Lesley Wood Action Research

Community-based educational research is defined as a partnership of students, and/or faculty and community members who collaboratively engage in research with the purpose of solving a pressing community problem or affecting social change with the aim of generating knowledge, skills and processes that will enhance sustainable learning and development. Community-based research is thus a vital activity in socially responsive universities, yet it is an under-theorised field. Three concerns
emerge from a review of current literature in the field: i) a lack of capacity among academics to conduct CBR that is true to its democratic, participatory and emancipatory principles; ii) absence of a set of ethical processes that align with the principles of authentic CBR; and, iii) while the university benefits in terms of research outputs, the learning of the community tends to go unrecognized, which, apart from raising ethical concerns, also diminishes the sustainability of the learning. Through a collaboration between six universities in South Africa, this action research project aims to address these issues, and others which may emerge to develop a framework for improved university-community research partnerships. The outcomes of this study will contribute to a better understanding of the philosophical and  conceptual challenges associated with the dynamics of community -based research in higher education. NRF funded project 2019-2021. Grantholder: L Wood