Adjusting the Lens: Disability Pride, Disability Identity, and Video-Action Research

• In Event: Participatory Action Research: Student, Teacher, and Community Voices

Abstract

This presentation reports findings of a video-action research study where people with disabilities created a series of short educational films about love and relationships. Participants subsequently took on community educator roles, and used their videos as an educational tool in presentations to social service providers, disability youth advocates, post-secondary students, caregivers and communities members. Findings attend to participants’ experiences and suggest the tethering of collaboratively developing videos with distributive goals as identified and enacted upon by participants contributed to positive self-worth and fostering sites of disability pride through self-representation and advocacy. These themes are considered in relation to promoting innovative action research that serves the public good.

Author

• Kathleen Caroline Sitter, University of Calgary