The Center for Peacemaking Practice at the Carter School houses an ongoing Action Research Workgroup. Since March 2017, a group of students and faculty have been meeting monthl through our common interest in Action Research as a worthy and highly applicable research approach within the field of Conflict Analysis and Resolution (CAR). The group is composed of academics who value the democratic and practitioner-focused approach Action Research (AR) brings to the study of conflict resolution practice, in particular, and more broadly, to the study of working in situations of social uncertainty. The Action Research Workgroup has a vested interest in growing our collective knowledge and resources around Action Research in the conflict field, and in supporting graduate students at the Carter School who wish to undertake an AR project.
The AR Workgroup has so far carried out the following activities:
- Introductory discussion of definitions and spectrum of action research
- Common readings and study
- Feedback sessions for individual student and faculty projects
- Submitting proposals to present about AR and CAR at conferences
The AR Workgroup also plans to complete the following goals:
- An edited volume of Action Research in Conflict Analysis and Resolution
- Raise knowledge of Action Research amongst faculty at the Carter School and advocate for its use in the study of conflict resolution, returning to its Lewinian roots in our field
- Establish an ongoing Action Research course in the Carter School curriculum
- Cross-fertilization of knowledge with other scholars and practitioners in Education and other disciplines who also utilize Action Research
- Fill the literature gap of case studies about the parameters and means of carrying out Action Research projects in the field of conflict analysis and resolution
- Offer a central base of resources and community for any individuals desiring more information about AR’s applicability to conflict research.
For more information about the Carter School Action Research Workgroup, please contact the workgroup Susan Allen, the faculty advisor, at sallen29@gmu.edu.