Information and Participatory Research and Action: An Alternative to Avoid Domination and Develop Citizenship

Abstract

Objective: The research presents the effectiveness of Participatory Research and Action (PRA) specifically in information science. The main statement that motivated this qualitative study was that there is no citizenship without critical awareness. This research has the objective to demonstrate that collaborative work combined with multidirectional and interactive communication in PRA can develop critical awareness and citizenship.Methodology: The study is focused on citizens’ critical awareness development. It is based on bibliographical research, within critical thinking theoretical perspective, one of the currents contemplated by subjectivism epistemology. The study search mainly two data sources. First, Borges’ article, which presents comparative issues related to socialism and capitalism ideologies. Second, Tavares’ PhD thesis, in which PRA techniques were tested. Additionally, findings from several researches related with social development, social rights, popular participation, as well as citizen’s manipulation and domination were also collected. Data analysis were based on grounded theory principles, particularly the coding process and textual examination.Findings: Data analysis revealed three great postulations. First, lack of critical awareness and dissemination of fake news has both guided people to be manipulated, oppressed and dominated. Second, it is essential for citizen to be educated critically to deal with information that affects his life. Finally, it is possible to use PRA to develop critical awareness and citizenship. PRA promotes learning, broadens the notion of citizenship, and develops attitudes such as reading, analyzing and criticizing information, which constitutes an essential skill to developing critical awareness.