Braiding together Critical Race Feminista participatory action research: conceptual and methodological considerations

Abstract

In this article, I discuss conceptual and methodological considerations for the design and implementation of Critical Race Feminista Participatory Action Research (Critical Race Feminista-PAR) projects in higher education. I share some theoretical considerations of Critical Race Feminista praxis and methodologies that have been made by scholars who bridge critical race theories and Chicana feminist epistemology and then offer considerations for areas of expansion for Critical Race Feminista methodology. I also provide an overview of the social justice and liberatory origins of PAR and examples of other “braided” approaches of PAR that help inform Critical Race Feminista-PAR. To illustrate the application of this methodology, I provide an example from a previous study I co-constructed along with Latina higher education staff, administrators, and students that had elements of Critical Race Feminista-PAR. This article has implications for how Critical Race Feminista-PAR can be used to address social problems in higher education and beyond.

Keywords:

• Critical Race Feminista
• Chicana feminist epistemology
• participatory action research
• Latinas
• higher education

Acknowledgments

This work is dedicated to the Las Comadres research (LCR) collective. Thank you for trusting me in our research journey and taking leaps of faith with me as we worked to honor not only the experiences of the young women in the program, but also our own. I am so excited to continue to witness each of you shine in your academic paths towards becoming doctoras. Thank you as well to the reviewers for the helpful feedback that strengthened this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 My mother had not seen her since 1977, when she immigrated to the United States as a 17-year-old. She was granted U.S. residency through Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 allowing her to finally return home. Since that time there has been no form of comprehensive immigration reform in the United States.

2 I acknowledge that being community-centered and community-engaged is not the same as PAR, where participants drive solutions to problems they identify in their communities.

3 In López et al. (2022) we provide a detailed overview of the methods of the study, a description of the participants and data collection, and the interview protocols.

Additional information

Funding

University of Houston - Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Faculty Fellowship

Notes on contributors

Ruth M. López

Ruth M. López is an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice. In her research, Dr. López addresses the social and political contexts that students of color navigate across K-12 schools and their access to higher education. Through critical qualitative approaches, her research examines the intersections of education and immigration policies, culturally responsive education and family engagement, and college access for Latinx and immigrant students.