Training the Next Generation of Engaged Scholars: A Recap of the Action Research Conference

Before this past semester ended, cPARN was invited to participate in an Action Research Conference arranged by Davydd Greenwood in collaboration with the Cornell Public Service Center and Engaged Learning + Research.  The Action Research Journal had been at Cornell for two days celebrating its ten-year anniversary and doing some planning around future directions.  cPARN jumped at the opportunity to participate in a day-long session with the editorial board.

The main focus of the meeting was the "institutionalization of action research."  During the morning session cPARN held a meeting on how this question can best support graduate students in particular.  It's a really large question of who can mentor a graduate student wanting to do this type of research with broader communities.  It takes an understanding of what makes a good action research project and the relationships such a project develops from.  While there was a focus on research we've also come to realize that many professional masters students are interested in skill building for professional capacities - a mutual need for all interested in action research.

Workshops, conferences, and skill shares are essential to build this kind of community.  At the mention of this Mary Brydon-Miller and Patricia Gaya Wicks mentioned a doctoral seminar they are planning at Keele University from June 10-15.  The seminar is focused on how to use action research to strengthen the ethical environment of our universities and it will coincide with a special issue of the Action Research Journal on teaching ethics.  cPARN hopes to send a contingent of members to this event.

There was some discussion about the need to train the next generation of action research scholars - a goal cPARN is really interested in supporting.  Skills such as "how to run a journal" or "how to construct a syllabus" cannot be lost in the mix if we hope to position ourselves within the university doing this work.  The need for building a strong network of action research scholars is amplified given the pressure of publishing in disciplinary journals.  We must constantly maintain a network of disciplinary allies who can serve as mentors and guide us toward supportive structures and ideas.  From here we moved into a discussion about "playing the game" of academic professionalization or "changing the rules of the game."  Do action researchers have to be good at both?  Is there anything valuable about "the game?"  Admittedly, it's hard to live in a system you are trying to change but that's our reality.

The ARJ is really interested in how they can reach out to this new generation of scholars, activists, and allies.  They have begun to discuss an effort to mobilize the journal toward the service of larger movement - a concept they're framing as ARJ+.  This initiative paired with social media, book reviews from graduate students, and avenues of participation and partnership with communities of practitioners are ways the ARJ is hoping to support the action research initiative across the globe.

In addition to the great conversations we learned of a few initiatives that deserve mentioning.  Some new ones are below while others can be found under the "Resources" tab.

• Activist Anthropology @ UT Austin
• Anarchist Studies Network - Global
• ATD Fourth World Movement - Global
• Center for Health Improvement - Sweden

At the close of the conference there was interest in having this be an annual meeting - another initiative that cPARN will be very excited to support and resource.