Situational Analysis of Power in Participatory Action Research: Mapping Systemic Frameworks, Discourses, and Principles for Critical Feminist Qualitative Inquiry

The inventor of the term “action research,” social psychologist Kurt Lewin (1946, 1952), described action research as proceeding in a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of planning, acting, observing, and evaluating the result of the action. Lewin’s deliberate overlapping of action and reflection was designed to allow changes in plans for action as people learned from their own experiences. However, Lewin did not spell out the nature of action research in much detail. (Tandon, Convergence 21:5–15, 1988) introduced participation in action research. He identified several “determinants” of authentic participation in research: “(1) People’s role in setting the agenda of the inquiry; (2) People’s participation in the data collection and the analysis; and (3) People’s control over the use of outcomes and the whole process” (p. 13). Tandon’s reference to control over the whole process means that even the research methodology itself may be reinterpreted and reconstituted by participants. Although PAR became one of the significant methods in social science, it has been recently introduced by the Indigenous scholars (Datta, R., Khyang, U. N., Khyang, H. K. P., Kheyang, H. A. P., Khyang, M. C., & Chapola, J., (2015). Participatory action research and researcher’s responsibilities: An experience with Indigenous community. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 18(6). https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2014.927492 ; Wilson S (2008) Research is ceremony: Indigenous research methods. Fernwood.). PAR, from Indigenous perspectives, is seen as a methodology for promoting the use of Indigenous knowledge in the negotiation of land rights and related issues (Datta, 2018). Indigenous scholars (Battiste, M. (2008). Research ethics for protecting Indigenous knowledge and heritage: Institutional and researcher responsibilities. In N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln, & L. Tuhiwai Smith (Eds.), Handbook of Critical and Indigenous Methodologies (pp. 497–509). Sage.; Datta, R., Khyang, U. N., Khyang, H. K. P., Kheyang, H. A. P., Khyang, M. C., & Chapola, J., (2015). Participatory action research and researcher’s responsibilities: An experience with Indigenous community. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 18(6). https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2014.927492 , Dei in Socialist Studies/Études Socialistes, 2011; Smith, Denzin and Lincoln (eds), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, SAGE, 2008; Wilson S (2008) Research is ceremony: Indigenous research methods. Fernwood.) refer to PAR differently than they do with Western qualitative research. For instance, they refer to a number of responsibilities in PAR with Indigenous communities. Such responsibilities include situating the researcher within the participants’ community (i.e., building trustful relationships), empowering participants, recognizing spiritual and relational knowledge, and taking political stands for participants’ community (Datta, Journal of AlterNative 14:35–44, 2019; Smith, Denzin and Lincoln (eds), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, SAGE, 2008).

This chapter considers participatory action research (PAR) as an applicable research strategy for diversity management, equality and inclusion. It describes how PAR emerged from participatory research and action research and provides three examples of PAR in different fields of diversity.

This article explores and describes participatory action research (PAR) as a preferred method in addressing nursing practice issues. This is the first study that used PAR with public health nurses (PHNs) in Canada to develop a professional practice model. Participatory action research is a sub-category of action research that incorporates feminist and critical theory with foundations in the field of social psychology. For nurses, critical analysis of long-established beliefs and practices through PAR contributes to emancipatory knowledge regarding the impact of traditional hierarchies on their practice. This study used participatory action, a non-traditional but systematic research method, which assisted participants to develop a solution to a long-standing organizational issue. The stages of generating concerns, participatory action, acting on concerns, reflection and evaluation were implemented from 2012 - 2013 in an urban Canadian city, to develop a professional practice model for PHNs. Four sub-themes specific to PAR are discussed. These are "participatory action research engaged PHNs in development of a professional practice model;" "the participatory action research cycles of "Look, Think, Act" expanded participants' views;" "participatory action research increased awareness of organizational barriers;" and "participatory action research promoted individual empowerment and system transformation." This study resulted in individual and system change that may not have been possible without the use of PAR. The focus was engagement of participants and recognition of their lived experience, which facilitated PHNs' empowerment, leadership and consciousness-raising.

Participatory action learning and action research in sustainable local economic development strategies is not a common practice. In this chapter, the author firstly gives an introduction of the concept of sustainable local economic development; the importance of local economic development is outlined, as well as the aims. The author proceeds by discussing participatory action learning and action research as integrated empowering concepts. Lastly, the author describes how participatory action learning and action research were used by the Overstrand Local Economic Development Agency in partnership with the Hawston community to assist them to develop a sustainable neighbourhood development strategy. The steps of the participatory action learning and action research cycle are discussed coupled with the learning and actions taken, that emanated from the reflections during the research.

Participatory action research represents the convergence of two intellectual and practical traditions, that of action research and participatory research. Although participatory action research is by no means uncontentious, it has become a familiar term to social research practitioners. However, in recent years critiques of Western epistemologies by sociologists of knowledge, feminists, post-colonialists and postmodern scholars present challenges for participatory action research in Africa. This article critically examines epistemologies that support and underpin participatory action research. It particularly interrogates the dominance of Western epistemologies in supporting models of participatory action research used in Africa and elsewhere, and explores spaces for indigenous epistemologies and Western epistemologies to be performed together within participatory action research processes.

ObjectivesEdication management is a process in which medications are selected, procured, delivered, prescribed, reviewed, administered and monitored to assure high-quality patient care and safety. This paper explores clinicians’ attitudes towards...

Participatory action research is a process in which researchers operate as full collaborators with members of an organization (stakeholders) in linking theory and research to acceptable and effective practice. Schools are being charged to use this approach to address the challenges of developing system-level interventions for many of their current problematic areas, such as family-school partnerships with economically disadvantaged and culturally and linguistically diverse families. Participatory action research is a means for school psychologists, as participatory researchers, to provide leadership for collaborative research within schools for the development of system-level interventions. A case study is described in which a school psychologist served as the participatory researcher in an action research process for the development of a family-school partnership program in a Chapter I, ethnically and linguistically diverse elementary school. The outcomes indicated that the participatory action research process resulted in the design and implementation of a research-based family-school partnership program that was culturally specific, was acceptable to stakeholders (parents and teachers), and had the potential for sustainability. Participatory action research is a viable means for school psychologists to provide leadership in developing research-based, effective and acceptable system-level interventions in their schools.

Introduction: While existing reflections on participatory action research (PAR) emphasize the benefits experienced by participants in such studies, they often fail to critically interrogate the PAR process. This gap underscores the significance of process-oriented papers that illuminate the dynamics, supports, and hurdles of PAR, crucial for aligning scholarly endeavors with its fundamental principles of equitable participation, social transformation, and reflexivity. This paper aimed to bridge these gaps by presenting insights from both older adults with age-related vision loss (ARVL) and university researchers, shedding light on their application of PAR principles during the initial stages of a project focused on identifying research priorities. Methods: The foundational PAR study, forming the basis of this paper, involved eight older adults aged 65 and above with ARVL. Additionally, three university researchers participated, including a faculty member and two students (one pursuing a PhD and the other an MSc). The PAR process encompassed three half-day meetings, dedicated to investigating how environmental factors (physical, social, cultural, political, and institutional) influence the engagement of older adults with ARVL in their daily activities. Following completion of the three half-day meetings, the university co-researchers conducted individual interviews with each older adult, as well as a collective reflexive exercise involving the university co-researchers, to delve into their personal journey through the PAR process, encompassing achievements, challenges, and encountered tensions. Results: The study’s outcomes were distilled into three central thematic domains: (1) attentiveness to power differentials; (2) realization of personal and social transformation; and (3) a steadfast commitment to reflexivity. Discussion: This paper endeavors to fill a void within the existing PAR landscape by providing process-oriented insights that spotlight the intricacies of the PAR journey, inclusive of encountered challenges. By candidly acknowledging these challenges, future scholars will be better equipped to harness PAR in a manner that is truly aligned with its core principles.

A Study of Local Government in Africa through Participatory Action Research (PAR)

<h3>Objectives</h3> Edication management is a process in which medications are selected, procured, delivered, prescribed, reviewed, administered and monitored to assure high-quality patient care and safety. This paper explores clinicians’ attitudes...

Participatory action research has increasing attention in geography in recent years, with numerous discussions about how best to proceed and lessons learned from past efforts. There has been less interest, though, in critically probing the circumstances under which participatory research takes place: in other words, the sociospatial contexts within which such research approaches are chosen. One explanation may be that participatory action researchers sometimes infer that the reasons for their choices are primarily ethical and political. In this paper, I consider this and other assumptions about participatory action research, drawing upon my own involvement in two action research projects in Ottawa, Canada. I argue that reflecting on this question is a particularly timely undertaking, given the ‘actually existing neoliberalisms’ in which professionalization and partnerships are becoming more prominent. I begin by reviewing what has been said about participatory action research and the circumstances under which this approach is likely to be selected, and reflect on how these discussions might be enhanced by linking their circumstances specifically to emerging analyses about spaces of neoliberalism. Using these insights, I then examine the sociospatial context for the two studies and how their characteristics had specific effects on their methodological choices. All of these elements provide the scaffolding for consideration of the rationalities that supported the usage of participatory research in one study and the lack of engagement with this approach in the other.

Participation is recognised as having a key role in health, for increasing the relevance and effectiveness of health interventions, for the health promoting benefits of community empowerment and as an ethical imperative. Participatory approaches to health research are also increasingly valued for bringing the insights of lived experience, and more relevant research and action. In this paper, we explore key remaining issues in participatory action research highlighted by scholars, practitioners and published literature, and highlight some useful conceptual resources which help to better understand them. We distinguish participatory action research as a paradigm involving those most affected throughout the research process, contrasting it with the more limited use of participatory tools and methods. We outline several aspects of participatory action research in health that would benefit from further theoretical and practical development, including: shifting power in the research process; the compatibility of participatory research with biomedical research; linking local inquiry and action to broader changes in policy and practice; and working with experiential knowledge in a rigorous research process. We highlight useful theory from a range of disciplines (including beyond the participatory research literature) that helps to understand some of the key processes and dynamics implicated in the issues highlighted and how this affects the outcomes achieved. We outline and share these conceptual/theoretical resources, identified as part of preparation for conducting a realist review on participatory action research in health, to contribute to ongoing reflection and development in the field.

Participation is recognised as having a key role in health, for increasing the relevance and effectiveness of health interventions, for the health promoting benefits of community empowerment and as an ethical imperative. Participatory approaches to health research are also increasingly valued for bringing the insights of lived experience, and more relevant research and action. In this paper, we explore key remaining issues in participatory action research highlighted by scholars, practitioners and published literature, and highlight some useful conceptual resources which help to better understand them. We distinguish participatory action research as a paradigm involving those most affected throughout the research process, contrasting it with the more limited use of participatory tools and methods. We outline several aspects of participatory action research in health that would benefit from further theoretical and practical development, including: shifting power in the research process; the compatibility of participatory research with biomedical research; linking local inquiry and action to broader changes in policy and practice; and working with experiential knowledge in a rigorous research process. We highlight useful theory from a range of disciplines (including beyond the participatory research literature) that helps to understand some of the key processes and dynamics implicated in the issues highlighted and how this affects the outcomes achieved. We outline and share these conceptual/theoretical resources, identified as part of preparation for conducting a realist review on participatory action research in health, to contribute to ongoing reflection and development in the field.

This piece is a collective reflection of three perspectives while designing and guiding a participatory action research (PAR) project as part of a larger grant. We draw on firsthand experiences of three women—a participant in the program, the PAR program director, and the grant project director—to highlight stories of the impact of PAR in the collaborative named New Orleans Louisiana Creating Access and Resources for Equity and Success (NOLA C.A.R.E.S.). This collaborative of organizations (funded by J.P. Morgan Chase) seeks to develop policies that build wealth for women who work in the early care and education industry in Bulbancha (Choctow for “Land of Many Tongues” colonized as New Orleans). One major aim of PAR in NOLA C.A.R.E.S. is to pinpoint methods of equitable access to programs and resources that build and sustain wealth in Black and Latine communities. Each participant identifies as Black and/or Latine and Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a primary feature. Although we are using the separate terms “Black” and “Latine” women when referring to our population of interest, we note that the various intersections of ethnicity and race within the African Diaspora allow for multiple and combined identities (for example, Black, African-Latina/Afro-Latina, Latinx, Afro-Latine, Caribbean Latine and many more). First, we introduce the landscape of NOLA CARES, a granted-funded, diverse, eleven-organization collaborative. Then, we zoom into the PAR component by defining PAR, the process, and key principles. Next, we highlight stories from three Black women who touched the PAR program: one who experienced, one who designed, and one who supported the grant collaborative work. Then, we describe guiding frameworks of participatory research with concrete examples of centering, sharing, and ceding power with Black and Latine women as a primary method of PAR and dismantling White Supremacist Culture (WSC). Finally, we conclude with learnings moving forward.

At Kyambogo University, graduate students are engaged in participatory action research that considers mentoring as an inspiring professional activity towards effective knowledge development and sharing. Mentorship empowers students with skills to solve real workplace challenges through action research; thus achieving a sense of collective responsibility with participants. This paper presents findings from a study conducted on mentorship during Future Workshop (FW) activities in participatory action research under the Master of Vocational Pedagogy Programme, in the Faculty of Vocational Studies, Kyambogo University. The study was premised on a theoretical concept of learning by doing that guaranteed mentors, graduate students and study participants full participation towards the development of professional competences in research problem identification. The core issue was to establish whether mentorship in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) contributed to sustainable partnerships between the academia and the world of work. A Participatory Action Research Model was used to carry out this study using qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. Data was collected from ten (10) academic staff who participated in the mentorship field work exercises on graduate students conducting research in the world of work. Observation and active participation methods were used to provide descriptive data for content analysis. The article presents experiences encountered by mentors in understanding students' situation analyses or work process analyses in establishing core workplace challenges; problem development through a democratic process; the research environment and the relationship between the researcher, participants and the mentor from the academic institution. In conclusion, it was revealed that mentorship during future workshop activities in TVET research contributed to professional competence development and change management processes. Further, competency-based training cannot be effective without a collaborative initiative with the World of Work in ensuring realistic outcomes in TVET. As a recommendation, efforts need to be made in ensuring that there is maintained stakeholders' engagement throughout the research processes by both the academic mentors and student researchers