Participatory Action Research (PAR) approaches and methods have
seen an explosion of recent interest in the social and
environmental sciences. PAR involves collaborative research,
education and action which is oriented towards social change,
representing a major epistemological challenge to mainstream
research traditions. It has recently been the subject of heated
critique and debate and rapid theoretical and methodological
development.
This book captures these developments, exploring the
justification, theorisation, practice and implications of PAR. It
offers a critical introduction to understanding and working with
PAR in different social, spatial and institutional contexts. The
authors engage with PAR's radical potential, while maintaining a
critical awareness of its challenges and dangers. The book is
divided into three parts. The first part explores the intellectual,
ethical and pragmatic contexts of PAR; the development and
diversity of approaches to PAR; recent poststructuralist
perspectives on PAR as a form of power; the ethic of participation;
and issues of safety and well-being. Part two is a critical
exploration of the politics, places and practices of PAR.
Contributors draw on diverse research experiences with differently
situated groups and issues including environmentally sustainable
practices, family livelihoods, sexual health, gendered experiences
of employment, and specific communities such as people with
disabilities, migrant groups, and young people. The principles,
dilemmas and strategies associated with participatory approaches
and methods including diagramming, cartographies, art, theatre,
photovoice, video and geographical information systems are also
discussed. Part three reflects on how effective PAR is, including
the analysis of its products and processes, participatory learning,
representation and dissemination, institutional benefits and
challenges, and working between research, action, activism and
change.
The authors find that a spatial perspective and an attention to
scale offer helpful means of negotiating the potentials and
paradoxes of PAR. This approach responds to critiques of PAR by
highlighting how the spatial politics of practising participation
can be mobilised to create more effective and just research
processes and outcomes. The book adds significant weight to the
recent critical reappraisal of PAR, suggesting why, when, where and
how we might take forward PAR's commitment to enabling
collaborative social transformation. It will be particularly useful
to researchers and students of Human Geography, Development Studies
and Sociology.
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