Action research a Handbook for Students

Participatory Action Re-
search: From Within and Beyond Prison Bars [in:] P. Camic, J. Rhodes, L. Yardley 
(eds.), Qualitative Research in Psychology: Expanding Perspectives in Methodology 
and Design, American Psychological Association, Washington, pp. 173–198.

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2.3 YPAR – Participatory action research with youth/Youth-led
participatory action research
In youth-led participatory action research young people identify a problem of 
concern, collect data and make recommendations for improving a given situ-
ation [Anyon, Kennedy, Durbahn, Jenson 2018]. Their purpose is questioning 
and transforming systems and institutions towards greater social justice [Cam-
marota, Fine 2008]. The key principle of YPAR is the fact that research topics 
are always based on youth’s own experiences and concerns. The second principle 
is the participatory nature of the research – young people collaborate in the re-
search process. Furthermore, YPAR is a transformative process: the objective is 
always intervention which entails producing new knowledge and changing prac-
tices in order to improve the lives of the youth and their communities [Anyon, 
Bender, Kennedy, Dechants 2018].
An example of such a study is e.g. resolving the problem of school violence, 
when students define the essence of the problem, study their fellow students’ 
perception of the problem, and then suggest solutions to school authorities [An-
yon, Kennedy, Durbahn, Jenson 2018]. Youth can take on more complex sub-
jects, as well, such as fighting climate change in their region in the course of ac-
tion research carried out in cooperation with adults. Rachel Trajber et al. [2019] 
describe an example of such actions undertaken in collaboration with Brazilian 
youth on the issue of the current climate change.
For more see: Cammarota J., Fine M. (eds.) (2008), Revolutionizing Educa-
tion: Youth Participatory Action Research in Motion, Routledge, New York–London. 
2.4 CPAR — Critical participatory action research
People embarking on critical participatory action research study their individual 
and collective social practices to determine how these practices can be irrational, 
unsustainable or unjust for people involved in and affected by them. If partici-
pants discover undesirable social practices or their consequences, they work to-
gether to avoid or overcome what is undesirable for them [Kemmis, McTaggart, 
Nixon 2014]. According to Stephen Kemmis [2010, p. 86] critical participatory 
action research is research conducted by “participants in order to reach histori-
cal self-awareness (or ‘historically-effected consciousness’) oriented towards the 
awareness of the historical subject and historicalness of the person interpreting 
this subject in practice and practice understood as praxis.” This research is not 
conducted exclusively for the practical interest, but it also fulfils emancipatory 

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2: The variety of approaches within action research: multiple roads leading to change for the better
goals, develops individual and collective self-reflection through the opening 
of the communication space and intervenes in the occurring collective history 
and adopts appropriate action as its practical purpose [Kemmis, 2010]. CPAR 
is a social process of shared learning in the name of individual and collective 
self-education. The main objective of groups working on CPAR is changing 
“here and now” practices, and not research referring to possible albeit abstract 
situations [Kemmis, McTaggart, Nixon 2014]. 
For more see: Kemmis S. (2010), Teoria krytyczna i uczestniczące badania