The Nature of Participatory Research: Reflections on the Role of the Researcher

This paper draws on an 18-month ethnographic/participatory research project conducted at a high school in rural Idaho, USA. The research collective consisted of the first author, a white female, a high school teacher, also a white female, and 52 Latino/a high school students. Focusing on the question, Why are our teachers racist, the collective worked together to expose, challenge, and change a status quo of racial microaggressions and subtle inequity at this high school. The authors come together in a conversation of uncomfortable reflexivity, reflecting on the role of the researcher within the research collective, questioning decisions that were made, and grappling with ethical dilemmas that were not resolved in the field. Drawing on specific examples from the field, the authors engage with literature on reflexivity, ethical dilemmas, and participatory action research to arrive at a tentative conclusion about the nature of participatory research and what to do (or what not to do) when the researcher cares