“No One is Going to Listen to a Bunch of Kids”: Youth Requests for Radical Listening and Epistemic Justice

Many of the challenges youth in youth-adult collaborations face are rooted in adultism, which impedes efforts toward justice. Research suggests that rather than merely focusing on inclusion, adults need to meaningfully support youth, since youth report not being taken seriously by adults. Radical listening theory offers relational, epistemic, and embodied practices. Yet, unsurprisingly, youth perspectives still need to be seriously understood and affirmed regarding their desires for partnership and listening. Survey and focus groups analyses with youth and adults in the county suggest that mutual respect, a nuanced form of mentorship, and being validated as epistemic partners is vital.