Anti-Oppressive Critical Participatory Action Research and Ethics in U.S. Postsecondary Education

• In Event: Critical Participatory Action Research for Us, by Us in U.S. Postsecondary Education

Abstract

Anti-oppressive critical participatory action research (CPAR) is a strengths-based, growth-oriented, and capabilities-focused epistemology. Anti-oppressive CPAR research coalitions prioritize sharing power, building relationships, and centering populations that society attempts to marginalize (Potts & Brown, 2005; Ray & Gilbert, 2021; Salazar et al., 2023). Being an anti-oppressive researcher signals a professional and personal commitment to participants and communities as well as to challenge traditional research processes and outcomes.

Knowledge and its generation are political. Historically, legitimized knowledge has been produced by those with wealth and power for those with wealth and power. Knowledge is socially constructed and can be oppressive, but anti-oppressive research can be used as a form of resistance (Potts & Brown, 2005). In anti-oppressive CPAR, research is not the center. It’s part of a much larger story, a story that began before any individual study and one that extends beyond the conclusion of a singular project. Anti-oppressive CPAR researchers acknowledge it is accepted or even necessary to violate normed practices to co-create new knowledge as a power-sharing collective (Brown & Strega, 2005). Anti-oppressive CPAR is an opportunity to engage in lifelong learning and equity-focused change. Ideally, when researchers engage in anti-oppressive CPAR, they build in time to conduct the research in a meaningful and intentional manner. This includes flexibility and responsiveness as the applied research unfolds.

Anti-oppressive CPAR is a vehicle to share the research, responsibility, and control. No one person must be perfect or be an expert in all aspects of the study. Research coalitions following anti-oppressive CPAR create space for everyone to learn, teach, grow, and contribute to generalizable knowledge and equitable changes. This collaborative research mirrors democratic processes simultaneously respecting the individual and collective and incorporating multiple perspectives to build cooperative partnerships that produce more robust research findings (Berta-Ávila et al., 2021; Call-Cummings et al., 2024; Cammarota et al., 2021; Lenette, 2022). However, as discussed in subsequent papers, researchers often contend with tensions between the ideal and the reality (e.g., time constraints, pressure to produce) in U.S. higher education scholarship.

This paper focuses on orienting the reader to anti-oppressive CPAR, including reframing one’s mindset, terminology related to people, and ethical considerations. I explore the capabilities of anti-oppressive CPAR to help audience members concretely understand how to move it from an abstract epistemology into actionable work. These ideas are salient in this larger socio-familial-political moment. While I acknowledge that there is no one way to do anti-oppressive CPAR, I name current structural limitations that can hinder this work and share examples of how to successfully overcome barriers and enhance community throughout the research process. The best CPAR engenders equitable progress that enables new generations of minoritized scholars to develop innovative ways to enact equity in research and successfully challenge the status quo into new realms.

Author

• Mia Ocean, Wichita State University