Participatory Action Research - What Do First Year Students Need to Know About UAA?

People

Faculty
  Diane Erickson

Student Researchers
  Christie Flanagan, Kent Spiers, Lauren Wolford
  alrogers3
  jswan5
  kmcarlson2
  limironova
  ljmicke

Abstract

Participatory Action Research focuses on a specific issue or problem in a community and seeks to uncover a local solution to the problem with the assistance of community stakeholders. The stakeholders are the people whose lives are affected by the problem being studied (Stringer, 2009 p.11). Thus, their perspectives are essential to gaining an understanding of the community issues under investigation in participatory action research. In Honors 209: Participatory Action Research (spring '10) the community issue under examination is the first year experience at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Students collected data to answer the question "What do first year students at UAA need to know about campus engagement, academic advising, and registration policies and how is that information best communicated to first year students?" Data was collected from UAA undergraduate students, key stakeholders with perspectives on enhancing the first year experience, by conducting six focus groups (n=52) and distributing an electronic questionnaire to 2,300 UAA undergraduate students. The findings from the focus groups and questionnaire cannot be discussed at this time because the class is still in session and the data is still being analyzed.

Shared Project Files (e.g. papers, presentations)