---
title: "Critical qualitative inquiry and youth participation"
description: "Research on whose knowledge counts in education and how young people take part."
---

> Page index: https://mcasar.com/llms.txt

# Critical qualitative inquiry and youth participation

Miguel Casar Rodriguez studies the relationship between knowledge, power and educational justice. Youth participation is part of that inquiry: who gets to ask the questions, and who takes part in decisions about education?

## Knowledge, power and lived experience

Critical qualitative research asks how knowledge is produced and whose experience is recognized. Attention to power and lived experience shapes both the questions a study asks and how its findings are interpreted.

## Young people as researchers and participants

Young people can help conduct research and take part in decisions that affect their lives. This approach treats them as contributors to inquiry, with knowledge and questions of their own.

## Democracy and education

Research on public schools brings these questions into school governance. Miguel’s collaborative work examines student participation and the work of school board members, connecting educational justice to the decisions made in public education.

## Related public work

- [Nothing About Us Without Us](https://transformschools.ucla.edu/research/nothing-about-us-without-us-youth-voice-power-and-participation/) — A case study of youth voice, power and participation in East Side Union High School District. UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools · 2022
- [Local Control in a Time of Change](https://gettingdowntofacts.com/reports/local-control-time-change-work-california-school-board-members) — A 2026 report on California school board members, their challenges and the support they need. Getting Down to Facts · 2026

Source: https://mcasar.com/research/critical-qualitative-inquiry/index.mdx