Transnational, Digital, Critical Youth Participatory Action Research as Praxis in Exploring Education for Forcibly Displaced (Poster 2)

• In Event: Critical Participatory Inquiry in Transnational Research Contexts

Abstract

This paper will present a transnational, critical participatory action research (CPAR) study that investigates the educational experiences of diverse, forcibly displaced young individuals in South Sudan, the U.K., and Jordan. The primary objective of this research, drawn from the author’s doctorate thesis, was to explore how coloniality influences educational opportunities for youth in the context of education in emergencies (EiE). The study adopts a critical perspective and incorporates theoretical foundations from the Black radical tradition to scrutinize power dynamics and researcher positionality within the educational research process. By acknowledging their own proximity or distance to marginality, researchers can embrace a radically inclusive approach when designing and conducting research. Additionally, the study utilizes methodological genealogies of CPAR to understand how previous research has addressed similar challenges.

The research employed a digital storytelling action research (DSAR) approach, which allowed for multi-sited inquiry that connected systemic circuits of educational exclusion. Students recounted their experiences of being interviewed and highlighted the acute need for forcibly displaced students to narrate their own stories, moving away from imposed, pathologizing and infantilizing narratives towards their interpretations, including resistance and resilience. Each cohort, over six weeks, attended online DSAR sessions, interweaving pedagogical encounters with research design, devising questions, and collecting stories centered around collecting educational experiences from peers using mixed methods. Using mediums such as photos, paintings, audio, video and autobiographical narratives and presenting these on different digital platforms enabled a counter-narrative to EiE’s quantitative, universalizing and flattening portrayals of youth in exile. As a result, the DSAR sessions became “de-territorialized spaces of belonging” (Doná, 2015, p. 71) as young people met, connected, networked, and shared stories in a digital space, regardless of borders. DSAR enabled deeper insights into the lived experiences and challenges young people and their communities face within the EiE contexts.

The study was co-designed and analysed with diverse forcibly displaced young people in South Sudan, Jordan, and the U.K. Their narratives, perspectives, and experiences form the primary data source. In addition, the research process, rooted in critical pedagogies, fosters spaces for generating new knowledge and insights. By utilizing the DSAR approach, the study highlights the complexities and intersections of educational exclusion, systemic injustices, and colonial legacies faced by forcibly displaced youth in various regions. This study’s significance lies in its emphasis on transnational, critical participatory action research as a powerful praxis for investigating educational possibilities for forcibly displaced youth. By understanding and challenging the coloniality of education, the study advocates for more inclusive and transformative approaches to educational research and policy-making. It also responds to the AERA conference theme of dismantling racial injustice by shedding light on the intersectional experiences of forcibly displaced young individuals, ultimately paving the way for a more just and equitable educational landscape.

Author

• Jessica Louise Oddy, University of East London