Participatory Action Research
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://knowledgedemocracydspace.com/handle/123456789/1074
Browse
Item A Canadian approach to higher education, community-engagement and the public good: The future of continuing education(2009) Hall, Budd LWhat is the relationship between society and universities in the 21st century? In this article, Budd L Hall reflects on the future direction of Canadian higher education and its responsibility to the public good. Situating his argument within long-standing debates in continuing education, he examines how universities are increasingly shaped by market pressures, corporatisation, and funding constraints. Instead of framing social justice and economic concerns as oppositional, Hall calls for a more integrated approach that recognises the interdependence of markets, communities, and democratic life. Drawing on decades of work in community-based research and engagement, he argues that universities must move towards institutionalising meaningful partnerships with communities. Community-based research, he suggests, should be embedded within teaching and research practices as a pathway to social action. In conclusion, this article invites readers to reconsider how higher education institutions can remain socially relevant by strengthening their civic role and deepening their accountability to the communities they serve.Item A Northeastern Brazilian: Memories of Paulo Freire(2018) Hall, Budd LHow do personal memories illuminate the enduring legacy of one of the twentieth century's most influential pedagogical thinkers? This paper presents Dr. Budd Hall's reflection on his experience with Paulo Freire and the influence of Freire’s pedagogical ideas on adult education and social transformation. Hall’s engagement with Freire’s work began in 1970 while working at the University of Dar es Salaam, when Tanzania was developing a nationwide adult literacy campaign under President Nyerere. The paper highlights his commitment to social transformation through education, emphasizing the influence of Marxist and humanistic psychology. He created a discourse, a set of words and concepts that fit our world so well. ‘Banking education,' 'conscientization,' ‘problem-based education,' ‘thematic investigation,' and ‘codifications’ shaped educational thought and practice. The paper also traces a longer relationship with Freire through the International Council for Adult Education and various international gatherings over the following decades. The memoir concludes with an original poem, “Surf on Paulino,” written on the first anniversary of Freire’s death, celebrating his intellectual legacy, his warmth, and his place in the tradition of Brazilian mysticism.Item A river of life: Learning and environmental social movements(Interface: A journal for and about social movement, 2009) Hall, Budd LWhat and how can we learn from social movements? According to Dr. Budd Hall, social movements are intense locations for knowledge to come together and for learning to happen. They are seen as one of the best routes to social transformation because they bring together action, learning and social change. In this 2009 paper, Dr. Hall reflects on the epistemic value of social movements in the creation of knowledge. He begins by exploring what a social movement is and outlines its characteristic features as discussed by different schools of thought. The paper is a collaborative effort involving teams from three organisations and presents qualitative analyses based on case studies of environmental social movements from countries like Venezuela, Brazil, Sudan, India, Canada and many more. From these cases, the paper formulates key principles of environmental social movement learning, including seeing humans as part of nature rather than separate from it, deconstructing power relations in our relationship with nature and with each other as a first step toward transforming them, and several other interconnected insights. Through both theoretical reflection and grounded case studies, Hall argues that social movements, while leading to social transformation, also facilitate deep personal transformation by creating powerful spaces for learning.Item Action research, participatory research, and the political economy of inquiry(1982) Brown, L. David; Tondon, RajeshItem Action research: Assumptions and practice(Participatory Research In Asia (PRIA), 1978) Tandon, RajeshItem Advancing environmental health science research and translation in India through community based participatory research (CBPR) workshop February 26th -28th, 2019(2019-02-28) Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA); College of Public HealthItem African regional workshop on participatory research (1-7 July): "From clarity to Anarchy – Participatory research approach"(PRIA, 1979-07) Tandon, RajeshItem An introduction to the history, theory and practice of participatory action research(Department of Politics and International Relations, 2025) Díaz-Arévalo, Juan MarioItem Beyond partnerships: Embracing complexity to understand and improve research collaboration for global development(2021) Fransman, Jude; Hall, Budd L; Hayman, Rachel; Narayanan, Pradeep; Newman, Kate; Tandon, RajeshWhile there is a burgeoning literature on the benefits of research collaboration for development, it tends to promote the idea of the ‘partnership’ as a bounded site in which interventions to improve collaborative practice can be made. This article draws on complexity theory and systems thinking to argue that such an assumption is problematic, divorcing collaboration from wider systems of research and practice. Instead, a systemic framework for understanding and evaluating collaboration is proposed. This framework is used to reflect on a set of principles for fair and equitable research collaboration that emerged from a programme of strategic research and capacity strengthening conducted by the Rethinking Research Collaborative (RRC) for the United Kingdom (UK)’s primary research funder: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The article concludes that a systemic conceptualisation of collaboration is more responsive than a ‘partnership’ approach, both to the principles of fairness and equity and also to uncertain futures.Item Breaking the monopoly of knowledge: research methods, participation and development(1977) Hall, Budd LWhy do we undertake research, and in whose interests does it operate? In this essay, Dr. Budd Hall critically examines the dominant top down traditions of research in adult education and questions their claims to objectivity. He argues that conventional survey based approaches often extract information from communities while offering little in return. They produce knowledge that can be inaccurate, alienating, and detached from tangible social action. Engaging with radical educators and theorists such as Paulo Freire, Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss, Hall outlines the foundations of an alternative participatory research approach. This approach views knowledge as collectively produced and rooted in lived experience rather than imposed by external experts. Research, in this framing, becomes a process of dialogue, reflection, and action directed toward liberation and social transformation. The essay invites readers to reconsider the purpose of research itself and to imagine methodologies that expand human creative potential while challenging entrenched hierarchies of knowledge and power.Item Certificate in international perspectives in participatory research instructional guidelines(PRIA & UVic, 2013) Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA); University of VictoriaItem Citizen's report on water supply, sanitation and solid waste management in selected small and medium towns in India(Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 2008-12) Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)Item Clippings from Cartagena...(0000)Item Collaborative participatory research in gender mainstreaming in social change organizations(Participatory research in Asia (PRIA), 2006-11-19) Tandon, Rajesh; Farrell, MarthaUnequal gender relations in societies, specially developing countries, have been focus of development programmes for decades. Much of this focus has been on changing gender relations in communities. However, organisations - governmental and private also reflect similar patterns of gender relations. Advocacy for gender mainstreaming in organisations has had limited success due to prescriptive approach. PRIA has adopted a learning process approach to gender mainstreaming in development NGOs in India. Collaborative Research methodology has been utilized towards this end. This paper describes one such case and draws implications for future research and practice.Item Community participation(2000) Tandon, RajeshItem Dialogue as inquiry and intervention(1981) Tandon, RajeshItem Doing research with people: Approaches to participatory research, an introduction(Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 2000) Pinto, MayaItem Early childhood care and development programs as hook and hub for community development: Promising practices in first nations(University of Victoria, 2004) Ball, JessicaThis report summarizes key findings of a year-long investigation into the steps taken by Lil’wat Nation, Tl’azt’en Nation, and six of the First Nations in the Treaty 8 Tribal Association to strengthen their capacity to provide early childhood care and development programs, in ways that reinforce their cultures and languages and promote the well-being of young children and their parents or other caregivers.Item Evaluation of adult education in Tanzania: A status report(University of Dar es Salaam, 1971-02-13) Hall, Budd LTanzania has placed significant focus on adult education, a commitment evident since the beginning of the Second Five Year Plan (1969–74). This report by Dr. Budd Hall emphasizes the need to evaluate the status of adult education in the country. The objectives of adult education programmes have been to teach basic reading, writing, and problem-solving skills to facilitate meaningful participation of young people in family life, community life and in the larger development of the nation. However, dropout numbers have remained high, and attendance rates continue to be low. The evaluation of these programmes has been divided into several components, including the assessment of baseline data, interim surveys, and technical surveys. This report explores the reasons why it is necessary to examine how effective these education programmes have been, what have been the shortcomings and how future efforts can be guided.Item From action research to knowledge democracy Cartagena 1977-2017(Colombian Journal of Sociology (RCS), 2018) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, RajeshWhat can we learn from the histories of participatory research? In this article, Dr. Budd Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon reflect on the historical and political trajectories that shaped participatory action research in its current form. In conversation with pioneers such as Orlando Fals Borda, they situate participatory research within wider struggles for adult education, liberation and democratic knowledge production. Drawing from personal reflections and histories of adult education institutions, Hall and Tandon write about their own journeys into participatory research and the relationships that sustained these practices across continents. The article highlights the need for a non-fragmented methodology of action research, rooted in political praxis and committed to societal transformation. Through the work of Borda, particularly the landmark 1977 Cartagena conference that brought together over 4000 delegates to deliberate on people’s participation, the authors highlight the importance of challenging unequal relations of power and control. In revisiting these histories, the article affirms participatory action research as an ongoing project of epistemic justice and social transformation