| Session Title: Innovative Approaches to Engaging Residents in all Phases of a Participatory Action Research Project |
| Multipaper Session 364 to be held in Mineral Hall Section G on Thursday, Nov 6, 3:35 PM to 4:20 PM |
| Sponsored by the Qualitative Methods TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Pennie Foster-Fishman, Michigan State University, fosterfi@msu.edu |
| Abstract: Participatory action research (PAR) is an effective venue for promoting resident power and participation within communities, particularly when it incorporates knowledge generation, critical conscious raising, and action. As Gaventa and Cornwell (2001) note, it is only when PAR involves all three dimensions that empowerment is truly realized. While PAR has become an increasingly popular method used by evaluators, rarely does it involve all three of these elements. In addition, though PAR can involve ordinary citizens in problem identification, analysis, intervention, and feedback most projects tend not to involve residents in all phases. In this panel presentation, presenters will describe their PAR work with youth and adults and will discuss how they have engaged them in all three participatory processes throughout all stages of PAR. They will pay particular attention to the strategies they have developed to engage residents in data analysis - perhaps the most neglected phase in PAR. |
| Engaging Youth and Adults in Designing and Implementing a Neighborhood-Based Participatory Action Research Project |
| Erin Droege, Michigan State University, droegeer@msu.edu |
| This session will describe the process used to engage youth and adult residents from eight low income neighborhoods in a community based participatory evaluation project. Initial stages of this process served to develop the residents' evaluation capacity, including identifying root causes to community problems, understanding the use of evaluation in the cycle of community change, and gaining skills to interview and analyze evaluation data. The process then provided opportunities for ongoing cycles of investigation and reflection where residents developed research questions, collected qualitative and geographic data through interviews in the community, analyzed the findings, and used critical reflection to inform the next stages of data collection. The session will incorporate selected capacity-building materials created for the group as well as examples of residents' analyzed data. The session will conclude with a discussion of the challenges and lessons learned through the project. |
| Youth ReACT for Social Change |
| Kristen Law, Michigan State University, lawkrist@msu.edu |
| Engaging youth in data analysis and social action are essential steps in Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). YPAR is an effective method for promoting youth power and participation within communities, particularly when it incorporates youth knowledge generation, critical consciousness raising, and action. To date there is a lack of models and strategies that illustrate how to effectively engage youth in these types of processes. For this panel I will present a series of games designed and effectively used to involve youth in all stages of a qualitative data analysis effort. Panel attendees will have an opportunity to learn how to use these activities to promote critical consciousness and social action. |