11.237 the Practice of Participatory Action Research

11.237 The Practice of Participatory Action Research

Spring 2017

Thursdays from 4:00 to 7:00 PM in 9-450A

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructors

Units: 3-0-9

Instructors

Teaching Assistant

Alexis Harrison

Email:

STELLAR SITE:

PLEASE NOTE: In Spring 2017 the Practice of PAR will be offered as a FULL-SEMESTER course and students will receive 12 credits. Instructors will provide directions for updating the course number on the first day of class so that students receive the correct number of credits.

COURSE OVERVIEW

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is an approach to inquiry that values the knowledge and lived experience of the communities affected by the problem being researched, and seeks to place greater control over question definition, research design, knowledge-building, and problem-solving in the hands of community members. In this sense, PAR intends to transform existing unequal power relationships between marginalized groups and those traditionally considered the “expert” researchers and decision-makers.

This course will explore practical, methodological and theoretical questions and dilemmas at the heart of partnerships between applied social scientists and communities, introducing students to:

• The histories and imperatives of PAR and Action Research in planning, the social sciences, popular education, and movements for social justice/liberation.
• Debates regarding qualitative research paradigms and PAR as social science – including questions of validity, context-(in)dependence, generalizability, and alternative measures of research credibility.
• Diverse methodological considerations for collaborative research with community partners. Emphasis will be on ways of co-creating knowledge that value narrative, voice, and marginalized experiences and perspectives.
• Practical, political, and ethical questions in the practice of PAR.

The course will be structured to include seminar discussions, in class reflective activities, guest speakers, written assignments, and a presentation. In addition to building a foundational understanding of PAR’s theoretical and practical considerations, students will have the opportunity to:

• Build skills for reflective practice as a crucial capacity for generative listening, co-creation, and interrogating positionality.
• Engage with community and academic PAR practitioners involved in real-world research collaborations.
• Develop their own theories of planning or research practice for work oriented toward social justice and co-creation with communities.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Class meetings & participation: The class will meet for 3 hours every Thursday from 4 to 7PM from February 9th through May 18th. Students are expected to attend all class sessions and participate actively in class discussions and activities.

Readings: Readings will be available on Stellar. Please check the stellar site and email communications from the teaching team on a regular basis;additional readings will be posted as the semester progresses.

Assignments & Expectations: The teaching team and the MIT Community Innovator’s Lab are involved in building a body of knowledge about PAR as a core democratic capacity and a critical practice in efforts for building economic democracy and self-determination. Through active engagement in class discussions and through quality written assignments, we expect students to play a role in helping to explore and build this body of knowledge. Over the course of the semester students will be expected to produce the following:

1. Theory of Practice: Students will produce their own theory of planning/research practice. This assignment is expected to be a rigorous and reflective statement of principles, intentions and methods, drawing upon theories of planning, democracy, and/or knowledge co-production, as well as students’ personal and professional experience and aspirations. Students will be expected to revisit this statement over the course of the semester and incorporate a revised version into their final project.

Due: February 22 by noon

1. PAR Map: Students will work in small groups to collaboratively create a mental model map of the PAR process, and present this to the class.

Presentation: March 16; Final map due: March 23

1. Narrative Analysis: PAR values storytelling as one of the most basic form of human communication. Students will carry out a narrative analysis --a systematic harvesting of knowledge from storytelling -- using a narrative of their choice.

Due: April 20

1. PAR Research Proposal: The final project will be the development of a PAR research proposal. Students will be expected to account for the stages of the process, processes of co-creation with research partners, mechanisms of accountability, ethical considerations, and incorporate a revised version of their Theory of Practice. Students will have the opportunity to workshop a draft version of their research proposal with a peer in class on May 11.

Due: May 18

Further directions for each of these assignments will be given in class.

Grading:

Active in-class participation:20%
Theory of Practice:15%
PAR Map & Presentation:15%
Narrative Analysis:20%
PAR Research Proposal:30%

Office Hours: Office hours with members of the teaching team are available by appointment. Please reach out via email to schedule a time.

Writing guidance: Effectively making the case for PAR within the academy and mainstream planning and development institutions requires clear, well-organized, and conceptually and theoretically rigorous writing and communication. We expect assignments students produce in this course to reflect those qualities. MIT offers resources to help students further develop their writing and communications skills.

The WCC at MIT (Writing and Communication Center) offers free one-on-one professional advice from communication experts (MIT lecturers who have advanced degrees and who are all are published writers). The WCC works with undergraduate and graduate students and with post-docs and faculty. The WCC helps you strategize about all types of academic and professional writing as well as about all aspects of oral presentations (including practicing presentations & designing slides). The WCC also helps with all English as Second Language issues, from writing and grammar to pronunciation and conversation practice. The WCC is located in Kendall Square (E39-115, 55 Hayward Street, in the same building that houses Rebecca’s Cafe). The registration page for the online appointment scheduler can be accessed here. The WCC’s many pages of advice about writing and oral presentations are available here. The Center’s core hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; evening hours vary by semester–check the online scheduler for up-to-date hours.

Disabilities: If you have a documented disability or any other problem you think may affect your ability to perform in class, please see one of the instructors early in the semester so that arrangements may be made to accommodate you.

Academic Misconduct: Plagiarism and cheating are both academic crimes. Never (1) turn in an assignment that you did not write yourself, (2) turn in an assignment for this class that you previously turned in for another class, or (3) cheat on an exam. If you do so, it may result in a failing grade for the class, and possibly even suspension from MIT. Please see Dayna Cunningham if you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism. Anyone caught cheating will be reported in line with recognized university procedures.

Syllabus

CLASS 1. Thursday, February 9: WHAT IS PAR?

A core belief in PAR is that we study the world in order to transform it, and we understand society by trying to change it. What is Participatory Action Research, what are its origins, and what is its relationship to social justice? Overview of syllabus and course expectations.

Required Reading:

Greenwood & Levin (2007), Introduction & Chapter 1

Reason & Bradbury (2008) Chapter 3 “Some Trends in the Praxis of Participatory Action Research”

CLASS 2. Thursday, February 16: PRINCPLES OF PAR

What principles guide PAR as an approach to research and in its orientation toward social justice? How do PAR practitioners operationalize these in practice? This class will include guest speakers -- both community-based and academic PAR researchers involved in a study of the community Wi-fi network in Red Hook, Brooklyn and its role in working toward digital justice.

Required Reading:

Public Science Project, “PAR Map”

Appadurai, “The Right to Research,” Journal of Globalisation, Societies and Education, Volume 4, No. 2, July 2006, pp. 167 – 177.

Mehta (2017) “Understanding Red Hook Wi-fi Through Participatory Action Research”

CLASS 3. Thursday, February 23: SOCIAL JUSTICE & DEMOCRACY

What is the relationship between knowledge, communication, and democracy? What role does power play? How does the construction of competing forms of knowledge advance democracy? These questions underlie Participatory Action Research’s (PAR) commitment to know the world by changing it or making it more just. We will explore some of the ideas underlying PAR’s orientation toward enhanced democracy and social justice.

Required Reading:

Dewey, The Public and Its Problems, Chapters 4, 5

Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Chapter 2

Tuhiwai Smith, Decolonizing Methodologies, Chapters 1, 2

CLASS 4. Thursday, March 2: RESEACH PARADIGMS

Research paradigms reflect and define how we know and investigate the world. What is the nature of reality and knowledge? What implications does this have for our research questions, assumptions, and methodological choices? This class will review conceptus of ontology, epistemology, axiology and methodology, and where PAR falls within paradigmatic controversies.

Required Reading:

Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chapters TBD

Denzin & Lincoln, Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research: “Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research”

de Sousa Santos, Another Knowledge is Possible, Introduction: “Opening Up the Canon of Knowledge”

CLASS 5. Thursday, March 9: CO-PRODUCTION & EXPERTISE

Required Reading:

Corburn (2003) “Bringing Local Knowledge into Environmental Decision Making: Improving Urban Planning for Communities at Risk”

Torre (2009) “Participatory Action Research and Critical Race Theory: Fueling Spaces for Nos-Otras to Research

CLASS 6. Thursday, March 16: THE PAR RESEARCHER

Reflective practice is a crucial tool in the PAR researcher’s toolkit. The PAR practitioner must be able to turn the beam of observation back on herself to better understand her own role and responsibilities in efforts to shape reality and contribute to social justice. How does the researcher shape the social system she studies? How do we engage identity and positionality? What practices can PAR researchers draw upon to understand and situate themselves in the research?

Required Reading:

ScharmerKaufer,(2015)“Awareness-based Action Research: Catching Social Reality Creation in Flight,” in: Sage Handbook of Action Research.

Schon (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Chapter 2

Fine (1994) “Working the Hyphens: Reinventing Self and Other in Qualitative Research.”

Greenwood & Levin (2007) Introduction to Action Research: Social Research for Social Change, p. 42-52

CLASS 7. Thursday, March 23: CONTEXT & THE POWER OF EXAMPLE

Context matters in PAR. How do PAR researchers take context seriously in the design and implementation of research?What are the implications for this context-specific knowledge to contribute to broader debates and action? Can we generalize from a single case? This class will also cover criteria of research credibility, including validity, reliability, generalizability, and workability.

Required Reading:

Greenwood and Levin (2007), Chapter 7

Flyvbjerg (2001), Chapters 4, 6

CLASS 8. Thursday, April 6: METHODS, TOOLS & TECHNIQUES

PAR involves and requires disciplined inquiry. What are the diverse methods PAR practitioners draw upon? How do PAR practitioners determine methods appropriate to the specific context they are working in?

Required Reading:

TBD

CLASS 9. Thursday, April 13: NARRATIVE & VOICE

As some of the most basic forms of human communication, storytelling and narrative are powerful tools for communicating and making sense of reality, as well as in the fight for social justice. This class explores the roles of narrative and voice in PAR and introduces narrative analysis as a rigorous method for harvesting knowledge from storytelling.

Required Reading:

TBD

CLASS 10. Thursday, April 20: COLLABORATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

Research involves the interplay of collecting and making sense of data. In PAR, how do academic and community researchers make sense of their findings collectively and collaboratively? How do politics of interpretation impact the analysis, conclusions, and our understandings of how knowledge is produced? What methods and tools have PAR collectives used for collaborative data analysis?

Required Reading:

TBD

CLASS 11. Thursday, April 27: ETHICS & ACCOUNTABILITY

This class explores key ethical dilemmas in PAR, including the role of the Institutional Review Board and the tensions/differences that exist between IRB protocols and the agreements and practices developed with community partners. What ethical issues arise in practice? How do PAR practitioners deal with differences in power and incentives? What practices and mechanisms do academic PAR researchers use to stay accountable to community partners?

Required Reading:

Cahill, “Participatory Ethics, Politics, Practices, Institutions”

Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment & Research Advisory Committee “Protocol for the Review of Scientific and Environmental Research Proposals”

Gordon & Racin, “Memorandum of Understanding for Mutually Beneficial Research”

Guishard, “The False Paths, the Endless Labors, the Turns Now This Way and Now That: Participatory Action Research, Mutual Vulnerability, and the Politics of Inquiry”

CLASS 12. Thursday, May 4: PAR OUTCOMES & CAPACITY BUILDLING

A crucial element of a PAR process is the strengthening capacity. How do PAR processes contribute to capacity building within the research team? How do we understand and evaluate these less-visible elements of a PAR process such as critical thinking, conscientização, and democratic capacity? What do these questions reveal about agency and social change?

Required Reading:

Harvey (2016) Deepening Democratic Capacity Through Collective Inquiry: Community-Led Research at PalmasLab (MCP Thesis) Chapters 4, 6, 7

CLASS 13. Thursday, May 11: IS THIS SCIENCE?

Critics of PAR have questioned its merits as a scientific enterprise. Taking stock of what we have learned this semester, we ask: is this science? With a lens to questions of objectivity, scientific versus value rationality, and criteria for research credibility, we will debate our positions about PAR in the social sciences.

Required Reading:

Greenwood and Levin, Chapter 4 + 5

Flyvberg (2001), Making Social Science Matter, Chapters 1, 3, 5

Fine (2008) Revolutionizing Education: Youth Participatory Action Research in Motion: “Epilogue”

CLASS 14. Thursday, May 18: IMAGINATION IN RESEARCH & PLANNING

In addition to its role in understanding and shaping reality, an increasingly important question is what role can PAR play in imagining alternative – and more just – futures. What roles do projectivity, imagination, and aspiration play in the research process? What are creative ways that communities, PAR practitioners, and planners can engage these potentials in difficult social and political times?

Required reading:

TBD