The students in Mel’s class focussed on the impacts of student mental health on educational and social performance. They engaged in various research methods, interviewed experts, analyzed data, and presented the results to adults at their school.
In April 2024, Ms. Debret and 6 of her 11 students visited SSU to present their findings about supporting the mental health of young people to two sections of EDSP 425, a literacy-focused teaching credential course. As part of this visit, the students went on a campus tour and enjoyed visiting the dorms and learning about the Disability Services for Students Office. Later, they interacted with a large audience of professors and future teachers. The SSU students in the audience listened, rapt, to the 2 young women who presented the YPAR on behalf of their classmates.
The SSU students were inspired by seeing what high school students with disabilities were capable of achieving. The high school students were awed to be taken so seriously by a group of future teachers. Further, after the campus tour and on their way back to Elsie Allen, some of the young students happily imagined themselves as future Seawolves, studying biology. For students who are typically ostracized, truant, and low-achieving, it was a remarkable day.
Mel Debret’s master’s degree coursework prepared her to undertake this enormous curricular, instructional, and social-emotional journey with her students. Her thesis fills a gap in the research literature, where students labeled with emotional disturbance are rarely present in studies of rich academic experiences like YPAR. Another Sonoma State graduate is making a real difference in our community!