Using Critical Participatory Action Research to Investigate Structural Inequity in an Urban School District

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: Engaging Research Alongside Community, Family, and Students

Abstract

Critical participatory action research (CPAR) is a form of critical, collective inquiry that provides youth and adults with opportunities to identify inequitable power dynamics, gather and analyze data about these dynamics, and act to shift power. There is a growing body of evidence that schools, community-based organizations, educators and youth can benefit from CPAR projects. Here, we share findings from a year-long collaboration investigating entrenched causes of inequity in one urban school district. Drawing on a set of cross-study findings from twelve coordinated studies, our findings illuminate how existing educational structures reinforce patterns of inequity within our district. In addition, we discuss the promise of CPAR as a process that can explicitly foster counter-hegemonic praxis among social justice educators.

Authors

• Gretchen A. Brion-Meisels, Harvard University

• Matt Dunkel