When discussing the use of Participatory Action Research (PAR) to enact positive change within disadvantaged groups, some individuals can be skeptical due to the potential bias arising from the integration of researchers into the society being studied. The inclusion of a community integration aspect within these research ventures can also be a useful tool however, increasing the external validity of research studies being performed due to their direct testing within the community itself. To counteract some of the potential biases arising from these situations, researchers will often discuss their own involvements and backgrounds regarding the project, in an attempt to clarify and dispel potential underlying biases that may affect the integrity of the data (Brydon-Miller, 1997). With these caveats in mind, is PAR still an effective form of discovering effective social intervention techniques? To help answer this question, we will look at a well-written example of PAR, and how it handles both self-reflection and community-aid.
In research conducted by Michael Frank, he placed himself into a Latinx community of parents and studied their levels of involvement at their children’s schools. Within this community, alongside seeking to create an intervention for the community, he analyzed the ways in which priveleged individuals can more effectively connect to and aid these underpriveleged individuals within their work. To some, the image of researchers who create interventions for underpriveleged people involves priveleged white academics poorly integrating themselves into societies comprised of disenfranchised people of color and potentially causing more problems than they solve. This self-reflective work seeks to counteract some of the negative effects encountered by these researchers in the past regarding helping communities they were not originally a part of (Frank, 2018).
The importance of this paper lies not only in its direct impact on the causes it wishes to support, but also in the display of proper self-reflection techniques needed by PAR-related researchers. Michael Frank attempts to outline the important aspects of a good PAR throughout his paper (similar to the basic tenets provided by Budd Hall), modeling proper behavior as a priveleged person working with communities that have traditionally been exploited or oppressed. The unique skills and knowledge he can bring from academia to these communities is mentioned, however the inclusion of the importance of educating himself on these issues is prominent. These genuine efforts towards learning how his own identities (racial or otherwise) can negatively interact with the societies he is researching begins to bridge the gap between detached research and the effectiveness of activism. He also includes his experiences with intraracist activities occurring as well, with people of color stereotyping themselves based upon race and ethnicity as well. This is in line with the understanding that the specific concerns of the community should be addressed, as well as a focus on creating positive social change, due to his focus on mitigating any personal negative effects (Brydon-Miller, 1997).
Although focused on the problematic influences of individuals like himself, Frank simultaneously uses this research to enhance the voices of those within the study. To do this, research questions pertained to the issues that participants faced at school, and were created by Latinx researchers. With a hands-off approach that amplified the voices of its participants, Frank was free to analyze the issues potentially harming those he was attempting to help, particularly essentialist assumptions. He would methodically address any instances where it arrived, coming up with possible conclusions about where these problematic behaviors may have originated. Additionally, his conclusions included sections regarding his own influences regarding the conclusions of the study (Frank, 2018). Although the inclusion of the researcher themselves can sometimes be frowned upon in scientific research, the self-recognition present in PAR is beginning to show how restrictive these views can be. Through greater analysis of both community aid and the researcher themselves in PAR, individuals can come to not only recognize the communities they wish to help, but also to better mitigate any negative behaviors they are engaging in, while detached researchers may never come across these opportunities.
References
Brydon-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4). 657-666.
Frank, M. J. (2018). Resisting essentialism in cultural research: A participatory action research study of parent involvement in education among spanish-speaking students and families (Order No. AAI10839744). Available from APA PsycInfo®. (2118094865; 2018-48572-232). Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/2118094865?accountid=13158