A Case Study of Participatory Action Research in a Public New England Middle School: Empowerment, Constraints and Challenges

PAR recognizes teachers and students as co-creators in a learning process that builds self-efficacy essential to long-term educational success. In enabling contexts, PAR projects also allow teachers to critically deconstruct societal power, examine how these dynamics are reproduced in the classroom,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of community psychology 2010-09, Vol.46 (1-2), p.179-194
Main Authors: Phillips, Evelyn Newman, Berg, Marlene J., Rodriguez, Chiedza, Morgan, Damion
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Anthropologists
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Case studies
Clinical Psychology
Community and Environmental Psychology
Community-Based Participatory Research - methods
Educational Status
Empowerment
Faculty
Health Psychology
High stakes testing
Humans
Intervention
Junior High Schools
Learning
Middle school
Middle schools
New England
Original Paper
Participation
Participatory action research
Personality and Social Psychology
Politics
Power
Psychology
Public Health
Public Policy
Research Design
Schools - organization & administration
Social Environment
Students
Students - psychology
Teachers
Urban Areas
Urban schools
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Summary:PAR recognizes teachers and students as co-creators in a learning process that builds self-efficacy essential to long-term educational success. In enabling contexts, PAR projects also allow teachers to critically deconstruct societal power, examine how these dynamics are reproduced in the classroom, and work against the silencing of student voices. This case study describes the process of implementing an inquiry-based PAR model into a formal urban middle school program intended to reduce drop out rates. The anthropologist/researchers employed participant observation, interviews, and review of student work to explore the dynamics, challenges, and constraints confronted during the process. The intervention demonstrated the gap between practice and theory in a middle school environment marked by well-defined hierarchies and roles as well as high-stakes testing.
ISSN:0091-0562
1573-2770
DOI:10.1007/s10464-010-9336-7