Beyond the binary of researcher/researched: the complexities of participatory action research

Abstract

This chapter explores the binaries of researcher/researched and, to a certain extent, objectivity/subjectivity by outlining a participatory action research (PAR) project situated in early childhood contexts. To do this it delves deeply into the project's methodological concepts and therefore may be considered a conceptual chapter. The background and justification as to why PAR was the design of choice for this project are offered. It is argued that action research, while overlapping significantly with the qualitative paradigm, has distinct differences in the way in which action researchers work with others and that the distinction between researcher and participants becomes blurred during the collaborative relationship. The chapter highlights that this study was carried out with and by, as opposed to on, participants and so it bypassed the traditional division between researcher and researched. Although PAR is considered a socially just mode of inquiry, it is not without its tensions, complexities, and challenges, which the chapter explains. However, it also puts forward strategies that the study adopted to address these tensions, complexities, and challenges. It offers strategies to assist the facilitator of a PAR project; strategies to assist coresearchers form a coherent PAR team; and strategies to assist the PAR team forge ahead and address the complex web of power and privilege. These strategies go a long way in confronting and addressing the binary of researcher/researched.