Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The False Paths, the Endless Labors, the Turns Now This Way and Now That: Participatory Action Research, Mutual Vulnerability, and the Politics of Inquiry

  • Published:
The Urban Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Participatory Action Research (PAR) and its many variants are rapidly gaining prominence as viable research tools and methodological alternatives to address histories of exploitation, surveillance, and social exclusion, deeply embedded in mainstream research. However, it is at this transgressive intersection of theory, action, expertise, power, and justice that a host of new challenges to the conduct of research in collaboration with and not just on, or for subordinated people, emerges. This article attempts to intimately describe the challenges of using PAR methods to revise Paulo Freire’s notion of critical consciousness in the context of a parent organizing group and a youth research project, while taking seriously the speed bumps, multiple subjectivities, implicit racism, sexism, classism, and politics of knowledge production that are too often obscured behind published academic writing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Power to is defined as, “the unique potential of every person to shape his or her life and world.” Power within is defines as, “the capacity to imagine and have hope; it affirms the common human search for dignity and fulfillment (Veneklasen and Miller 2002, p. 7).”

References

  • Anzaldua, G. (1987). Borderlands: The new mestiza. San Francisco: Aunte Lute Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anzaldua, G. (2003). Speaking in tongues: A letter to third world women writers. In C. Moraga & G. Anzaldua (Eds.), This bridge called my back (pp. 183–193). Berkeley, CA: Third Woman Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buraway, M., Burton, A., Ferguson, A. A., Fox, H. J., Gamson, J., Gartrell, N., et al. (1991). Ethnography unbound: Power and resistance in the modern metropolis. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chataway, C. (1997). An examination of the constraints on mutual inquiry in a participatory action research project. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4), 747–766.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohler, B. J., Scott, F. M., & Musick, J. S. (1995). Adversity, vulnerability, and resilience: Cultural and developmental perspectives. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology vol. 2. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (pp. 753–800). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornwall, A., & Jewkes, R. (1995). What is participatory research? Social Science and Medicine, 41(12), 1667–1676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crenshaw, K. W. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crosby, F., Pufall, A., Snyder, R. C., O’Conell, M., & Whalen, P. (1989). The denial of personal disadvantage among me, you, and the other ostriches. In M. Crawford & M. Gentry (Eds.), Gender and thought: Psychological perspectives (pp. 79–96). New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, A. Y. (1990). Women, culture, and politics. New York: Vintage Books.

  • Deutsch, M. (2004). Oppression and conflict. Paper presented at the inaugural meeting of the Interrupting Oppression and Sustaining Social Justice Conference at Columbia University Teacher’s College. http://www.tc.columbia.edu/icccr/Documents/IOSJ%20Papers/Deutsch_IOSJPaper.pdf. Retrieved 1 Dec 2004.

  • Fals-Borda, O., & Muhammad, A. R. (1991). Action and knowledge: Breaking the monopoly with participatory action research. New York: Apex Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fantuzzo, J., McWayne, C., & Childs, S. (2006). Scientist-community collaborations: a dynamic tension between rights and responsibilities. In J. E. Trimble & C. B. Fisher (Eds.), The handbook of ethical research with ethnocultural populations and communities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine, M., Anand, B., Jordan, C., & Sherman, D. (2003a). Before the bleach gets us all. In M. Fine & L. Weiss (Eds.), Silenced voices and extraordinary conversations (pp. 113–132). New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine, M., Bloom, J., Burns, A., Chajet, L., Guishard, M., Torre, M. E., et al. (2004). Dear Zora: A letter to Zora Neale Hurston 50 years after Brown. In L. Weis & M. Fine (Eds.), Working method. New York: Routledge Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine, M., Torre, M. E., Boudin, K., Brown, I., Clark, J., Hylton, D., et al. (2003b). Participatory action research: From within and beyond prison bars. In P. M. Camic, J. E. Rhodes & L. Yardley (Eds.), Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1973). Education for critical consciousness. New York: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1994). Pedagogy of hope: Reliving pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1998). Reprint: Cultural action for freedom. Harvard Education Review, 68(4), 471–521.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furumoto, R. (2003). The roots of resistance: Cultivating critical parent involvement. Amerasia Journal, 29(2), 120–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gatenby, G., & Humphries, M. (2000). Feminist participatory action research: Methodological and ethical issues. Women’s Studies International Forum, 23(1), 89–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gittrich, G. (2000). At last, the signs of safety: City speed bumps up drive to curb accidents near schools (p. 1). New York: The New York Daily News Sports Final Edition. September 24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gittrich, G. (2001). A dispute’s out of character: It’s school chief vs. activists (p. 2). New York: The New York Daily News Sports Final Edition. April 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guishard, M. (2005). See some people they don’t have…the people or the organization who’s interested to educate people and to let them know what does justice mean: Lived critical consciousness within and across contexts: Community organizing and participatory research. Unpublished Master’s thesis, The Graduate and University Center, The City University of New York, New York.

  • Guishard, M., Fine, M., Doyle, C., Jackson, J., Singleton, S., Staten, T., & Webb, A. (May, 2003). As long as I got breath, I’ll fight: Participatory action research for educational justice. The Family Involvement Network of Educators, A Harvard Family Research Project. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/digest/par.html. Accessed 1 June 2008.

  • Guishard, M., Fine, M., Doyle, C., Jackson, J., Singleton, S., Staten, T., et al. (2005). The Bronx on the move: Participatory consultation with mothers and youth. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 16, 35–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gurin, P., Miller, A. H., & Gurin, G. (1980). Stratum identification and consciousness. Social Psychology Quarterly, 43(1), 30–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harding, S. (1993). Rethinking standpoint epistemology: What is “strong objectivity?” In L. Alcoff & E. Potter (Eds.), Feminist epistemologies (pp. 49–82). New York: Routledge Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill-Collins, P. (1998). Fighting words. Black women and the search for justice. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

  • Hill-Collins, P. (2001). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.

  • Hooks, B. (1991). Black women intellectuals. In B. Hooks & C. West (Eds.), Breaking bread: Insurgent black intellectual life (pp. 147–164). Boston, MA: South End Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooks, B. (2001). Salvation: Black people and love. New York: Harper Collins.

  • Josselson, R. (2004). The hermeneutics of faith and suspicion. Narrative Inquiry, 14(1), 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jost, J., Pelham, B. W., Sheldon, O., & Sullivan, B. N. (2003). Social inequality and the reduction of ideological dissonance on behalf of the system: Evidence of enhanced system justification among the disadvantaged. European Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 13–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kangsen-Scammell, M. (2004/2005). Roots of community research: Primer on the legacy of participatory research partnerships, Race, Poverty, & the Environment, 11(2). http://www.urbanhabitat.org/node/158. Retreived 5 Aug 2005.

  • Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2000). Participatory action research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 567–605). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

  • Khanlou, N., & Peter, E. (2005). Participatory action research: Considerations for ethical review. Social Science and Medicine, 60, 2333–2340.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, D. K. (1988). Multiple jeopardy, multiple consciousness: The context of a black feminist ideology. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 14(1), 42–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorde, A. (1984). Sister outsider: Essays and speeches. Trumansburg, NY: Crossing Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martín-Baró, I. (1994). Writings for a liberation psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAdams, D. (2006). The problem of narrative coherence. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 19(2), 109–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minkler, M., & Wallerstein, N. (2003). Introduction to community based participatory research. In M. Minkler & N. Wallerstein (Eds.), Community-based participatory research for health. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohatt, G. V., & Thomas, L. (2006). I wonder, why would you do it that way?” Ethical dilemmas in doing participatory research with Alaska native communities. In J. E. Trimble & C. B. Fisher (Eds.), The handbook of ethical research with ethnocultural populations and communities (pp. 51–64). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mustakova-Possardt, E. (1998). Critical consciousness: An alternative pathway for positive personal and social development. Journal of Adult Development, 5(1), 13–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naples, N. A. (1992). Activist mothering: Cross generational continuity in the community work of women from low income urban neighborhoods. Gender & Society, 6(3), 441–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reason, P. (1994). Three approaches to participative inquiry. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, P. (2000). Education, literacy, and humanization: Exploring the work of Paulo Freire. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Runciman, W. G. (1966). Relative deprivation and social justice: A study of attitudes to social inequality in 20th century England. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutenberg, J. (1999). Big trucks rock and roll over city DOT eyeing reroute plan. New York: The New York Daily News. March 2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. New York: Zed Books, Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veneklasen, L., & Miller, V. (2002). A new weave of power, people, and politics: The action guide for advocacy and citizen participation. Oklahoma City, OK: World Neighbors.

  • Wadsworth, Y. (1998). What is participatory action research? Action Research International, Paper 2. http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ari/p-ywadsworth98.html. Retrieved 8 Jan 2007.

  • Watts, R., & Abdul-Adil, J. (1998). Promoting critical consciousness in young, African-American men. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 16, 63–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R., Williams, N., & Jagers, R. (2003). Sociopolitical development and the making of African American activists. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 185–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weis, L., & Fine, M. (2000). Speedbumps: A student friendly guide to research. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CUNY Graduate Center, Bronx Community College, The City University of New York, New York, USA

    Monique Guishard

Authors
  1. Monique Guishard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Monique Guishard.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Guishard, M. The False Paths, the Endless Labors, the Turns Now This Way and Now That: Participatory Action Research, Mutual Vulnerability, and the Politics of Inquiry. Urban Rev 41, 85–105 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-008-0096-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-008-0096-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation