Volume 24, Number 3, 2024 Action Research and School Community Health and Wellness Guest-edited by Daniel B. Robinson

EN:

Learning spaces in higher education are fraught with colonial barriers such as teacher-centered, front facing, stark, feelingless, and unwelcoming classrooms that diminish students’ feelings of well-being. For pre-service teachers, these are also the types of classrooms that they often inherit as they foray into the profession. Three Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) assistant professors investigate how pre-service teachers’ well-being shifted when collectively (re)imagining and (re)envisioning a colonial university classroom space in a faculty building that is over 100 years old. They then share the findings of their a/r/tography, action research inquiry that captured the co-living, metabolic experiences and relational meshworks of both participants (n=11) and researchers documented through reflexive journaling, artistic artifacts, interviews (n=3), and contemplation. The researchers embody decolonizing praxes through intentional interpretation and writing scholarship as they weave their storied inquiry. They conclude with transformative urgencies for how B.Ed programs can recalibrate their physical learning spaces to better support and sustain teachers’ well-being in their future profession.

EN:

We examined students’ perspectives on well-being and youth engagement in schools using a Youth Participatory Action Research approach. Students (N = 11) trained as peer researchers and then interviewed their peers. Interviews (N = 21) were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and six themes were developed: desire for versus reality of a healthy school, insufficient school strategies to promote well-being and mitigate harm, listening to and actioning students’ ideas, diverse opportunities for student engagement, pre-conceived ideas of student capability, and importance of a support role. Through this project, we peered deeper into students’ viewpoints about well-being and youth engagement in their schools.

EN:

This study explores the effects of direct kindness instruction on second-grade students' social and emotional well-being. Amidst the growing integration of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) into educational curricula, this research specifically focuses on the aspect of kindness, a vital yet often under-explored component of SEL. Conducted in a diverse second-grade classroom in a small Midwestern U.S. town, this study employs an action research methodology, using the Second Step curriculum and weekly kindness missions as interventions. The research is guided by two primary questions: the influence of direct kindness instruction on students' social behavior and its impact on their emotional well-being. The effectiveness of the interventions is evaluated using the Social Academic and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SABERS). Findings indicate significant improvements in students' academic, social, and emotional behaviors, underscoring the effectiveness of kindness instruction in enhancing the overall educational environment. The study highlights the need for incorporating structured SEL components, particularly kindness and empathy, in early education, and suggests future research directions for exploring long-term impacts of SEL interventions.

EN:

This study employed a participatory action research methodology, Photovoice, to explore the experiences of adolescent students while learning nature-based physical activity (NBPA) in, and beyond, Physical and Health Education (PHE). Students were asked to take photos both within PHE lessons and outside of school, and write captions to analyze their photos, as part of a unit entitled NBPA in Pictures. Findings indicated that through the NBPA in Pictures unit in PHE, students were able to: connect to both place and others within PHE and outside of school; overcome challenges to being active in nature; describe nature’s impact on their body and being; and, gain the desire to inspire others to enjoy nature.

EN:

In this study, we enacted critical participatory action research (CPAR) within an online community of practice (CoP). The CoP was designed to build a community of outdoor play and learning (OPAL) practitioners. This paper describes how a cohort (n=18) of experienced Kindergarten to grade eight (K-8) teachers from across British Columbia shared their OPAL experiences and practice and the collective action taken. Regularly scheduled meetings over a six-month period resulted in dialogue that identified the need for quality resources that were accessible for all teachers. The concept of a website, developed for teachers by teachers experienced with OPAL, was initiated within the CPAR process. This article describes findings related to participation in a CPAR CoP, and the process of deciding upon and enacting shared action to support OPAL elementary school teachers.

EN:

Addressing the social and economic disparities equity-owed low-income residents experience that prevent participation in community sport and recreation is complex. Community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) has been utilized to facilitate the participation of equity-owed communities in sport and recreation initiatives. However, in this paper, we discuss how CBPAR and human-centred design (HCD) help engage communities in discourse and action to support innovative social change in the context of sport and recreation for equity-owed low-income communities. This paper compares processes, core principles, and outcomes of CBPAR and HCD. It highlights how they can collectively drive discourse and action to foster innovative social change in sport and recreation for equity-owed communities. The proposed integration, called CBPAR+HCD, is suggested to initiate solutions that address the multifaceted challenges through a social justice lens, placing community-driven social innovation at the forefront. This paper highlights the benefits of combining CBPAR+HCD and acknowledges the inherent challenges in implementing this dual approach. Furthermore, it offers recommendations to support the combined approach, emphasizing the importance of this integrated methodology in promoting social change and addressing inequities within community sport and recreation initiatives.

EN:

Sport- and physical activity-related participatory action research (PAR) often involves voluntary partnerships spanning institutions, organizations, and jurisdictions. Negotiating and maintaining multi-stakeholder and multi-jurisdictional research partnerships can be likened to a delicate balancing act fraught with potential challenges and strains impacting project outcomes (e.g., waning commitment, emerging external factors, new and/or revised stakeholder/organizational requirements, fidelity to the necessary care given when working with community partners and participants). This article presents PAR as a methodology in sport and physical activity that can potentially engage all research participants as co-researchers, sharing power equitably. Recognizing the need for continued attention and action in this area, we provide an overview of PAR in practice, identifying significant ideas and principles. Additionally, we outline Game Changers—a PAR project involving students with various disabilities, schools, PE teachers, coaches, national and community sport partners, and university researchers. Based on lessons learned from this multi-stakeholder and multi-jurisdictional research project, we interrogate the possibilities associated with engaging in PAR by exploring challenges and opportunities related to sport and physical activity-focused PAR.