A Participatory Action Research Inquiry Into Experiential Teacher Education to Prevent Sexual Violence

• In Event: Pedagogical and Methodological Innovations for Remedy and Repair in Teacher Education

Abstract

The research team employed feminist intersectional theory and Participatory Action Research to study a full-year service-learning course on sexual violence prevention in teacher education. Objectives included addressing the public health and educational equity impacts of sexual violence, supported by evidence of its detrimental effects on student engagement and well-being. Data from teacher candidates’ course assignments and artifacts as well as a subsequent in-person focus group were analyzed using participatory methods, revealing six key thematic threads: navigating discomfort, unlearning, and unknowing; challenging institutional complicity; experiential and participatory pedagogies; developing a prevention stakeholder sensibility; adopting an intersectional ethos; and enhancing general teaching skills. The study demonstrates the potential of service-learning to prepare future educators for effective sexual violence prevention.

Authors

• Salsabel Almanssori, University of Windsor

• Kennedy M Wonnacott, University of Windsor