Michelle Fine, Maria Elena Torre, Kathy Boudin, Iris Bowen, Judih Clark, Donna Hylton, Migdalia Martinez, “Missy”, Melissa Rivera, Rosemarie A. Roberts, Pamela Smart and Debora Upegui. “Participatory Action Research: From Within and Beyond Prison Bars.” In Working Method: Research and Social Justice, edited by Lois Weis and Michelle Fine, pp 95-119. New York: Routledge, 2004.

This article discusses the use of participatory action research (PAR) in a specific prison context. A group of researchers, including professional researchers, staff and prisoners explored the value of maintaining a college for women within the prison. The authors give a brief history of PAR, outline how PAR methods were designed and used in a prison context, report briefly on some of the findings and reflect on the process of working with a PAR collective (including some of the strengths and struggles arising from the process).

They raise the importance of relationships, responsibilities and action in PAR, highlighting the need for “participation with, not only for, community”. This process was complicated by power imbalances, political reasons for self-censorship, unexpected absences from meetings and privacy concerns, amongst other issues. These issues are identified in a useful discussion about how the PAR process affected the questions, methods, analyses and writings.

The article concludes by listing the benefits of PAR, noting that rarely did the participants operate as separate groups. Rather, the authors praise the process of taking a group of professionals and prisoners and forming them into a team of women with “shared skills, respect, trust and common language”, engaged in a joint search. They highlight the value of utilising the knowledge of insiders and the added cultural awareness that results for the research. They also note the ongoing empowerment that active participation releases.

As a case study, this is a readable, engaging and insightful reflection on the complexities of the research project.

E Wong May 2010