Traversing rough terrain: methodological challenges of participatory action research among teacher activists

ABSTRACT

This purpose of this article is to explore challenges and tensions associated with a participatory action research (PAR) project that occurred in 2019 and involved the author and five teacher activist co-researchers. This article opens with some brief context on the PAR project under focus before specifying the article’s analytical methods. Next, the focus shifts to a longer discussion of several tension-producing aspects of this participatory research experience. These include challenges related to this project’s recruitment process, relationship building, and the author’s attempts to establish credibility within the activist community; tensions related to reflection and action; challenges related to epistemological orientations and facilitation style; and internal conflict and limitations related to the group’s concluding action.

KEYWORDS:

• Participatory action research
• popular education
• methodological challenges
• teacher activism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.