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Still Left out in the Cold: Problematising Participatory Research and Development
Author(s) -
Hayward Chris,
Simpson Lyn,
Wood Leanne
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
sociologia ruralis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.005
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1467-9523
pISSN - 0038-0199
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9523.2004.00264.x
Subject(s) - empowerment , citizen journalism , sociology , participatory action research , public relations , power (physics) , inclusion (mineral) , participatory development , emancipation , position (finance) , social science , political science , economic growth , politics , business , economics , physics , finance , quantum mechanics , anthropology , law
Participatory approaches to research and development have had relatively little academic or practitioner critique, resulting in a mythologising of the power of participatory methodologies to accomplish problem solving, emancipation or empowerment. Participation is also presented as evidence of social inclusion and is fostered as a strategy to counteract social exclusion. The purpose of this article therefore is to challenge and critique a range of definitions and perspectives of participation in terms of theory and practice. The paper focuses on two issues arising from the participatory literature and our own research experiences with communication technology projects based in rural and remote Queensland, Australia. We propose that non‐participation and peripheral participation are valid and legitimate choices exercised by community members that can be seen to be as individually empowering as participation. We also support the view of participation as both the means and the ends of development, a position that reflects the reality of participatory practice as fluid and variable over time. The paper concludes that both theoreticians and practitioners need to recognise and challenge the assumptions that underpin many participatory development projects.