Browsing by Author "Kassam, Yusuf"

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    Participatory research: Revisiting the roots
    (2002) Tandon, Rajesh; Hall, Budd; Brown, L. David; Jaitli, Harsh; Kanhere, Vijay; Small, Dele; Gaventa, John; Merrifield, Juliet; Madiath, Anthya; Belamide, Eileen; Bryceson, Deborah; Manicom, Linzi; Kassam, Yusuf; Vio Grossi, Francisco; Hirabai Hiralal, Mohan; Tare, Savita; Batliwala, Srilatha; Patel, Sheela; Khot, Seemantinee
    It has been nearly a quarter of a century since the early formulations of participatory research began to be presented hesitatingly and tentatively. Those early proposals were essentially a reaction to the classical methodology of research and inquiry which had alienated the social science research enterprise from the very people about whom research was being carried out. In a simple way, stated then, participatory research challenged the 'monopoly of knowledge' which has been vested in the elites of our society. The production of knowledge, its certification and dissemination have been controlled by intellectual elites in all human societies, since a long period of time. The Brahmanical order justified its hierarchy by making the distinction between intellectual work and physical work. Brahmins were the repositories of knowledge and wisdom, could use the language of God's 'Sanskrit', and interpret the religious scriptures to prescribe the social norms and behaviour for the rest of society. Similar Brahmanical orders have existed in other cultures and other histories. Therefore, the first significant contribution of participatory research has been to challenge the mythical and artificial divide between mental labour and manual labour, intellectual pursuits and physical pursuits. It has questioned the belief that capacity for intellectual work resides in only a few. It argued that popular knowledge, ability to produce and use knowledge, is a universal human phenomenon, and such capacity exists in all human beings, so argued participatory research then.
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    Report of the African Regional Workshop on Participatory Research
    (African Adult Education Association, 1979-07-01) Kassam, Yusuf; Mustafa, Kemal; Masisi, Yohana
    The African Regional Workshop on Participatory Research marks a significant step in the development of the African Participatory Research Project (PRP) which was initiated at the beginning of 1978 under the auspices of the African Adult Education Association. The African PRP is a regional project under the network of International Council for Adult Education. The PRP is also being carried out in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. The African Regional Workshop materialised after establishing a network of interested individuals and institutions in Africa, a task which was carried out ever a period of about 18 months. The main objectives of the Workshop were to analyse, refine and systematise the emerging concept and methodology of Participatory Research. The Workshop was not designed to reach a consensus or to make any recommendations. Rather, its main aim was to generate discussion and analysis in order to clarify and conceptualise more concretely the major ideas and theories underlying a number of research endeavours in the social sciences which had attempted to use a participatory approach as a point of departure from the conventional research methodologies.
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    The Issue of Methodology in Participatory Research
    (International Forum on Participatory Research, 1980-04-13) Kassam, Yusuf
    This paper examines the complexities and controversies surrounding the methodology of participatory research, highlighting key debates within social science research. It discusses the critiques of conventional positivist methodologies and contrasts them with the methodological underpinnings of participatory research, particularly its pragmatic and historical materialist approaches. Kassam explores the limitations, ideological orientations, and theoretical foundations of participatory research, advocating for an approach that emphasizes active community involvement, dialogue, and social change.
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    The Politics of Research Methodology in the Social Sciences
    (1979-07-01) Mbilinyi, Marjorie; Vuorela, Ulla; Kassam, Yusuf; Masisi, Yohana
    In this paper we critically examine various research methodologies which have been employed in the social sciences and which have developed in the context of conditions determined by the historical development of capitalism in Africa. This analysis establishes the context in which the Participatory Research Approach emerged, to be investigated in Lead Paper 3. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section analyses the dominant social science research methodologies and the conditions of production of knowledge in the present epoch of imperialism. The methodologies which have developed in Africa are examined in the second section in relation to different periods of capitalist development. The third section critically analyses struggles over production and reproduction of knowledge using the Experimental World Literacy Programme as illustration of worldwide basic education reform in order to concretise the issues raised concerning neo-positivist survey research methods of investigation, and to show their integral relation to concepts of development identified with orthodox bourgeois economic theory.