Jim Sosnowski Education Justice Project–University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Tomoko Tokunaga University of Tsukuba Sarah A. Evans University of North Texas Participatory Action Research in Education: Benefits and Tensions Across Contexts This special section examines the enactment of participa- tory action research (PAR) across three distinct educational contexts: a public library pro- gram for teens, an after-school program in Japan, and a prison- based adult language and liter- acy program. This introduction provides an overview of the prin- ciples associated with PAR and outlines potential tensions and challenges associated with part- nering with the community as co-researchers. Building on the interest in anthropology to challenge traditional research approaches, these studies empha- size how PAR can provide oppor- tunities to positively impact the communities that are the focus of the research, including how PAR impacts those community mem- bers who become co-researchers. Additionally, these three studies critically examine the challenges and tensions introduced through PAR, challenging romanticized notions of PAR with the reality of the demands that partici- pating in research placed on community members. [[partici- patory action research, education, community partnership]] Introduction I t is common to hear that academics make claims concern- ing the social impact of their research. Academic presen- tations and journals are filled with researchers identifying societal issues and the corresponding responses they have identified as solutions. Even research funding opportuni- ties often require researchers to justify their projects by identify- ing potential benefits that will result from a research endeavor. Despite all of the time discussing how research will benefit society materially, beyond building knowledge, some have ques- tioned the extent to which academic research is socially relevant (Carspecken 2005). The three studies in this special issue en- gage this dilemma of what it means for research to be socially relevant. Drawing on educational research based on participa- tory action research (PAR) and situated in three distinct con- texts, a public library program for teens, an after-school pro- gram, and an adult, prison-based language and literacy program, we explore the ways these research projects impacted the com- munities where we conducted research, the community mem- bers, and us. Additionally, we draw attention to tensions related to what was considered “action” and the issues of power that emerged in the process of forming “collaborative” experiences. ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Vol. 00, No. 0, pp. 1–7, ISSN 0094-0496, online ISSN 1548-1425. C  2021 by the American Anthropological Association. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1111/napa.12174 Email: jsosnow2@illinois.edu