Scholar-Practitioners Transform Urban Education Through Participatory Action Research

• In Event: Learning From and Learning About Action Research: Preservice Teachers, Practicing Teachers, and Doctoral Students

Abstract

Scholar-practitioners in a doctoral program led urban school transformation through study and application of critical social theory; inquiry topics and processes that addressed institutionalized discrimination; engaging stakeholders who are historically marginalized; and choosing methodology that supports investigation of questions of equity and exclusion. Research methodologies that support collaborative inquiry and client advocacy informed scholar-practitioner research. In this case study, a school principal purposefully structured collaborative change processes that drew from her professional experience, critical social theory, and Participatory Action Research methodology. This principal and her parent leaders’ collaborative Mesa Directiva demonstrated each phase of PAR: questioning, becoming educated, and taking social action, as they designed a parent leadership center.

Authors

• Michelle P. Collay, University of New England

• Peg Winkelman, California State University - East Bay