Building Agency Through Participatory Action Research and Collaborative Learning

• In Event: Collaborative Arts, Creative Research, and Youth Engagement in Social Justice Practices

Abstract

Study Objectives: This study explores youth-led participatory action research (YPAR) as an approach to teaching and learning that connects the classroom curriculum to projects for community change.

Theoretical Framework: This research draws on two frameworks, youth participatory action research (YPAR) and scholarship on critical pedagogy that centers building student agency. The YPAR process engages youth researchers in reflection with action by supporting their analysis of the root causes of needs in their communities and developing an action plan to address them (Cammarota & Fine, 2008; Cannella, 2008; Fine, 2012). PAR scholarship emphasizes that those directly affected by a community issue possess expertise about how to address such issues and that their involvement as research participants’ can build their sense of agency (Fals-Borda & Rahman, 1991; Freire, 1982). Similarly, critical pedagogy emphasizes that tapping into learners’ existing knowledge helps increase their sense of agency and control over their learning by viewing their perspectives as assets (Bartolomé, 1994; Ellsworth, 1989; Freire, 2001; Giroux, 1983; Kenway & Modra, 1992). This study examines young people’s participation in PAR projects and builds on the literature on YPAR and agency by emphasizing PAR projects as an approach to teaching and learning that builds student agency.

Methods and Data: This study conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with eight students, two instructors, and four programming staff affiliated with the project and conducted two recorded focus groups with students. In addition, the study conducted extensive weekly observations over the seven-month duration of the project. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, and all observations entailed detailed fieldnotes and analytic memos (Emerson, Fretz & Shaw, 2011). All these data were indexed and coded for salient patterns, themes, and categories connected to the study research questions (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2013; Strauss & Corbin, 2008) and were the bases for an iterative data analysis process.

Results and Conclusions: The study found that there is a collective, relational nature to the form of collaborative leadership that emerged in the project. The discussion analyzes the factors involved in collective decisions: peer mentorship, group accountability, agency, and ownership. The research reveals the development of a sense of accountability to other group members and personal ownership over the process. The discussion of findings examines the PAR process as a teaching approach that provided participatory, structured activities that centered young people’s input and analysis to design, plan and implement the PAR project.

Significance: The findings highlight the importance of a pedagogy and curriculum that promotes collaborative learning and analytical thinking skills. The study implies that transformative school reform and effective curriculum design will not be successful without engaging students’ interests and concerns and raises ethical questions of who enacts the curriculum. This study points to the possibilities for youth participatory action research (YPAR) as an approach to teaching and learning that builds student agency. The results contribute to the scholarship on YPAR and pedagogies aiming to foster agency. The discussion highlights the implications for educational policies and school practices.

Author

• Dana E. Wright, Connecticut College