Community development research: Merging communities of practice

Abstract

Academic researchers in developing countries are increasingly called upon to gear their research efforts towards solving contemporary social problems. The dominant research paradigm in their academic institu- tions is however not conducive to such endeavours. This paper proposes a participatory paradigm, based on the principles of activity theory, as a basis for community development work. The paper elaborates on the process needed to develop a participatory research project and presents two examples to illustrate the characteristics of such an approach.