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Overview
Examine alternative strategies to resolving important Latino social issues!
Latino Social Policy: A Participatory Research Model examines the failure of traditional research methods to address major social needs in Latino communities, promoting instead a participatory/action approach to research that is socially—and scientifically—meaningful. Experts from a variety of disciplines focus on nontraditional strategies that engage community residents in community-research projects, shortening the distance between the researcher and the "subject." This unique book recounts lessons learned on conducting Participatory Action Research (PAR) in Latino communities using techniques based on anthropology, education, community health and evaluation, and urban planning.
Latino Social Policy: A Participatory Research Model addresses non-traditional methods of reducing the tension between the reality of interaction with the subject community and the academic training structures used by researchers. The book promotes a new vision and practice of research design in which the "subject" is central to the process, advocating a participatory approach to produce qualitatively different research based on community identified problems and needs. Contributors examine the value of integrating local knowledge, language, and culture into the methodological design, the ethics of conducting research in Latino communities, and the internal conflicts Chicana/o researchers face within their profession and in the field.
Topics addressed in Latino Social Policy: A Participatory Research Model include:
- community health and Central Americans in Los Angeles
- ethnography and substance abuse among transnational Mexican farmworkers
- identity and field research in Mexico
- the Latino Coalition for a New Los Angeles (LCNLA)
- researcher/community partnerships
- and much more!
Synopsis
Mora and Diaz, both affiliated with the Chicana/o Studies Department at California State University, present work examining the failure of traditional research methods to address major social needs in Latino communities. Contributors in areas such as community and regional planning, social work, education, and cultural anthropology recount lessons learned conducting participatory action research in Latino communities, and describe nontraditional strategies that engage community residents in community-research projects. The book includes case studies, ethnographies, and vignettes illustrating participatory approaches and outcomes in Latino research. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR