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Essay on Using the participatory research method to effect change in an educational setting
I. Marketing Concept
Participatory action research (PAR) is a method of research where creating a positive social change is the predominant driving force. PAR grew out of social and educational research and exists today as one of the few research methods which embraces principles of participation and reflection, and empowerment and emancipation of groups seeking to improve their social situation.
The beginning of a PAR project in education organization may be difficult to pinpoint. It could conceivably begin with a tearoom chat about problems being experienced in the workplace or classroom. Whatever the origins of such a project it will begin with a group acknowledging a shared concern. This group may not even be able to define this concern very concretely but the PAR cycle has begun any way. Following table describes one way of undertaking a PAR project in educational organization. It should not be taken literally and this author would urge the reader to read Kemmis and McTaggart (1988: 54-90) for a comprehensive discussion of undertaking a PAR project.
PAR has been defined as an approach to educational organization through the process of constructing and using its own knowledge to increase the relevance of the research process (McKernan, 1991). This research approach empowers educational organizations to collaborate with researchers to better understand their own problems and to find effective and viable solutions.
Participants in the research process can identify a problem, collect and analyze relevant information, and act upon it in order to develop solutions and to promote social and/or political transformation. Participatory research in educational organization represents a distinct set of practices or approaches to generate knowledge, including a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods...........
