An examination of the constraints on mutual inquiry in a Participatory Action Research project

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is designed to promote active involvement in every stage of the research process by those who are conventionally the focus of research. PAR thereby replaces the traditional hierarchical approach to research with a commitment to mutual inquiry and local ownership. The ideals of PAR have been much written about, but very little PAR literature actually describes how the research unfolded in any particular context, so this article examines the way that mutual inquiry manifested itself in a deeply divided Native community. In this setting, Native participants wanted to learn more about internal community problems and were interested in taking advantage of non-Native time, research skills, and resources for that purpose. However a history of oppression had left this community distrustful of outsiders (inhibiting mutual inquiry) and internally divided (inhibiting self-inquiry). The use of PAR allowed a tenuous alliance to develop between myself as an English Canadian and the members of this Native community. Our particular modifications to the theoretical PAR model facilitated the coordinated participation of community groups that were resistant to working together in a research process that revealed barriers to change in the community and clarified directions for action. To achieve our goals, the PAR principles of mutuality and public responsibility were altered considerably from the prescriptions found in the PAR literature.