Work

“Nothing about us without us”: Tending to emancipatory ideologies and transformative goals in participatory action research partnerships

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: In this paper, a collaborative group of university researchers and a community organizer who participated in a 2-year participatory action research (PAR) partnership reflect upon their inquiry process and analyze its effects. Authors examine the benefits, challenges, and potential of using PAR to advance educational justice and transformative goals amidst austere neoliberal education reforms, such as public school closure and state sanctioned privatization. Authors consider ways PAR can reflect emancipatory ideologies, enable social and political change, and disrupt oppressive dynamics that many urban education organizers and activists oppose. Insights pertain to cultivating community-based norms that foster collective learning, agency, and social action, while also confronting methodological tensions in the work. Such tensions pertained to varied ideas about emotionality in research, research design, and the layered power dynamics of university-community relations. Authors highlight implications for implementing justice-oriented PAR in urban education arenas affected by intensifying neoliberal political contexts.

Source: Qualitative Research

DOI: 10.1177/14687941221087869

Authors: Camille M Wilson, Dana Nickson, Carolyn Hetrick, Dawn Wilson-Clark

Institutions: University of Michigan, University of Washington

Language: English

Topic: Education and Art Integration

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,250