Youth Voice in Philadelphia: Our Unforgettable Journey to the AERA Conference
By Rae Stevenson, Visiting Assistant Professor at the Taylor Center
On a warm Thursday morning before even the sun had risen for the day, our group of teenagers and chaperones was at New Orleans airport, rubbing sleep from our eyes. We were there to board a flight for Philadelphia to attend the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2024 annual conference as invited guests. The seven youth in our team would be presenting their research project as part of the Youth Teams in Education Research (YTER) program.
For half of our group, it was their first time flying. The air was thick with excitement and a touch of nervous anticipation. This journey was made possible by generous support from the Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking and the Center for Youth Equity at Tulane University.
Our Project
Our youth team presented “Twisted Garden,” a collaborative arts-based research project involving New Orleans youth that was the basis of my dissertation. This project centered on narrating racialized experiences within the New Orleans school system. The final product was a graphic anthology that weaves together seven narratives from the New Orleans school system, envisioning a future rooted in the stories shared by the youth. These narratives were brought to life by nine professional artists from around the globe. To learn more about our project or to read the comic book, please visit twistedgarden.org
Why Youth Belong in Conferences
Conferences, with their hefty time and financial demands, are often exclusionary events attended solely by academic researchers and other professionals in their respective fields. In a field like education, this means that youth – the people most affected by the policies and practices discussed at these conferences – are missing out on a valuable opportunity to advocate for themselves and share their experiences.
As a youth participatory action researcher, it was important to me to find opportunities for my youth co-researchers to share their research findings with the world. When we received notice that we had been selected to attend the Youth Teams in Education Research program, it felt like the stars were aligning. AERA is the largest educational research conference in the country, and their efforts to invest in a designated space for youth to participate in conference proceedings is a powerful endorsement of the importance of having youth in these kinds of spaces.
In addition to funding from AERA, this trip was made possible by generous funding from the Taylor Center and the Center for Youth Equity. Funding for youth to travel to conferences is rarely pre-planned in anyone’s annual budget, and so their readiness to make this funding available to our teens demonstrates a long-lasting commitment to making New Orleans a better place. Investing in our youth means investing in New Orleans future!
Additionally, my position as a Visiting Assistant Professor with the Taylor Center afforded me the time needed to coordinate the logistics of traveling across states with a large group of students and escorting them to the conference myself. This position was designed to create space for innovation on campus and I am so grateful that it exists!
Our AERA Conference Adventure
After settling into our hotel rooms, we savored breakfast at the bustling Reading Terminal Market and took time to explore its many offerings. The conference orientation provided us with an opportunity to connect with other youth groups from across the country. We wrapped up the day with a city dinner, indulging in Philly cheesesteaks (of questionable authenticity).
Friday was packed with conference events, kicking off with an early breakfast at 7:30am. Youth teams shared a presentation of their work, and we distributed copies of our comic book. I am honored to say that the team’s presentation was so powerful that it moved some attendees to tears.
After a lunch break and some free time, we returned to present a digital poster of our work. Our youth team was phenomenal, fielding questions from dozens of adults non-stop for over an hour. After nearly two years of working with these students, I cannot emphasize how proud I felt to see them shine in this setting.
We capped off the day with a visit to the Philadelphia Magic Gardens and a fun-filled dinner and table tennis session at Spin Philadelphia. Saturday arrived all too soon, and we were up early again to catch our flight home. The journey was exhausting, but the experience was incredibly enriching. We returned home with a renewed sense of purpose and a stronger belief in the power of youth voices. The AERA conference was more than just a conference for us; it was a platform to share, learn, and grow. We are deeply grateful to the Taylor Center for making this unforgettable journey possible.