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The collaborative aspect of the CPAR process is essential, and students/co-researchers reported that it was beneficial to them in its own right. While many schools and educational settings focus more on the individual, students/co-researchers realized that there are benefits to working collaboratively in groups with a shared, collective purpose. Zaafir wrote reflectively, “Working in groups helps you to share and learn thoughts and experiences. It teaches you to be mindful about other's ideas” (Fall 2011, Zaafir).

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Sofi wrote, “(Working collaboratively in groups) helped me share my opinions and thoughts and it made working with people easy and fun” (Fall 2011, Sofi). Gabe shared, “One thing I learned about working in a group is that we each can learn from each other and we can help out, and this project was a good way of doing that since we were all able to share our experiences and learn. If we are part of a group, we can find solutions and do something about that issue” (Fall 2011, Gabe). Theodore explained, “What I have learned from the research presentations was we had the same common problems. I learned how to work cooperatively in gathering and obtaining information to achieve a real common goal. To present the information in class was something different because we have better technology now. I haven't been to school in so long” (Fall 2011, Theodore). Halima noted, “I learned from the group and class discussions the importance of sharing stories. That together (through team work) things can be accomplished” (Fall 2011, Halima).

Zoe discovered, “Working in groups is a great learning process because you can gather a lot more information from other sources and compare” (Fall 2011, Zoe). Later in her reflective writing, she reiterated and expanded. “I have learned that working with a group you gather a lot more information than you would working by yourself. Collecting data is a lot easier when you have other things to compare it to. We were a little unorganized with presenting our data, but we got all of the information across” (Fall 2011, Zoe). While working in groups posed unique challenges, many students/co-researchers expressed a sense that they had learned more than they would have if they had worked on this project independently.

Abigail shared, “Research plays a very important role in this project. I had to research with my group as well as by myself. Then putting all the research together was a bit confusing but it worked out great. I learned lots from group discussions because we put all our interviews

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and experiences together to come up with some type of solutions” (Spring 2012, Abigail). “In conclusion of this project I really enjoyed myself. It was a new and exciting experience to work on a problem with a group and to put more than one idea together. I always believed that two or more heads are better than one” (Spring 2012, Abigail). For Abigail and others, working with others required more work but reaped better results.

“Noting nuance” and the way in which “story can create connections,” Tegan also acknowledged the inherent challenges in working collaboratively:

I think it's very interesting to hear people's stories and experiences. That's why it was fascinating interviewing my group mates even though everyone had different experiences with the school system and their communities I found it easy to relate to each of their stories. The challenging part was trying to keep everyone on topic. (Spring 2012, Tegan).

Keeping the group focused and on topic was a challenge students/co-researchers frequently cited when they critiqued the CPAR process. Nonetheless, many of them expressed that the benefit outweighed these challenges. Collaboration is especially important when schools and communities work to improve problems. Maliha explained:

By participating in this process, we learned to work as a team and learned how to cooperate with others. My schooling experience was completely different. I did my schooling in India. Over there I had so much pressure for study. I don't want to pressure my children like that. Administrators should work to solve schooling problems. Everyone has problems and through education we overcome and solve these problems. (Spring 2012, Maliha)

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Maliha noted how she and her group benefited from working collaboratively in their CPAR work, and then she transitioned into a thought that education itself is a process we utilize collaboratively to overcome societal problems. She added another layer to the “education is the solution” and positions education as the “collective we” and “the answer.”

Echoing Maliha’s sentiments, Leo wrote reflectively at the end of the semester: I'm very happy I got the opportunity to work with my class' group. I think it was very interesting since we all had different backgrounds and stories of our own that got shared in the process. Everyone worked really hard doing their part in the project, suggesting ideas and useful information to be used in our presentation. I think our presentation was pretty cool. I think Tegan did a great job with the PowerPoint idea. Maliha's introduction was a great opening explanation to the topic. We all had a part explaining the problems we gained from our interviews and the solutions we came up with that we think should be looked into for fixing some of the problems. The other groups' presentations were also presented very well. You can tell they all worked very hard and summarized their problems and solutions in a presentable way. After doing this project I have realized schooling problems are a BIG issue and people should start taking more action into this matter. One can only do so much. But together, we can make a difference. The one solution that I think should be done immediately is to have parents and teachers working and getting to know each other and their children together. I think Participatory Action Research should be done more often, because you can gather much more information by different people then you discuss it together, finding yourself learning from each other.” (Spring 2012, Leo).

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Leo and other students/co-researchers concluded that greater opportunities for collaborative work could benefit people in numerous other contexts. Many students/co-

researchers reported that CPAR process and collaborative work were beneficial and enjoyable. They also expressed a hope that the actionable solutions they created would be implemented in their communities. At the very least, they determined that the greater discourse about schooling reform and missions to improve schools should not target or blame any particular group and should be a collective, collaborative effort from all parties with a focus on improving students’ schooling experiences rather than identifying failure (failing schools, bad teachers, poor test scores, etc.).

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