Deliberative Democracy and Emancipatory Learning in Action
Page 19
February 13, 2006
Participatory research teaches the new transgressive learning that partakes in
knowledge ‘outside’ of the academy, broadening the scope and influence of the
classroom. As Peter Reason argues in the journal Qualitative Inquiry:
…Participatory research has a double objective. One aim is to produce
knowledge and action directly useful to a group of people – through
research, adult education and socio-political action. The second aim is to
em power people at a second and deeper level through the process of
constructing and using their own knowledge: they see ‘through’ the ways
in which the establishm ent m onopolizes the production and use of
knowledge for the benefit of its m em bers. (Reason, 1995)
These benefits extend beyond what would also be understood within libratory
concepts to include having a rippling effect outside of the community, creates
social capital for participants, improving self-confidence, and helping to generate
more creative and flexible responses to future difficulties. (Innes & Booher, 1999)
Building on the work of John Heron and Peter Reason for cooperative inquiry,
(Heron, 1992; Heron & Reason, 2000) we can build a model for learning that
does not depend solely on verbal and literary sources and instead taps into the
knowledge that participants bring to the classroom. Keeping people engaged
and responding to conflict, cooperative inquiry creates a container for learning
and research that exceeds most current college practices.
Convention