Methodologies for the Participant Construction of Knowledge

Abstract

Over the last few decades there have been increasingly rapid changes in all fields (economic, political, etc. ...) leading to new forms of education and research. During the 1990s we have been working on innovative forms of education and participant research. In this context, this article includes some reflections on specific experiences of the construction of collective knowledge carried out in several cities, mainly in Spain and Latin America. It focuses on concrete postgraduate course experiences and it shows some innovative ways of collaborative relations between University, Public Administrations, and Social Organizations. The main theoretical and methodological principles of these experiences are also developed. On the other hand, we have been developing a network with some Latin partners on both sides of the ocean and we have recently made contacts with partners from English-speaking countries. We hope this article will contribute to building new bridges and communications on participant and instituent forms of knowledge construction.