new paradigmtheoretical frameworkaction researchparticipatory action researchpolitical issuebiomedical ethics

The definition of action, in terms of how it is expressed in both scope and focus, is essentially limitlessWhen the young people were enthusiastic about a particular action they decided to take, they tended to disagree with one another and with me less often, argue about how to implement a certain action with less intensity, and refrain from pushing their own individual agendasThe young people needed to draft permission slips and letters explaining the trip to caregivers and parents, develop a presentation based on the work we were engaged in, choose photographs to reflect particular issues we wanted to focus on in the presentation, and craft a budget so we would have a general idea of how much funding we needed for the tripWhereas many of the sessions the participants engaged in were give-and-take dialogues that led to a particular action being taken, the process of designing a symbol for the group was characterized by a resistance to compromise and cooperation and a determination by a number of the young people to stand their ground when it came to how the group should represent itselfThere are times when people are energized and feel a deep need to act on a particular issueThe participants” uncertainty is an important element to consider because as Kemmis and McTaggart (2005) suggest, participants in PAR projects must be willing to “reasonably live with the consequences of the decisions they make, and the actions they take, and the actions that follow from these decisions” (p. 578)

important aspect of PAR is that participants do not take action on everything that is brought to light in a collaborative projec