Drawing upon ongoing research exploring lived experiences of sensory overload, meltdown, and shutdown in autism as a framework, this article reflects on the challenges and benefits of employing participatory methods in doctoral research. In particular, the process of establishing and working with a Research Advisory Group to co-create a…

Action research methodologies are dynamic, as they often evolve with a group and are shaped by multiple contributions that can change over time. As researchers are embedded within this process, reflexivity is paramount to remain attuned to how they move with and shape the research. In search of a dynamic way of engaging with reflexivity in action…

Please join us on this learning romp, which includes anarchists, discomfort, flying projectiles, Ministries of Truth, anger, and naked emperors. This paper is an example of, and a reflection on, the praxis of Participatory Action Research as a way of life. It is the result of a reflective conversation between two researchers. We got together in…

The present work provides a review of two widely used approaches in educational research: action research and case study. Action research aims to improve educational practice by means of reflective cycles and shows variants according to a predominant paradigm, from technical to critical visions. A case study, described as an umbrella term, focuses…

The purpose of this paper is to present a conversation about how impact has been seen and felt by youth and adult co-researchers in a long-term, school-based youth participatory action research (YPAR) project, "Courageous Conversations." To stay true to the epistemological commitments of YPAR, and in an effort to speak back to…

In this article, I explore the challenges of undertaking insider research as a Widening Participation university practitioner and positioning myself as lead researcher with three academic co-researchers. The action research process provided the fertile environment for our complex academic: non-academic relationships to shift into more equitable…

YPAR seeks to position youth as experts on their worlds, investigating issues that affect their lives and then taking action to create solutions. As such, one of the key epistemological principles underpinning YPAR is the robust participation of youth throughout the knowledge creation process. A growing body of literature examines what youth…

The last 20 years have seen a growing interest in researching pedagogy in Higher Education with action researchers playing a part in this growth. However, there are few studies that analyse the educational influences in learning of the action researcher in their own pedagogy in Higher Education. Hence the focus of this paper on enhancing…

A virtues-based approach to research ethics offers an alternative perspective to the rule-based approaches that dominate many current ethical regulations. For researchers engaging in insider research where ethical dilemmas can be complex and unpredictable, ethical decisions often need to be made on a case-by-case basis. This requires researchers…

The question of how to create a common framework for teaching (a science of the art of teaching) has often been a topic of discussion. As a result of Lesson Study, such a framework has emerged in Japan for science education. Outside Japan, however, creating a common framework for teaching has appeared to be far from easy. This article focuses on…

This paper reports on the novel methodology used in a participatory project called 'Inside the History of Learning Disabilities.' Through engaging learning-disabled people as co-researchers with valuable insider knowledge and expertise to share, the project sought to disrupt hegemonic discourses around both the history of 'learning disabilities',…

Action research approaches have evolved out of a criticism of previous research traditions, where teachers have been seen as research objects, at risk of being marginalized. Such approaches have also arisen out of the view that teaching, learning, and educational research are interrelated. In action research, teachers are seen as professionals,…

In this article I reflect on my experiences facilitating teachers as researchers and reflective practitioners and the importance of enhancing the dynamic and complementary relationship between theory, research, practice and reflection at every step of action research. Given the complexity of teachers' participation in action research, I drew on a…

Forum Theatre is an interactive theatrical form of the 'Theatre of the Oppressed' (TO). I refer to Forum Theatre in this contribution as a dramatic and participatory research approach which -- despite its specific nature -- shares many similarities with approaches taken in action research and participatory research. Procedures and methodological…

Ideas about social justice are influenced by the ontological and epistemological assumptions of the worldview in which they are located. Since the seventeenth century, the dominant worldview in the western hemisphere has been shaped by the separatist and deterministic principles of classical Newtonian science. During the twentieth century, with…