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Participatory Action Research and Educational Development pp 49–74Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Chapter 2 Utilizing “a Version of PAR” to Explore Children’s Voices on Inclusion: The Case of Two Primary Schools in Bangladesh

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Part of the book series: South Asian Education Policy, Research, and Practice ((SAEPRP))

Abstract

This chapter explores participatory action research (PAR) methods in order to examine children’s voices at two BRAC primary schools in Bangladesh. BRAC, the world’s largest nongovernmental organization, has an active and impactful educational program committed to inclusive education in Bangladesh and several other developing countries. The chapter, however, is focused mainly on the field methods used by the author during her doctoral study, in order to grapple with the challenging research arena of children’s voices in a Southern country context. The main focus of the study was not only to explore pupils’ perspectives but also to empower children, ranging between the ages of 7 and 14, through certain PAR research methods. Further, the goal was to create, together with the children, a safe space for them to speak freely and creatively about their likes and dislikes at school. The author also advocates the utilizing PAR and reflexivity together while conducting studies in Southern contexts, where the parameters of research and participants vary greatly from Northern contexts and researchers are faced with numerous “new” and “transitioning” ethical, contextual, and cultural challenges. This chapter addresses a few of those questions, especially for the issue of children’s voices.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Montreal, QC, Canada

    Tahiya Mahbub

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  1. Tahiya Mahbub
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Correspondence to Tahiya Mahbub .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Huma Kidwai

  2. Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, USA

    Radhika Iyengar

  3. Redlands, California, USA

    Matthew A. Witenstein

  4. Concord, North Carolina, USA

    Erik Jon Byker

  5. Fairfax, Virginia, USA

    Rohit Setty

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Mahbub, T. (2017). Chapter 2 Utilizing “a Version of PAR” to Explore Children’s Voices on Inclusion: The Case of Two Primary Schools in Bangladesh. In: Kidwai, H., Iyengar, R., Witenstein, M., Byker, E., Setty, R. (eds) Participatory Action Research and Educational Development. South Asian Education Policy, Research, and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48905-6_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48905-6_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48904-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48905-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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