Youth Experiences of Injustice & Well-Being at School: How School-Based “Pockets of Humanity” Can Promote Student Well-Being

This study examines how youth activists perceive the impact of school
conditions on their well-being in current political contexts. Focusing on
qualitative interviews with twelve high school student activists from the
base of a digital youth organization, I explore the relationship between
youth’s experiences of justice and perceptions of their own well-being in
educational settings. Participants experienced diminished well-being when
schools mirrored broader injustices, but they experienced increased well-being in school-based “pockets of humanity” that countered injustices.
This analysis highlights how external community conditions influence
student well-being and how schools can exacerbate or mitigate the well-being effects of broader injustices. Implications include a discussion of
research, practice, and policy avenues for creating school-based pockets
of humanity in today’s political context. <br><br>Open practices files include: participant application questions, methods for selecting participants, documents for obtaining informed consent, interview setting description, semi-structured interview protocol, and a detailed codebook with example excerpts. Interview transcripts are not included to maintain participant privacy.