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Challenging homelessness through participatory action research

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12652575
AutoresBruno de Oliveira (0000-0001-9614-9288, University of Brighton, autor de correspondencia)
Año2018
Volumen21
Número1
Páginas13-25
Fecha de publicación2018-03-19
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHousing Care and Support (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1460-8790 • E-ISSN: 2042-8375
EditorialEmerald Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1108/hcs-01-2018-0002
OpenAlexW2794704133
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas41

Purpose How can people with lived experience of homelessness actively participate in contesting their marginalisation? The purpose of this paper is to suggest that involving people who are homeless in participatory action research (PAR) is one such strategy. This paper shows that such an approach can have a significant impact on empowering people with direct of experience of homelessness to challenge prevailing social discourses, particularly in terms of the way in which the local media presents homelessness as a social issue. Design/methodology/approach A PAR approach informed the design, development and dissemination of the study on which this paper is based. Analytically, it is underpinned by Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA). FDA, with its focus on power relations in society, is noted to be particularly useful for analysing local media representations of homeless people. Findings The research reported here found that academic practitioners and homeless people can work together to challenge media discourses, which serve to marginalise people affected by homelessness. Research limitations/implications The research reported here served to challenge some of the ways in homeless people are victimized and stigmatized. Practical implications The research reported here has the potential to inform future research concerned with understanding media presentations of homeless people. It can be seen as a model for how people affected by a particularly pernicious social issue can contribute to research in ways that go beyond researching for the sake of research. Originality/value The research reported here provides evidence of the emancipatory value of research that seeks to bring academic practitioners and homeless people together in a partnership to challenge vital social issues such as the power of the local media to frame understandings of homelessness

Action (physics · Action research · Citizen journalism · Originality · Participatory action research · Pedagogy · Political science · Power (physics · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social media · Social science · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Homelessness and Social Issues · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Mental Health and Patient Involvement