Action research or participatory action research has emerged in recent years as a significant methodology for intervention, development and change within communities and groups. It is now promoted and implemented by many international development agencies and university programs, as well as countless local community organizations around the world.
Overview
Participatory action research is a recognized form of experimental research that focuses on the effects of the researcher's direct actions of practice within a participatory community with the goal of improving the performance quality of the community or an area of concern (Dick, 2002; Reason & Bradbury, 2001; Hult & Lennung, 1980; McNiff, 2002). Action research involves utilizing a systematic cyclical method of planning, taking action, observing, evaluating (including self-evaluation) and critical reflecting prior to planning the next cycle (O'Brien, 2001; McNiff, 2002). The actions have a set goal of addressing an identified problem in the workplace, for example, reducing the illiteracy of students through use of new strategies (Quigley, 2000) or improving communication and efficiency in a hospital emergency room (Eisenberg, Baglia, Pyrnes, 2006). It is a collaborative method to test new ideas and implement action for change. It involves direct participation in a dynamic research process, while monitoring and evaluating the effects of the researcher's actions with the aim of improving practice (Dick, 2002; Checkland & Holwell, 1998; Hult & Lennung, 1980). At its core, action research is a way to increase understanding of how change in one's actions or practices can mutually benefit a community of practitioners (McNiff, 2002; Reason & Bradburym, 2001; Carr & Kremmis 1986; Masters, 1995). Understanding action research.
The "research" aspects of PAR attempt to avoid the traditional “extractive” research carried out by universities and governments where “experts” go to a community, study their subjects, and take away their data to write their papers, reports and theses. Research in PAR is ideally BY the local people and FOR the local people. Research is designed to address specific issues identified by local people, and the results are directly applied to the problems at hand.
PAR proceeds through repeated cycles, in which researchers and the community start with the identification of major issues, concerns and problems, initiate research, originate action, learn about this action and proceed to a new research and action cycle. This process is a continuous one. Participants in Action Research projects continuously reflect on their learning from the actions and proceed to initiate new actions on the spot. Outcomes are very difficult to predict from the outset, challenges are sizeable and achievements depend to a very large extent on researcher’s commitment, creativity and imagination.
Examples of action research projects dissertations and masters thesis can be easily found by searching the internet. Some universities host sites where the best example of this form of research in corporate and university organizations, and school communities.
PAR should not be confused with PRA - Participatory rural appraisal. PRA is an assessment technique that could form part of a PAR process, but does not encompass the full action-reflection cycle.
Origins
PAR has many of its roots in social psychology. It builds on the Action research and Group Dynamics models developed by psychologist Kurt Lewin in the early-to-mid 1900s, as well as on the study of oral culture by such scholars as Milman Parry and Walter J. Ong. At its core, PAR revolves around three sets of relationships: relations between individuals within communities and groups, relations between those groups and communities, and relations between people and their physical environment. Management of group dynamics in its many aspects thus plays a central role in PAR processes, and PAR practitioners/facilitators must have a strong foundation in this field.
PAR builds on the critical pedagogy put forward by Paulo Freire as a response to the traditional formal models of education where the “teacher” stands at the front and “imparts” information to the “students” that are passive recipients. This was further developed in "adult education" models throughout Latin America. Friere (1990) wrote,
Based on the work of Freire, it was Colombian sociologist Orlando Fals-Borda who gave PAR its worldwide recognition by organizing the first PAR conferences in Cartagena, Colombia. Based on his research with peasant groups in rural Boyaca and with other underserved groups, Fals-Borda was able to effectively incorporate the "Community Action" component into the research plans of many traditionally trained researchers. It was not until then that communities started to fully appreciate the benefits of this approach which had initially seemed too abstract for many.
Antonio Gramsci is less known for, yet very important in contrtibuting to PAR. Gramsci, writing in early 20th century Italy, argued that all people are intellectuals and philosophers. "Organic intellectuals" is how he terms people who take their local knowledge from life experiences, and use that knowledge to address changes and problems in society. The idea that PAR researchers are really co-learners and researchers with the people they meet in the research process promotes the validity that all people are intellectuals who develop intricate philosophies through lived experience.
PAR also has its roots in phenomenology and postmodernism. These movements validated experience as a valid way of knowing, very much the foundation of the “action-reflection” model of Experiential learning and the PAR process. PAR is part of an important shift in paradigm from the traditional, positivist, science paradigm which arose to bring certainty and verifiability to research questions, to postpositivism which recognizes and tries to address complex human and social problems.
Finally, PAR has origins within the development discourse.
Recent developments
PAR has evolved through the 1990s and into the 21st century as it has been applied to various fields within international development. For example, participatory plant breeding (PPB) and participatory technology development (PTD) are two techniques that utilize PAR approaches. Other research approaches that often fall under the label of PAR include participatory research, critical action research, classroom action research, action learning, action science, soft systems approaches, and industrial action research (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2000). Additionally, more methods have been developed to add nuance and solidify key processes of "how" to do PAR, such as participatory development communication (PDC) and participatory video(PV). Practitioners have also recently tried to move away from the word "research" because of its extractive connotations and abstract meaning to many community and group members. Thus new names (with some new elements) are being used, such as "participatory action learning", "participatory learning-action", and "participatory action development".
PAR is a popular method used in teaching adult learners in low-income communities, and others how to explore, challenge, and react to their own needs. It is gaining popularity among community youth workers, as well as middle and senior high school teachers as a successful methodology for engaging youth voice in the classroom. According to Torre & Fine (2005), "Youth PAR projects are typically centered on issues of intimate, structural violence: educational justice, access to quality healthcare, the criminalization of youth, gang violence, police brutality, race/gender/sexuality oppression, gentrification and environmental issues." PAR is also increasingly used in service learning projects.
Critique
Many, such as Peter L. Berger and Robert Chambers, point out the intrinsically political nature of PAR. Participation is empowerment and empowerment is politics. Furthermore, it is very difficult for PAR to fully extricate itself from the researcher-community relationship that in itself affects local power dynamics. Community participation in such a context should be recognized for what it is - an externally motivated political act.
Others would point to the irony of citing participatory evangelist Chambers, ally of the World Bank, in a section on critique. Arturo Escobar argues that concepts of participation and sustainability only help to foster a gentler image of development than usual. In some situations, as highlighted by Diane Rocheleau, participatory methods can also serve as Trojan horses to bring global and environmental restructuring processes directly to rural communities, bypassing national institutional buffers and pre-empting critical review. They can also be manipulated by various actors to deliberately affect power dynamics, often with a more centralizing effect than democratizing, as explored by Triulzi. This point of view was summarised in Bill Cooke and Uma Kothari's Participation: The New Tyranny ? in 2001 .
PAR has also been criticized for lacking the methodological rigor and technical validity that is the gold standard of much academic research. It is suggested that this weakness is a necessary tradeoff of a collaborative and adaptive research design. Supporters, however, counter that sacrificing some level of methodological and technical rigor is well worth the additional face validity and practical significance that is gained through a PAR approach. Additionally, many
Participatory action research - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Action research or participatory action research has emerged in recent years as a significant methodology for intervention, development and change within communities and groups.
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