Jennifer Ayala

Envisioning Participatory Action Research Entremundos

Living between social worlds and inside multiple positionalities, we have found ourselves drawn to notions that capture the in-between-ness of our lives. As researchers, we ally ourselves with participatory action research (PAR), an epistemological stance building on Lewinian and Freierian traditions, which calls for research and/as action towards liberatory projects (Ayala, 2007; Torre et al., 2008). In this commentary, we consider feminist/womanist interpretations of PAR through the conceptual lens of Borderlands scholarship as articulated by the late Gloria Anzaldúa. This dialogue begins with two separate entrances: one into the theoretical world of Anzaldúa, the other into PAR as method and epistemology. From these two entradas, we move through three conceptual cross-over points, exploring Anzaldúa’s notions of multiplicity, choques and nos-otras.1 We close with an attempt to articulate a PAR Entremundos, borrowing Anzaldúa’s (2002) concept of between worlds, to demonstrate how Borderlands scholarship might be useful in delineating aspects of PAR that press us in the direction of liberation, and away from the ways PAR has been abused and co-opted (Cooke and Kothari, 2001).

Public Science and Participatory Policy Development: Reclaiming Policy as a Democratic Project.

In December, the chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, Merryl H. Tisch, announced a new program: 13 research fellows would be selected to advise the education commissioner and the 17-member board. The fellows would be paid as much as

Authenticity, aims and authority: Navigating youth participatory action research in the classroom

189,000 each, in private money; to date,

Poetics of Justice: Using Art as Action and Analysis in Participatory Action Research

4.5 million has been raised, including

Split Scenes, Converging Visions: The Ethical Terrains Where PAR and Borderlands Scholarship Meet

1 million donated by Dr. Tisch, a member of one of New York’s wealthiest families.

Erasure and Survival: Creating a Future and Managing a Past in a Restructuring High School.

ABSTRACT Motivated by the addition of a curriculum standard for active citizenship into New Jerseys social studies standards a group of educators and researchers set out to integrate an action research curriculum, based on a youth participatory action research (YPAR) model, into social studies classrooms. Adapting YPAR, with its promising blend of critical thinking, civic engagement, and democratization, for use as in the classroom is appealing to those seeking to use education as a means of social change. But activism does not always translate neatly to the classroom; melding multiple purposes into one approach, particularly amidst the current push for standardization and accountability measures, is complex. This analysis considers three challenges to navigate when reshaping YPAR into a curriculum for classroom use - preserving authenticity, conflicting aims, and tensions around authority. Drawing upon qualitative data from the social studies classrooms of two public high schools, this article engages directly with the difficulties inherent in adapting a methodology premised on action, authenticity, and youth empowerment to the adult driven, extrinsically oriented, skills and content-focused world of the classroom. Understanding this shift, and the epistemological tensions underlying it, is essential for those wishing to integrate action research with youth into social studies classrooms.

Documenting Disappearing Spaces: Erasure and Remembrance in Two High School Closures

This article explores the use of art as a form of communication and meaning-making in participatory action research (PAR). The authors, researchers and educators, contemplate this concept through a pedagogical lens, and consider the role that visual and performing arts can play in social action. Based on the work of a youth-adult participatory action research collective, the authors reflect on the pedagogical process used to analyze research findings, take actions, and affect local change. Created to investigate opportunity to learn issues, the youth members of the collective created spoken word poetry, post-cards, film shorts, and speak-outs to engage multiple audiences in their research findings. By engaging art as an element of PAR, actions can travel visually, viscerally, and verbally with the potential to influence individuals, communities, and policies.