ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of keyconcepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the curriculum and pedagogical approaches in schools to incorporate active learning approaches into curriculum design and instruction. The ethnographic descriptions of the teaching and learning approaches are examined in this case and provide both theoretical guidelines and practical applications for teachers. Active Learning's argument is distinctive in that it broadens the unit of analysis from the individual barriers to student engagement to consider the learning context, the curriculum, student-teacher relationships, and teaching approaches as possible barriers and solutions. The book considers the ways in which student researchers participate in a collaborative decision-making process and analyze the factors involved in collective decisions: peer mentorship, group accountability, agency and ownership. It further explores the literature to describe participatory action research with young people, including youth participatory action research or "youth-driven" or "youth-led" participatory action research.
