Participation in Human Inquiry

This book explores research as a "collaborative """process - researching with and for people, rather than on people. In particular, it addresses the central questions: What is the nature of participation? How can participative relationships and processes be established and sustained in human inquiry? In the first part of the book Peter Reason outlines a theoretical foundation for understanding participation and undertaking participative research. He discusses the emergence of a world-view that is holistic, pluralist and egalitarian and sees human beings as co-creating their realities through participation. He also stresses the urgency and importance of discovering ways of living in more collaborative relationships with each other and with the wider ecology, with participative approaches to inquiry being one part of this quest. The second section presents examples of participative research in action. The contributors give accounts of their processes of research - the aims of the inquiries, the nature of the collaborations that took place, and the particular issues and learning involved. Examples include: an evaluation of a prenatal programme by the mothers themselves; an exploration by health visitors of their own professional practice; and a collaborative inquiry into a woman-centred staff development programme in a dominantly masculinist institution. Addressing both theory and practice, "Participation in Human Inquiry "is an indispensable sourcebook for students and professionals undertaking research in such fields as psychology, sociology, management and education. It will be of particular interest to practitioners of cooperative inquiry, participatory actionresearch, action inquiry and all forms of collaborative action research.Reason, Peter is the author of 'Participation in Human Inquiry' with ISBN 9780803988316 and ISBN 0803988311.