Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a Research Approach …
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of participatory research—that is, collaborative research on the part of scientists,
practitioners, service users, etc. (Bergold 2007; Reason and Bradbury 2008). One
of the key advantages of using the PAR method in studying sustainable community
development highlighted by Greenwood and Levin (2006), Stringer (1996), BrydonMiller (2008) and Maguire (2000), is that the principle of mutual or cooperative
inquiry and relation between the researcher and the participants, there is a permanent
respect for knowledge of the members and for their ability to understand and address
the issues. The authors further reinforced the notion that a PAR researcher acts as an
external figure that “provide people with the support and resources to do things in
ways that fit their own cultural context and their own lifestyles”.
Examples of the application of the PAR method in sustainable community development studies have been demonstrated in case studies which were observed and
researched by Selenar (1997) and Tsey et al. (2004). Selenar (1997) noted that the
PAR methodology was applied as an approach in research in community development; action research in organizations; action research in schools; and farmer
participatory research in which the author observed and study the main components
and principles of PAR being applied, the role of the researcher in PAR and also the
observed outcomes of the PAR method. The author concluded that the application
of the PAR method provided positive implications especially for the researcher and
society as a whole as the PAR methodology required inclusive and a high level of
participation from all community, emphasizes on a democratic involvement, and as
a method, provides a high potential for social change within the community.
In a sustainable community development research by Tsey et al. (2004), the
researchers utilized the PAR method to help understand if the establishment of rural
Aboriginal men’s health groups were benefitting the Aboriginal men’s well-being.
The PAR application in the inquiry revealed that the men’s health groups improved
social and emotional well-being of the male participants, encouraged modest lifestyle
modifications and increased the willingness of the men to change their current notion
of “gendered” roles within the home such as sharing housework with their spouses.
It was concluded by the researchers that the men’s public health groups provided a
sense of empowerment to the male participants and catalysed them to take action to
improve their living condition and situation at home. The study also indicated that
the PAR approach in the study encouraged the male beneficiaries to self-report and as
such increased the generation of knowledge for the researchers on the impact of the
men’s health groups. These studies and authors have demonstrated that performing
PAR is the same as performing an experiment, thus it is an empirical process (Whyte
1991; McTaggart 1991; Greenword et al. 1993; Reason and Bradbury 2001; Kemmis
2006; Smith 2015).
679
of participatory research—that is, collaborative research on the part of scientists,
practitioners, service users, etc. (Bergold 2007; Reason and Bradbury 2008). One
of the key advantages of using the PAR method in studying sustainable community
development highlighted by Greenwood and Levin (2006), Stringer (1996), BrydonMiller (2008) and Maguire (2000), is that the principle of mutual or cooperative
inquiry and relation between the researcher and the participants, there is a permanent
respect for knowledge of the members and for their ability to understand and address
the issues. The authors further reinforced the notion that a PAR researcher acts as an
external figure that “provide people with the support and resources to do things in
ways that fit their own cultural context and their own lifestyles”.
Examples of the application of the PAR method in sustainable community development studies have been demonstrated in case studies which were observed and
researched by Selenar (1997) and Tsey et al. (2004). Selenar (1997) noted that the
PAR methodology was applied as an approach in research in community development; action research in organizations; action research in schools; and farmer
participatory research in which the author observed and study the main components
and principles of PAR being applied, the role of the researcher in PAR and also the
observed outcomes of the PAR method. The author concluded that the application
of the PAR method provided positive implications especially for the researcher and
society as a whole as the PAR methodology required inclusive and a high level of
participation from all community, emphasizes on a democratic involvement, and as
a method, provides a high potential for social change within the community.
In a sustainable community development research by Tsey et al. (2004), the
researchers utilized the PAR method to help understand if the establishment of rural
Aboriginal men’s health groups were benefitting the Aboriginal men’s well-being.
The PAR application in the inquiry revealed that the men’s health groups improved
social and emotional well-being of the male participants, encouraged modest lifestyle
modifications and increased the willingness of the men to change their current notion
of “gendered” roles within the home such as sharing housework with their spouses.
It was concluded by the researchers that the men’s public health groups provided a
sense of empowerment to the male participants and catalysed them to take action to
improve their living condition and situation at home. The study also indicated that
the PAR approach in the study encouraged the male beneficiaries to self-report and as
such increased the generation of knowledge for the researchers on the impact of the
men’s health groups. These studies and authors have demonstrated that performing
PAR is the same as performing an experiment, thus it is an empirical process (Whyte
1991; McTaggart 1991; Greenword et al. 1993; Reason and Bradbury 2001; Kemmis
2006; Smith 2015).