HBH introducing Weaver-Hightower from ARJ issue 8 (3)

Weaver-Hightower writing from the USA about their action research in Australia, offers an example of field work at the intersection between emancipatory and practical education. The work described helped boys become aware of unacknowledged stereotypes that limit both boys and girls freedom to be who they are. The action researchers used the writing of the boys to both highlight and see change over time. The study also reveals much larger issues about institutional support of this way of engaging deeply with what students really believe.  Read the article: http://arj.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/03/16/1476750309351359.abstract

Ramadhan Reflections posted by guest blogger Intisar Khanani

Ramadhan Reflections

This Wednesday finds us at the midpoint of the month of Ramadhan, the Islamic month of fasting. You’ll find as many explanations for the importance and value of fasting as you will find Muslims, for Ramadhan is both an intensely personal and a community-oriented experience. One of the five “pillars” of Islam, the fast of Ramadhan involves abstaining from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset for a full lunar month. But the physical fast, while teaching self control, will power, and compassion for those in need, is only the tip of the iceberg, inculcating values and building toward positive action.

As much as the combination of reflection, transformation and positive change are hallmarks of action research, they are also the focus of the month of fasting. The beginning of the month of Ramadhan heralds the start of additional optional prayers that take place after the night prayer as well as during the deepest part of the night (called Taraweeh and Qiyaam respectively). These prayers focus on the recitation of the holy Qur’an, from beginning to end, and offers Muslims the opportunity to remember and reflect on the messages and teachings of the faith. The days of fasting, followed by the nights of prayer, strengthen the spirit and refocus the believer on a goal that exists on two planes: the physical, in which one learns to be in tune with one’s body, treating it respectfully and recognizing its limits while not being ruled by it, and the spiritual, in which one learns to be in tune with one’s faith, increasing one’s god-consciousness and striving to improve oneself. Each day involves a cycle of reflection and action that continues to build through the end of the month, with the last ten nights of Ramadhan considered among the most sacred of the year, prime for additional worship and even seclusion in the mosque for prayer and reflection (called Itikaaf).

Ramadhan ends with the preparation for Eid, a three-day celebration beginning on the first day of the new month, complete with parties, new outfits, gift-giving and desserts galore. However, there is one key requirement of believers that precedes the celebration of Eid: to give charity equating to a certain amount of food to those in need in your community, such that everyone can engage in the festivities without worrying about meals. Thus, after a lunar month of fasting, reflection, and refocusing, the first step to move into the rest of the year is community-focused positive action--and celebration. Which, as any action research knows, you can’t do without. This yearly cycle refocuses the believer, offering a lifelong approach to renewing one’s faith and moving towards action, and providing a fascinating faith-based mirror to the process of action research.

HBH on 8 (3): Huzzard, Ahlberg and Ekman; Maurer and Githens on Organizational Development work.

Huzzard, Ahlberg and Ekman, write from Sweden about inter-organizational collaboration and the role of the action researcher. The conventions of social science encourage scholarly dishonesty about just how much impact the presence of a researcher has on an organization. Sometimes action researchers also fall into the trap of seeking to minimize their role. Huzzard et al encourage a more forthright understanding of ourselves as shapers of discourse and therefore as important political players in the work underway. As useful and acceptable a position this may be to many action researchers, we can only be aghast at the gap between our willingness to be honest about the impact of participation and the ongoing conventional wisdom to suppress the facts around this critical matter. Arguing about objectivity seems less helpful than providing pathways for better understanding what is at play. Clearly this is a delicate matter, one on which we welcome more practice based theorization.


Maurer and Githens writing from the USA offer a three part typology to describe action research in the field of organization development: conventional AR, critical AR and dialogic AR. This simple typology is helpful in allowing us to see the advantages and disadvantages of each approach and in recognizing our own and others practice footprints better.

Read the article: http://arj.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/03/16/1476750309335206.abstract

Engaging issues of power and privilege posted by Mary Brydon-Miller

In the case study described earlier (see below), the basic principles that seem most salient to me are respect and democratic practice. As is so often the case, the researchers made a genuine attempt to live by these principles. They made a point of including a diverse group of participants, insisting that the miners and sex workers have an opportunity to take part in the process rather than assign “expert others” to speak on their behalf. They attempted to hold the meetings at a site that would signal to the participants that their participation was valued. And they consciously tried to accommodate the participants’ needs by providing financial support. So why didn’t it work?

I have found that using the language of “stakeholders” often masks profound differences in power and privilege in research settings. And by overlooking the issue of power it’s easy to assume that once we identify all those affected by an issue the magic of democratic practice and participation will somehow make things right. Rather than pretend that getting everyone around a table somehow erases the influence of power, action researchers need to engage these questions in a more critical and challenging manner. Pretending not to have power doesn’t make it go away. But pulling rank is worse. How can we acknowledge the power and privilege that we carry with us and put it to work to further our common goal of achieving positive social change? The first step is to recognize our own positions of power. Peggy MacIntosh’s now well-known metaphor of the knapsack of privilege is a helpful way to enter a discussion of how privilege works. If we could all begin by honestly acknowledging our own positions of privilege and work together to consider how these very tangible assets can be to use in addressing the issues our community partners have identified, we might establish a framework for using power and privilege in a productive manner.

Here's the case study if you didn't get a chance to see it earlier

In an effort to address the problem of AID/HIV transmission you have established a research project designed to bring all the stakeholders to the table. This includes local physicians and other health care providers, community leaders, sex workers and union officials representing local miners who have high rates of AIDS/HIV infection and who often transmit the virus to their wives and other sex partners. In order to make clear the importance of this effort and to show respect to the participants in the process, you arrange to hold the meetings at a regional conference center with state-of-the art facilities. Unfortunately, when you have your first meeting, few of the union members and none of the sex workers you have contacted attend, despite your work to provide stipends to cover travel costs and other expenses. In the interests of moving forward, you decide to go ahead with the meeting, in hopes of increasing participation next time.

Tuesday: Drawing turnstile gates in Hebron Market in Palestine

This week I have asked action researcher, Dr. Stephen Kroeger, to begin sharing some of his impressions and activities from a recent trip to Palestine to begin action research with school teachers there. Because Steve is an artist, as well as an action researcher and educator, his first post introducing this experience is his interpretation in ink of a scene at the gates of Hebron Market. There are few places in the West Bank where Israeli settlers and Palestinians live as closely together as in Hebron. The town itself is divided by check-points with metals gates like this one and military personnel to monitor, to permit, and restrict access. This visual image is both stunning and unsettling. What must it be like to create community there in Hebron Market? With this image as the backdrop of daily life in this part of the West Bank, what needs to be addressed before beginning participatory action research in a place like this? What types of experiences will participants here bring to the table? How, if at all, does this change the role of the facilitator in an educational action research setting? I'm looking forward to finding out more about Steve's experiences in Palestine through both his words and his art.

Below are Steve's words and art. If you have comments or questions, please feel free to leave them! If you have an idea for or would like to write a response to any of educational action research topics you read here, please email me at: Dusty.Embury@EKU.edu.  Peace, Dusty

Turn Stile Gates

My spouse and I had a wonderful opportunity to work with a group of 28 teachers, administrators, and social workers from remote areas of the West Bank this past June and July. Participants from Beit Sahour, Jifna, Ain Arik, Beit Jala, Nablus, Taybeh, Berzeit, Aboud and Zababdeh, came to share and learn about special education. After classes were over we had opportunities to visit other parts of the West Bank. The drawing below is of the turn stile gates located within the ancient Hebron Market in Palestine’s West Bank. I drew this image from a photograph taken with a Flip camera just before walking through the passage way to the other side of the market. Through the turn stile gate was another section of the market as well as a Mosque in which were the ancient huts of Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebecca. The city of Hebron is a significant point of conflict, Palestinians, along with Israeli human rights groups and international observers have accused the hard-line religious settlers of attacking the Palestinian population with impunity. The turnstile gates provided access control and restricted human movement by armed soldiers sitting on the other side who press stop or go buttons. Once through the gates we were searched before entering the mosque and other shops.
  

© 2010, Original art work by Stephen D. Kroeger, used with permission

HBH Introducing Ataov Brogger & Hildrum from ARJ Issue 8 (3)

Ataov, from Turkey and Brogger & Hildrum from Norway write about inclusion of immigrants in Norway. Instead of treating immigrants as passive recipients of welfare, immigrants in this action research were engaged as potential collaborators in addressing Norway’s growing shortage of skilled personnel. The work therefore reframes immigrants as a potential benefit to the larger community rather than a drain on resources. The shift is not easy – mobilizing firms to become part of such a dialogue and keeping that dialogue alive is as much an issue here as in most action research efforts. Nonetheless reframing immigrants as a source of future strength signals a willingness to tackle the perceived and real problems associated with immigration in a way that is likely more sustainable over time. Clearly there are lessons here for all in the wealthy North who see escalating strife with regard to immigration at this time of economic downturn worldwide. Read the whole articles: http://arj.sagepub.com/.

HBH Introducing Volk on teacher training from ARJ issue 8 (3).

In ARJ Issue 8 (3), Volk writes from the United Arab Emirates on the role of action research in teacher training. He draws attention to the centrality of reflection on action as critical to teacher training. However his research suggests a wide gap exists between what educators espouse on this matter (and practice while in supervised training) and what educators actually do in their regular practice when unsupervised. A vast majority simply give up the practice for “lack of time.” Certainly it is not just educators who don’t ‘walk the talk.’ Volk makes admirable suggestions for institutionalizing reflective practices in educators’ lives. Importantly he does not ignore the role of individual responsibility for developing and maintaining one’s own regular self reflective practice. Check out the article: http://arj.sagepub.com/.

All stakeholders are equal…But some stakeholders are more equal than others (with apologies to George Orwell): posted by Mary Brydon-Miller

For our session on covenantal ethics at the upcoming World Congress we’ve drafted up some case studies related to ethics in community-based research. These examples are intended to guide our reflection and discussion related to the application of the covenantal ethics approach to specific situations. The following case study is very loosely based on Catherine Campbell’s excellent book, “Letting them Die”: Why HIV/AIDS prevention programmes fail”, along with Susan Boser’s important contribution to the literature on research ethics and AR, “Ethics and power in community-campus partnerships for research”. What are your thoughts on power and AR? What strategies have you used to bring all the stakeholders to the table in ways that give everyone an opportunity for genuine dialogue and decision making?

In an effort to address the problem of AID/HIV transmission you have established a research project designed to bring all the stakeholders to the table. This includes local physicians and other health care providers, community leaders, sex workers and union officials representing local miners who have high rates of AIDS/HIV infection and who often transmit the virus to their wives and other sex partners. In order to make clear the importance of this effort and to show respect to the participants in the process, you arrange to hold the meetings at a regional conference center with state-of-the art facilities. Unfortunately, when you have your first meeting, few of the union members and none of the sex workers you have contacted attend, despite your work to provide stipends to cover travel costs and other expenses. In the interests of moving forward, you decide to go ahead with the meeting, in hopes of increasing participation next time.

Wondering about e-PAR…Empowering a Community of Teachers... by, Vicki Stieha

I spent last week with a group of 22 educators and 3 other facilitators at a very intense week-long professional development seminar (PDS).  This PDS was designed primarily for middle and high school teachers as well as educational leaders to explore issues of culture, identity, and multiculturalism through an intensive study of history, cultures, and literature of the Jewish people.

Even before the seminar began I had been thinking deeply about how we can help this cohort of participants maintain connections with one another and perhaps helping connect them to previous participants. Now we [1] have to make some decisions!  We tried using technology with other cohorts (Blackboard, Skype, & teleconference calls), but this year we are committed to improving on our past record in this arena. None of our previous options allow the kinds of spontaneous, participant driven communication that we think they need to have to really engage in their own questions of practice.

Faced with these challenges, I found myself reading Flicker, et al (2008) and thinking about their e-PAR work with youth. As the authors point out, newer communication tools and technologies are expanding the opportunities for empowering participation—placing participant researchers in communication with one another while they are in their own unique communities. These technologies can support efforts to share their teaching and learning adventures and quandaries with one another. From our prior research we know that these kinds of supportive exchanges are important to the teachers’ sense of being willing to experiment with new teaching practices – something that I called “pedagogical play” in my dissertation.

Interestingly, although our group of participants includes several mid-career teachers, we also had several early career teachers this year—certainly “youthful” in terms of their technology use patterns. (I noticed their I-Pads, Kindles, and other slick new devices during the institute.) We’re hoping that the younger participants will lead the way as we venture into these new waters!

Before we dive in to unfamiliar waters, however, we’re wondering if you have any e-PAR advice? We are thinking of using Moodle because we think it will help us incorporate synchronous and asynchronous communication as well as support a more democratic system (all of the members of our e-learning community will be able to post and edit content). We’d love to hear from anyone who is using e-PAR. What technologies are working for you? What challenges are you facing? What advice can you offer us?
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[1] “Our” includes the research associates of the Center for Studies in Jewish Education and Culture. Here I am referring specifically to my work with Dr. Miriam Raider-Roth, Mark Kohan, and Carrie Turpin with the input of our 2007 and 2009 Summer Teachers Institute participants.

Flicker, S., Maley, O., Ridgley, A., Biscope, S., Lombardo, C., & Skinner, H. A. (2008). e-PAR: Using technology and participatory action research to engage youth in health promotion. Action Research, 6(3), 285-303.