Connected but Disconnected: A COVID-19 Youth Participatory Action Research Study

Authors

• Vianney Atugonza, University of MinnesotaFollow
• Jodi Dworkin, University of MinnesotaFollow
• Stacey S. Horn, University of MinnesotaFollow
• Joanna A. Tzenis, The Sanneh FoundationFollow
• Samantha LeBouef, University of MinnesotaFollow

Abstract

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools across the U.S. to close and transition to remote learning. Families were forced to transform their homes into classrooms while facing challenges to their health, finances, and social connections. To better understand how young people experienced these changes, a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project was employed to engage young people in naming, exploring, and sharing their experiences during this time. Nine high school youth leaders were trained as researchers to conduct interviews with their peers. These youth scholars were also trained on how to code, sort, and disseminate data and results. Five themes emerged from the data:disruption of youth’s developmentally supportive social connections and activities, intersections of critical youth mesosystems: family/home and school, youth’s desire to share their experiences and shape their learning environment, the differential mental health effect of remote learning: from exacerbated anxiety to academic stress relief, and an opportunity to forge a new path: academic and career changes. The study revealed young people’s narratives on the impact of COVID-19 on their family and school lives, both challenges and opportunities it created. This study also provided critical information that allows us to learn how young people feel about school and learning, and how we might better support young people in school and learning (both in school and out of school) during times of stress and transition. Findings also revealed how a youth-led research approach can be used to explore issues that surround and affect young people.

Recommended Citation

Atugonza, Vianney; Dworkin, Jodi; Horn, Stacey S.; Tzenis, Joanna A.; and LeBouef, Samantha (2026) "Connected but Disconnected: A COVID-19 Youth Participatory Action Research Study," Journal of Youth Development: Vol. 21: Iss. 3, Article 15.
Available at: https://open.clemson.edu/jyd/vol21/iss3/15