Courageous Conversations: The Power and Possibilities of Participatory Inquiry With Youth

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This session consists of four papers reflexively examining our engagement in a youth participatory action research project in Northern Virginia since 2017. Our intergenerational collective, called Courageous Conversations, aims to foster connections across difference through arts-based inquiry. Here we call for a return to PAR’s critical epistemology and reflect on our use of Theatre of the Oppressed, collaborative analysis methods, and ourselves as creators of knowledge, as performers in and of the oppressor/oppressed relationship, and as humans. Through transparently sharing our successes and failures, we hope to engage a larger group of educational stakeholders in these Courageous Conversations, re-connecting to our epistemological roots and making space for creative problem solving with those who understand the challenges of American schooling best.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Action Research

Chair

• Melissa Hauber-Özer, George Mason University

Papers

• Courageous Conversations: Intentionally Anchoring Our Work in Critical Epistemological Foundations - Melissa Hauber-Özer, George Mason University

• Critical Exploration of Failure: A Reconstructive Horizon Analysis of One Oppressive Moment - Maria Rybicki-Newman, George Mason University; Jeffrey Blibo

• The Promise and Possibilities of Participatory Analysis - Meagan Call-Cummings, George Mason University; Katelyn Sultana, George Mason University

• The Cyclical Process of Transformation in Participatory Action Research: Raising Consciousness Through Participation and Performance - Giovanni P Dazzo, George Mason University; LeAnne Beardsley, George Mason University

Discussant

• LeAnne Beardsley, George Mason University