Folk Means People

A Community-based Participatory Action Research study investigating how three folk education partnerships scale folk methodologies and practice to strengthen community cohesion and collective agency across difference.

BACKGROUND

In the last three decades, the US has seen a dramatic increase in the number of “folk schools”, from nine to over 100. Ordinary people initiate and sustain these adult and intergenerational community-based organizations through community investment and local resources.  Folk schools in the US have a near 100-year history of community activism and partnership in rural areas.

RESEARCH PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES

Bridging and Bonding (Southern Appalachia)
Partners: John C. Campbell Folk School and the African American Craft Alliance
Objective: Create long-term, strategic collaborations between folk schools and the African American Craft Alliance
https://issuu.com/folkeducation/docs/bridging_and_bonding_one-pager

Singing in Community (Upper Midwest)
Partners: Center for Belonging Folk School and the Folk School Alliance
Objective: Scale the use of Community Singing, a social cohesion methodology, through US based folk schools
https://issuu.com/folkeducation/docs/song_leading_and_singing_one-pager_1_

Living Traditions Corps (Pacific Northwest)
Partners: ServeWA, Washington State Parks Folklore Program, and LifeSchoolHouse
Objective: Develop and test a model for scaling folk schooling through an AmeriCorps State program
https://issuu.com/folkeducation/docs/living_traditions_corps_one-pager

RESEARCH DESIGN

Community-based Participatory Action Research

Stage One: Community and university researcher team formation
Stage Two: Team dialogue and action research planning
Stage Three: Community-based research implementation
Stage Four: Analysis, interpretation and results, findings dissemination and planning for long-term action.

• Community-based Participatory Action Research approach investigating three folk schooling contexts implementing differing folk education methodologies.
• The two main vehicles for sampling and data collection are two “Dialogue Conferences” (Gustavsen, Hansson, Qvale, 2008) and a network of three CBPAR hubs hosted by folk schools in the Upper Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Southern Appalachia.
• Targeted sample participants for the study are community partner leaders and folklife-folk education practitioners.
• Logic model component tables document planned strategies, community generated research questions, data collection, methods, and intended impact.

Send any questions to research@fielding.edu