Learning as we go:
a participatory action research project
Using a participatory action research process, we want to collaboratively explore current critical education activity in Scotland and ask what is needed to enhance such activity? In this sense we will be learning and acting around the development of critical education resources / tools / networks / spaces.
The research process involves a range of collaborators (involved in critical education activity across Scotland), as well as allies and supporters (organisations who share our aims and values, and/or like-minded individuals placed within such organisations who have less time they can commit to carrying out research, but whom offer advice or suggestions, promote the project and/or put us in touch with other prospective collaborators or allies/supporters, and more). We are utilising a number of creative and critical research methods (more about these here), to explore the following key themes and questions: 1) What exists* and where are the gaps? What does the critical education landscape in Scotland look like? Who's doing what, where and how? What's missing from this landscape? (* we are keen to tie into this a historical understanding of what has been/what has existed, but possibly doesn’t any longer or has changed over time) 2) What are the key challenges and opportunities facing critical educators/education today? What are critical educators struggling with? Where are the cracks which we can use to strengthen our and critical education's role, and develop transformative practice? Where and what are the risks to practice? 3) What is needed? What do critical educators need to face challenges, take opportunities and grow what they're doing in sustainable ways? What and how can attitudes, understanding and perspectives be changed to allow critical education activity to flourish? |
Our intention is that these PAR processes will culminate in a series of events, workshops, forums or 'community conversations', and activities around (and utilising the methodologies of) critical education practice, in late Summer 2017 and across Scotland. (More about this here.)
From that point on, we hope to continue further cycles of PAR in Scotland, but focusing more on Spain, whilst simultaneously consolidating what CAMINA is, does, and serves. This could be (but by no means needs to be limited to): - a collective/cooperative of critical education practitioners - a network of educational organisations, groups and projects committed to critical practice - the creation of space(s) dedicated to critical education activity. |