“We want to help our community”: fostering youth civic agency in a third space

This study explores the conditions that provide new opportunities for youth of color to develop civic agency, paving the way to enact change in their schools and communities. This article shares findings from a qualitative study of an after-school program designed and implemented by the authors, in which 15 middle school-aged youth—including a majority of Latinx youth—participated in an after-school youth participatory action research (YPAR) program that included young adult literature alongside critical theories by authors and scholars of color. The authors used ethnographic methods to examine how three practices in the program—discussing YA literature and critical theories, conducting action research, and presenting findings and recommendations to peers and faculty—encouraged civic agency among youth participants. Drawing on the theory of third space, the authors argue that these practices fostered dynamic moments that opened new opportunities for civic agency that might lead to broader social justice-oriented change.