Action Research

This paper reports on a two-tiered Feminist Participation Action Research (FPAR) study which involved Participant Researchers (PRs) - a cohort of Ugandan women- in conducting research with successful Ugandan businesswomen to support the PRs' own aspirations of owning their own businesses, and the Principal Investigator (PI) in investigating the PRs’ research processes and experiences. This project constituted the fifth stage of a longitudinal study (launched in 2004) which has investigated the challenges and opportunities for girls related to secondary school in a rural Ugandan context, as well as the ways in which education has impacted and continues to play a role in their lives as women. Findings are considered through three lenses: 1) contextualizing the relevance of the PRs' research 2) PRs’ learnings from the research, both with respect to knowlege gained from SPs as well as fro from the research process itself; 3) PI's learnings from the PRs about FPAR. The paper also considersactions undertaken by PRs as well a further study that resulted from this project. This study demonstrated that supporting women with the tools and resources they need to conduct their own research and build their own networks can be an empowering and trans-formative process.

Information infrastructures for migration management significantly affect border-crossers’ life, yet they are not considered users of those infrastructures. Drawing on material publics and design justice, we hypothesize that border-crossers should be engaged in the (re)design of the classificatory infrastructures usually deployed in migration control. To further this hypothesis we developed a collaborative, role playing, serious game which was conceived as a “design site” to explore alternative classifications and to co-produce knowledge. During the game, players are invited to design an application form containing the personal information of fictional characters. The game was tested with different actors (asylum seekers, activists, lawyers, students) with unexpected results. Participants struggled to “think with” categories and they tended to reproduce the categories commonly deployed in migration infrastructures. Still, the game succeeded in working as “knowledge exposure”, as it revealed and increased players’ familiarity with the dynamics of migration control. Border-crossers perceived the game as a meaning-making and learning activity, whereas other actors mobilized their own professional skills. We argue that games might be sites where marginalized communities could develop knowledge, skills and resources for reflecting about and changing the technologies affecting their lives.

Choosing to undertake participatory and action-oriented research within the constraints of a doctoral project remains relatively rare. Yet an increasing number of graduate students are challenging traditional trajectories and academic systems by pursuing degrees with proposed research grounded in such approaches. This article draws on duoethnographic inquiry between two PhD candidates enrolled in a joint doctoral program across institutions in Australia and the United Kingdom. We offer a collaborative account of our ongoing journeys in real time rather than retrospectively, tracing how we navigate challenges while also identifying opportunities. Our methodology is grounded in dialogic exchange, written correspondence, and the co-authoring of each other’s narratives, practices that blur the boundary between method and action. By situating our writing within the immediacy of the doctoral process, we foreground the complexity and uncertainty of negotiating institutional demands while remaining committed to participatory and action-oriented values. In doing so, we open space for broader reflection on how doctoral study can be reimagined as a site of collective learning and transformation. Ultimately, this contribution affirms that participatory and action-oriented research is not only possible within doctoral programs, but can also catalyze new ways of challenging and reshaping the institutional cultures in which it is embedded.

Collaborative, action-oriented approaches to research are uncommon in Asian psychology. This is unfortunate as such approaches can support adaptive social change in Asian settings and enrich mainstream psychology by highlighting the values and principles of Asian countries. To address this, we describe a case study of a four-year participatory action research (PAR) project with a farm in Singapore. The first author worked with farm employees and volunteers to jointly determine research directions and measures, involve them in data analysis and share findings through reports to the government and on social media. True to the iterative nature of collaborative research, we continue to engage with the farm to meet their needs. We discuss three cultural considerations for collaborative, action-oriented research in Singapore, namely the (a) emphasis on group harmony, (b) rigid social roles, and (c) state influence on community organisations, and how they inform a Singaporean PAR approach. We also offer recommendations for practitioners seeking to engage in such research in Singapore and beyond.

In this paper, we present insights about the process and outcomes of an initiative designed to engage municipal staff with Black and Indigenous community members to develop a decolonial framework for community engagement within a mid-sized municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Grounded in the framework of Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing) the project aimed to disrupt dominant Western mental models, envision improved power-sharing in municipal urban planning and decision-making, and start the process of decolonization instead of the dominant municipal engagement practices. A first workshop was conducted by an Indigenous Elder who shared their wisdom about Etuaptmumk. A second workshop invited the participants to apply that approach to the local municipal context and discuss its implication for a decolonial municipal engagement framework. The mixed-racial, mixed-disciplinary research team kept reflective notes throughout the process. The researchers used the powercube by Gaventa to analyse the power dynamics that affected the project negatively. Power dynamics included lack of visible power to influence major decisions, a shift from claimed spaces to invited spaces, hidden power in shaping the agenda, the use of invisible power in shaping the narrative, and a lack of readiness of the municipal leadership to engage meaningfully.

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened human pressures on the Magaliesberg Biosphere Reserve (MBR), harming biodiversity and polluting water sources. In response, two community-led initiatives, the Save Our Species Eco-Rangers and the Majakaneng hiking trail, catalysed environmental stewardship. Building on these, a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project engaged traditional health practitioners and churches using natural spaces for spiritual practices. The overall objective of this article is to demonstrate how PAR can facilitate context-sensitive, transformative environmental management in culturally and spiritually significant landscapes. A key stakeholder matrix, the Nominal Group Technique, photo-elicitation and participatory mapping were used to identify role players, sacred natural sites and determine collective priorities for community-led environmental stewardship. A key theme emerging was access control, implemented through permits, fees, and protocols. At one site introducing bookings and fees for clean-ups and guided hikes improved socio-ecological conditions. Eco-literacy, feedback and engagement were initiated through signage, flyers and sharing on social media but needs to continue and spread to other sites. This iterative, collaborative approach shows how participatory methods can turn environmental threats into opportunities, advancing both environmental sustainability and post-apartheid transformation.

A Authentic equity-centered partnerships between researchers and community teams can generate new evidence and understanding to propel action for improving community health. This study describes a Community/Tribally-Based Participatory Research (C/TBPR) approach to implementing a population estimation and qualitative study aimed at understanding the prevalence and correlates of substance use in two geographically and culturally distinct American Indian Tribal Nations. We describe steps taken to build relationships for trust and collaboration during the global pandemic and lessons learned about feasibility and applicability of the capture/recapture method in reservation contexts. Tenets of CBPR are rooted in action research and liberatory traditions and include attention to power dynamics, bidirectional learning, action-focused research, and prioritizing local knowledge and leadership. These were necessary ingredients for project success. This study reinforces the critical role of community leadership and knowledge in health equity research and highlights how C/TBPR orientations can be useful for promoting Indigenous-centered research and transforming systems of knowledge production.

This study explores the application of appreciative inquiry (Ai) as an insider action research approach in a Dutch asylum center for unaccompanied refugee children. In a reflexive account of facilitating an Ai initiative among the refugee’s mentors, we offer a frank description of the opportunities and challenges that embedded researchers may face. In contrast to external Ai facilitators, insiders are uniquely positioned to witness and study what happens after Ai workshops, when participants return to their daily work. Therefore, they can positively influence the informal dialogue which may play a crucial role in organizational change. Meanwhile, they are exposed to the “shadow processes” of organizational life – like gossip, complaints, frustrations, and suppressed emotions. An ongoing closeness to this shadow can get under the skin of insiders in ways that challenge their upholding of an appreciative stance. To address this tension, we developed first-person pathways to rediscover appreciation so that insiders can facilitate a fruitful change-oriented integration of shadow processes in appreciative conversations. Hence, this study enriches the Ai literature with actionable knowledge for how to work with a more nuanced understanding of “appreciation” when explicitly considering the rich range of “deficits” as manifested in the informal sphere of daily practice.

Transmedia storytelling is widely used in education and media to engage audiences across platforms. However, dominant franchise models exemplified by the Marvel Cinematic Universe centralise control and limit the integration of local knowledge and collaborative authorship. This paper introduces Masyarakat logic, a community-centred framework grounded in Indonesian traditions of gotong royong (cooperation) and musyawarah (deliberation). It positions stories as shared, evolving spaces shaped through relational authorship, cultural resonance, and ongoing community reflection. Using two Indonesian case studies, GENERAKSI, a board game for youth climate literacy, and Sahabat Gempa, a cross-platform disaster preparedness initiative, the study applies a hybrid methodology combining design-based research, human-centred design, narrative inquiry, and participatory design. Findings identify three practices that support community coherence in transmedia systems: guided reflection, emotional engagement, and collaborative authorship. The paper reframes transmedia storytelling as a flexible, culturally responsive method for education and social change, particularly in Global South contexts, and offers practical insights for designing participatory narrative ecosystems that foster community coherence as a foundation for local resilience and intergenerational dialogue.

Reflexivity is an integral part of action research and is recognized as an important and necessary indicator of study rigour. A key goal of reflexivity is to ensure that research decisions do not replicate existing (or add new) harm to those whom the research describes or involves, however less attention has been paid to potential harms that researchers themselves may face. This paper brings attention to the vulnerabilities of researchers with lived experiences of trauma and structural violence and explicitly integrates Trauma- and Violence-Informed (TVI) principles into the reflexive process. A case example and “how to” guide are provided to assist researchers in creating safe environments not only for their study participants, but also for the researchers and community co-researchers involved, with particular focus on those conducting sensitive studies in highly (re)traumatizing topic areas.

Let us start at the beginning of this Special Issue on Artfulness with the Call for Papers. As a reminder, we invited contributors to write from their experience and to experiment with bringing their entire selves to their organisational and community work. In the Call for Papers we highlighted that this means ‘not only the rational and logical parts of who we are, but also our creative, intuitive, relational and artistic abilities in their many forms’. We stressed that art can be both an artefact, for example, a painting, piece of music or even a project. Or it can be the creative processes we use, for example, the artfulness of how we work with others in an organisation or in creating art. We see lively tensions between the two. When the submissions came through, we were heartened by how authors/contributors had responded to the invitation in artful, creative and imaginative ways.

The purpose of this article is to explore the authors’ and the co-authors’ reflexivity in feminist participatory action research, conducted in three kindergartens in Indonesia, aiming to disrupt traditional gender discourses in early childhood education settings. Kindergarten is one of the most gendered spaces that perpetuate the binary between femininities and masculinities. This research takes place in Indonesia, one of the most populous Muslim countries in the world. The first part of the study deals with our own reflexivity as university lecturers, middle class and Muslim women, and we use these as a departure point to understand multiple positioning taken by our nine co-researchers as kindergarten teachers, women as well as Muslims and how these influence their gender understanding. The second part of the study discusses the journey of our co-researchers from having gender blind to more gender flexible attitude. As the co-researchers began to acknowledge their personal values, they were better able to apply gender flexible pedagogies to their kindergarten context. The co-researchers also demonstrate different forms of action in implementing gender flexible pedagogy. Our study suggests continuous reflexivity and the possibility of translating gender flexible pedagogy into the co-researchers’ local context were essential factors in this action research.