In the paper, Matache discusses participatory research as a tool to strengthen adolescent investment in social and political change. The methodology used gives voice to the issues identified as problematic by adolescents, Roma and non-Roma, through their own eyes and their own research. Matache discusses the multiple fronts on which participatory action research can have an impact on marginalized youth inclusion. First, it documents the adolescents’ views on educational exclusion, its causes, consequences and potential remedies. Second, the paper investigates the extent to which, beyond the education data collection per se, the project generated empowerment for adolescent participants, as individuals and as actors in a collaborative, intercultural project. The paper probes the extent to which the project stimulated the production of novel sets of recommendations tied to the community’s priorities and values. Finally, the article discusses the impact of the research process and the inter group training sessions on relationship building across the community divide, between the adolescents but also for their families.

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