Participatory Methodology Research Articles

‘Parents are gudlists!’ Experiences of puberty and parent-child sexual communication in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

This paper explores young people’s experiences of puberty and their perspectives on parent-child sexual communication in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal. In-depth individual interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory visual research methodology were employed with 18 and 19-year-old young women (n = 30) and young men (n = 16) attending three primary health care facilities and a local high school in Jozini municipality. The findings suggest a complex interplay between unequal gender and socio-cultural norms that results in divergent puberty experiences and ambiguous and inconsistent patterns of parent-child sexual communication. Young people referred to their parents as gudlists, a local colloquialism for someone who is evasive, vague, ambiguous and indirect. Lack of open parent-child sexual communication hinders discussion of healthy sexuality, neglecting the sexual and reproductive health education and needs of young people. Reflective of their desire for change, young women in particular contest current parenting norms and suggest returning to cultural practices linked to traditional forms of courtship and sexual communication among young Zulu people.

Bibliotherapy as an adjuvant tool in the treatment of emotional challenges in early schoolchildren

Bibliotherapy, known as bibliomania, literary, or reading therapy, is based on reflective and pedagogical exercises that use reading-aloud practices to promote introspective reflections for personal growth to strengthen problem-solving, the treatment of traumatic life situations and emotional health well-being. At the Corporación Universitaria Minuto de DIOS - UNIMINUTO, specifically in the ILVIC (Infancias, Lecturas y Vida Cotidiana, 2023) seedbed, a group of students and teachers used this work method with children from the Fundación de Cristo Rey, in the city of Bogotá. The class sessions revealed processes of teaching reading to infants between eight months and four years of age. The exercises were worked with disruptive and fraternal pedagogical purposes, concomitance with a participatory action-research methodology with a qualitative approach. This allowed students and teachers to systematize their practices through the instruments applied in the various class workshops. This diversified knowledge broadened the possibilities of teaching children's literature and forked paths in forming readers from childhood.

Educating for equality from a decolonial perspective: a participatory action experience with early childhood education students in Lamu, Kenya

The elimination of violence against women is one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Strategies to combat violence against women focus not only on its punitive correction, but also on promoting preventive measures. For this reason, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals recognise the need to include gender education at all levels of education. Similarly, this study, supported by other recent research, considers the inclusion of a gender approach in education as a strategy to prevent violence against women to be essential. In this study, we examined the level of gender equality knowledge in the final year of early childhood education in a school integrated into a non-governmental organisation on the island of Lamu, Kenya. The study was carried out using a participatory action methodology through the design and implementation of a course on «Human Rights and Gender Equality» in the 2019 academic year through twenty formative and participatory workshops. The decision to carry out this intervention stems from having become aware of a sexual aggression by several pupils of the entity’s nursery school against a five-year-old girl. Among the results, we observed the existing differences between the conception of equality in childhood, where there is an egalitarian community upbringing, and adulthood, where gender stereotypes are very evident. We also perceived how violence was intrinsic to children’s lives in public and private spaces, which could influence the possibility of justifying violence towards women as a form of correction from a very early age. In the conclusions, the possibility of working on gender equality issues to give children a space of trust where they can be listened to and respected is positively valued.

Examining the utilization of participatory research with autistic youth in mainstream/public schools: a scoping review

PurposeThis scoping review explores the utilization of participatory research with autistic youth in K-12 public/mainstream school settings.MethodsA scoping review was performed to identify how often participatory research methodologies are used in K-12 public/mainstream school settings with autistic students, what researchers report are the strengths, barriers, and recommendations in using participatory research methodologies with autistic students in K-12 public school settings and what type of demographic information is included in the studies.ResultsFive studies were included for review focusing on participatory research with autistic youth in K-12 public or mainstream school settings. The studies used a range of participatory research methodologies to explore the experiences of mainly male autistic youth in the UK and Australia. Strengths, challenges, and recommendations noted included opportunities for empowerment, increased ownership, issues with teachers, thinking critically about communication, and collaboration with partners.ConclusionParticipatory research with autistic school-aged youth is an emerging practice. This is evidenced by the small number of studies included in this review. The findings highlight concerns about the lack of representation of autistic females and students with historically marginalized racial identities in autism research. Recommendations for including these groups in autism research, implications, and limitations are discussed.

Doing it together, but in a queer way: joyful worldmaking with 2SLGBTQI + folks in Atlantic Canada

This paper explores the joyful worldmaking that circulated between a group of 35 queer and trans adults and youth from across Atlantic Canada—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador—who came together in February 2023 for a do-it-yourself (DIY) archiving and artmaking workshop on unceded and unsurrendered Wolastoqiyik territory in Fredericton, New Brunswick—as part of an ongoing participatory visual research initiative called Pride/Swell+. Exploring this worldmaking through frameworks of queer joy, we ask: How does worldmaking circulate within the Pride/Swell + workshop space and archives? Why is queer and trans worldmaking valuable to 2SLGBTQI + youth? What is the importance in remembering and archiving the things that queer and trans folks are doing to craft their everyday lives? Through DIY artmaking and participatory methodologies, we explore how Pride/Swell + fosters spaces for 2SLGBTQI + folks, including youth, to think about their lives and queer communities in celebratory and joyful ways. Ultimately, we argue that uplifting everyday moments of queer and trans worlds in our project promotes a more complicated and nuanced understanding of what it means to be 2SLGBTQI + in Atlantic Canada.

Integrating social dynamics in the participatory modeling of small-scale cattle farmers’ perceptions and responses to climate variability in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Climate variability poses multifaceted challenges for livestock production. Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns impact crop and pasture yields, reduce water availability, and contribute to livestock diseases, particularly affecting small-scale cattle producers dependent on climate-sensitive resources. Sustainable livestock farming promotes integrating best practices to enhance productivity while responsibly managing natural resources, but often overlooks relevant social dynamics. Social factors are excluded when promoting and studying the adoption of practices for sustainable cattle farming. This study aims to understand the factors and interactions between the social, animal and ecological systems within the small-scale cattle socioecosystems in the southern region of the Yucatan Peninsula, exploring cattle farmers’ perspectives on climate change, as well as their strategies and responses to extreme events like drought. Using fuzzy cognitive maps and scenario development as participatory and reflection methodologies, we found a conceptual gap between climate change and drought, indicating a lack of sustainable adaptive thinking toward these challenges. Interestingly, we found that local social organization, cultural dynamics, and spiritual practices are equally significant factors than technical and environment-oriented changes to the management of ranches in shaping an optimal cattle farming scenario. Our findings reveal that the management of cattle farms involves complex interplay among technical, environmental, social, political, and cultural elements, highlighting the inherent need to consider social values and preferences as fundamental components of sustainability. This study establishes the initial groundwork for employing participatory modeling with social actors engaged in the small-scale cattle context in Yucatan. The goal is to emphasize the importance of the social dimension in the general management of the small-scale cattle socioecosystem, thus in promoting sustainable cattle farming.

Diagnosis of the Walbrzych post-mining area: pilot study using social participation

The article presents a pilot study using Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) to comprehensively diagnose the post-mining area of Wałbrzych (Poland) in the aftermath of sudden coal mine closures in the 1990s. Addressing research gaps in social participation and post-mining area assessment, the study provides insights into the complexities of just transition. By combining participatory methodologies, statistical and spatial analysis, the research engages local stakeholders to include the community perspectives in the assessment processes. The study unveils the intricate interplay between social dynamics, environmental concerns, and urban changes following mine closures. The findings illustrate the multifaceted impacts of sudden mine closure, including economic collapse and social crisis. The pilot study contributes to the future holistic approach to diagnosing the post-mining area preceding the processes of just transition and revitalization.

‘I am Pleased to Share my Thoughts and Opinions’- Including Marginalised People with Disabilities in Inclusive Qualitative Research in Bangladesh Through Creative, Relational Methodologies

The rhetoric of ‘nothing about us without us’, motivates much disability inclusive research, but meaningful participation of the most marginalised is still rare. There is a tendency to recruit only people with disabilities who are perceived as ‘easier to include’. We reflect critically on recent fieldwork in Bangladesh working with local and international NGOs on a disability inclusive employment project. We focus on inclusion of the most marginalised people with disabilities: those with complex communication, psychosocial, intellectual or multiple impairments, or those who face intersecting inequalities. During a two-stage process, we engaged with 4 small groups of people in 2 sites. The participants were involved in an adapted vocational training programme, and had either both visual and hearing impairments, or were economically disadvantaged young disabled women. We discuss how creative, inclusive, participatory methodologies were combined to explore participants’ experiences of pathways to work through learning a trade. We consider the ethical, methodological rationales for our research epistemologies; including development of local research teams’ and participants’ awareness, confidence and capacities; and what worked and didn’t to enable or constrain inclusion and knowledge generation. We synthesise insights and recommendations about engagement/recruitment, situated ethics, accommodating individual needs, challenging assumptions, building communication capacities and group agency, maintaining inclusive interaction, multi-modal communication, using visual, tactile, narrative and creative methodologies, sequencing and layering methods, generating emotional knowledge, and collective analysis. We discuss the dynamic situated, emotional, interactional, and relational enablers of inclusion, and how participatory methodologies are applicable in research contexts to move beyond working with the ‘usual suspects’ to effectively engage people who are most often excluded.

Percepção de riscos de desastres entre alunos de escola pública: contribuições à Ciência Cidadã e à Aprendizagem Social

Abstract Areas occupied by low-income populations are often susceptible to landslides and floods both due to socio-spatial injustice and the occurrence of extreme events related to climate change. This study aimed to analyze the possibility of working on elements of risk perception associated with Citizen Science and Social Learning based on socio-environmental mapping with public school students in the state of São Paulo. The research included a lecture, fieldwork, and the use of GIS. The study showed that, in addition to engaging young people in specific risk reduction activities, it is necessary to promote strategies that involve the population through participatory methodologies and scientific dissemination to build a preventive and resilient culture.

Volunteer programs, empowerment, and life satisfaction in Jordan: mapping local knowledge and systems change to inform public policy and science diplomacy.

Volunteering in the community is thought to provide unique benefits to people who experience limited engagement in society. In the global South, volunteer programs are often framed as empowering women and benefiting the poor, without empirical evidence or systematic investigation of what this means from a local perspective. For this reason, it is critical to represent stakeholder knowledge, understand how change happens systemically, and reduce cultural bias in scientific inquiry and public policy. As such, efforts to respect diverse narratives and problem-solving approaches are key to science diplomacy - they help us understand cultural relevance, program efficacy, and for whom a program is considered transformative. This study shows how Syrian refugee and Jordanian women, living in resource-poor families, articulated (i) concepts of empowerment and life satisfaction and (ii) the benefits of engaging in community-based volunteering programs. Through engaging in a participatory methodology known as Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping, women generated visual representations of these constructs and cause-and-effect reasoning. They identified several dimensions of empowerment (e.g., cultural, financial, and psychological empowerment) and several meanings of life satisfaction (e.g. adaptation, acceptance, and contentment). They also mapped connections between variables, identifying those that might catalyze change. We were specifically interested in evaluating understandings of We Love Reading, a program that trains volunteers to become changemakers in their local community. In simulations, we modelled how employment, education, money, and volunteering would drive system change, with notable results on cultural empowerment. Through visual maps and scenarios of change, the study demonstrates a participatory approach to localizing knowledge and evaluating programs. This is key to improving scientific enquiry and public policy.

Multiplatform web app (My Way Up) plus motivational interviewing for improving treatment retention in patients with onset of alcohol-related liver disease and alcohol use disorder - an example of participatory research.

With the aim of improving treatment retention in patients with the onset of alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD), we designed a blended intervention (brief motivational intervention + 'serious game' (SG)). We present the participatory design methodology and outcomes and the usability assessment of the intervention. (1) The design of the SG was based on the outcomes of two 3-h co-creation sessions with 37 participants (healthcare and technology professionals, patients, and patients' relatives). The brief face-to-face motivational intervention was based on the 5 As Model and adapted to the ArLD population. (2) Usability pilot study: 20 participants (10 ArLD patients + 10 healthcare professionals) received the intervention. System Usability Scale (SUS) and Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) were applied to assess the SG usability and patients' satisfaction with it. Weekly semi-structured interviews on the phone were conducted to identify the preferred elements in the SG and those aspects that should be improved. (1) Design: an SG in the form of a gamified web app, consisting of a daily activity for six weeks and adapted brief motivational interviewing. (2) Usability pilot study: usability results were excellent for both patients and healthcare professionals (SUS median score = 85). The general usability, the quality of the information provided by the SG and the quality of the interface were very positively rated in the PSSUQ (overall median score = 2, IQR = 1-2). The best-rated aspects were the provision of feedback, the use of metaphors and the application of audiovisual material. Changes in the design, response mechanics and content were applied after the study. The usability and acceptability of an intervention for increasing retention to treatment in patients with recent onset of ArLD and AUD were excellent for patients and healthcare professionals. A randomized-controlled trial is required to test the efficacy of this approach.

Leveraging Inter-Professional Surgical Nurse Led Clinic (SNLC) for Optimal Outcome

There is a pressing need to set up a nurse-led clinic in general surgery. With surgeries becoming more complex and patient numbers rising, it is crucial to use healthcare resources more effectively. The objectives were to establish nurse led surgical clinic in collaboration with the general surgery department, assess the impact on surgical patient outcomes, evaluate patient satisfaction, and analyse resource utilisation. Participatory action research methodology was employed using mixed methods focused on surgical patients (n=201) in unit-1 of the department of general surgery. Quantitative data was gathered through a self-administered questionnaire on patient satisfaction. Semi-structured interview was conducted to gather qualitative data on the effectiveness of Nurse Led Clinic (SNLC) SNLC to understand their experience. The analysis showed that SNLC services were beneficial to the surgical patients and consistently high in satisfaction rate (96.0%) in outpatient, pre-operative, and post-operative phases of the study. Surgeons expressed complete satisfaction with SNLC across the board. These results demonstrate the potential of SNLC to improve gratifying surgical experiences among surgical patients. SNLCs are crucial for improving surgical care practices and obtaining better patient outcomes as healthcare systems transition to more individualised and effective care models.

Arts-Based Methods in Migration Research. A Methodological Analysis on Participatory Visual Methods and Their Transformative Potentials and Limits in Studying Human Mobility

In the last decades, the growing use of participatory methodologies and creative methods in migration research has opened innovative ways to collect, analyze, and disseminate data. These approaches encourage experimental, interdisciplinary, and collaborative work through artistic methods to study human mobility and expand the community of inquiry and interpretation, often intervening in contexts of social injustice and exclusion. This article is intended as a reflection on the potentialities and limits of the use of arts-based methods in migration research. The contribution opens with a review of how participatory visual methods have been framed in the field of migration studies. The second part explores an example of a collaborative study that adopted photovoice and sensory mapping to reflect on the concept of “welcoming spaces”. Finally, it analyses arts-based methods as a potential space for social change, focusing on three main dimensions: collective learning, relational aesthetics, and knowledge co-construction.

Subjective walkability perceived by children and adolescents living in urban environments: A study protocol for participatory methods and scale development in the WALKI-MUC project.

Youth's perceptions of a city or neighbourhood's walkability are important for determining the physical activity (PA) friendliness of their environment. Traditional objective measures of walkability fail to incorporate children and youth's (CY) subjective perceptions of places that they perceive as supportive for play and exercise. Internationally, the most promising subjective measure is the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for Youth (NEWS-Y) questionnaire. Yet, the NEWS-Y is not available for German-speaking adolescents. In the WALKI-MUC project, a combination of participatory research methods is used to identify CY's perceptions of PA-friendly places in Munich, Germany. Based on the findings, a German version of the NEWS-Y (NEWS-Y-G) for subjective walkability measurement is developed. CY aged six to 17 years from neighbourhoods with different objectively-measured walkability, take part in photovoice, walking interviews and mapping to gather their perceptions of PA-friendly places. The participatory study begins with an introductory workshop and concludes with a follow-up workshop, where characteristics of PA-friendly places are discussed in focus groups. In between these workshops, participants complete a photo mission with a walking interview, allowing for individual significance of PA-related places to be shared in a one-on-one setting with the researcher. The findings are used to adapt and translate the NEWS-Y for the German context. The newly developed NEWS-Y-G is then used to measure the subjective walkability perceived by a representative sample of adolescents in Munich. The WALKI-MUC project introduces a participatory methodology for researchers and urban planners to assess subjective walkability with CY. The combination of qualitative and quantitative walkability measurements is described in this study protocol. Findings on PA-friendly places contribute to environmental psychology and the development of the NEWS-Y-G adds a German-language instrument for subjective walkability measurement.

Navegando pelo “rio da vida”: a produção do cuidado em situações de urgência e emergência em um território da Amazônia

This study examined the production of care in healthcare services, adopting the participatory methodology “river of life”. Conducted in a riverside community in the interior of the Amazonas region, the research employed this reflective approach, involving the creation of a river using artistic materials such as colored pencils and cardboard. The technique fostered closeness with the stories, trajectories, and empowerment of community agents, users, and caregivers. This profound experience provided insights into the territorial challenges in accessing healthcare during urgent situations. Recording narratives during collective work sessions served as a data collection method, facilitating dialogue between the healthcare team and caregivers, enriching the understanding of regional dynamics involved in emergency care.

Towards Decolonization of Evaluation Practices: A Critical Reflection of Participatory Evaluation Methodologies in Less Developed Countries

For many years evaluation practices in less developed countries have been dominated by scientific, top down, quantitative approaches and methodologies. As the result, many evaluation practices in less developed countries have been largely characterized by skewed power relations with poor adoption and utilization of evaluation findings. Several researchers, writers and development professionals agree that participatory evaluation was adopted in Africa and elsewhere in the world as a strategy to address several weaknesses observed in the conventional evaluation practices. Such practices include too much focus on projects and donor funding, lack of inclusion, poor consideration of local variations, lack of transparency, lack of accountability and lack of ‘respect’ to local beneficiaries. Inversely, the adoption of participatory evaluation meant to promote evidence-based evaluation designs, which also pay attention to local variations and contexts and include local evaluators and collective decisions at local level. Therefore, promotion of participatory evaluation means making evaluation practices more culturally sensitive and relevant through the use of credible data. From the emancipatory perspective, participatory evaluation methodologies aim at making evaluation practices more transformational and empowering while improving power relations and collaboration between project stakeholders, capturing and bringing to surface the voices of once marginalized and disadvantaged populations. To a certain extent, the adoption of participatory evaluation methodology has contributed to the improvement of quality and relevance of evaluation and increased utilization of evaluation data and findings in decision making and organizational performance. This paper has generally shown that despite a few recorded successes such as the previous participatory methodologies, there have been internal and external constraints to participatory evaluations. There have been constraints to the participation of the targeted communities in evaluation such as limited lack of community interest, high transaction costs, lack of knowledge and skills and meager budget. At the project level, insufficient budget, limited resources, poor timing of implementation and poor quality of evaluation have constrained management participatory evaluations. This paper takes the position, that regardless of problems hindering the performance of participatory evaluation, its benefits outweigh its limitations in short and the long run. The paper recommends that in order to improve the performance and relevance of participatory evaluation, participatory evaluation needs to be preceded with well thought plans, selecting appropriate designs and methods to fit the local situations.

Book Review: Textos clave de la extensión crítica latinoamericana y caribeña (Key Readings on Critical Community Engagement in Latin America and the Caribbean)

This book showcases the tradition and high level of entrenchment of community engagement in Latin American university culture. Specifically, it focuses on a branch called “Extensión Crítica” (critical community engagement), which emerges as a rescue and revalorization of the dialogic and transformative engagement perspectives that marked the practice and reflection on this subject in the 1960s and 1970s in Latin America, in response to current neoliberal approaches to the linkage between university and society. The book aims to “contribute to a greater theoretical, epistemological and methodological density” (17) to the Latin American and Caribbean Critical Community Engagement movement. The book develops seven “conceptual matrices” from which the movement draws: the University Reform Movement tradition, Paulo Freire and popular education, Latin American critical thinking, feminist movement, anti-colonial perspectives, territory, and participatory methodologies. Three key readings were selected for each conceptual matrix. Nine authors developed its main structure and introductions, and 25 authors wrote the preliminary studies and biographical notes of the original authors of the 21 selected texts. This editorial project becomes a milestone in the tradition of Latin American community engagement, and the review contributes to a much-needed dialogue and collaboration among different Spanish-, Portuguese-, and English-speaking contexts.

Participatory approach and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as resilience and revitalization strategies in watersheds

In the face of climate change, adopting participatory, integrative, and systemic management approaches capable of regulating hydrological, ecosystemic, and social interactions and redefining urban and rural planning, transitioning from the municipal scale to a micro and sub-basin approach, is crucial to ensure water security and resilience to extreme weather events. The revitalization of watersheds through adaptive management of natural resources, is fundamental because it allows for environmental recovery and conservation, the provision of ecosystem services and water resources for multiple uses. This work aimed to present proposals for the watershed of the Jaú River, São Paulo/BR. In 2022, the city of Jaú was hit by an unprecedented flood, which made it clear the mistakes made in urbanization, especially those related to the occupation of the floodplain by roads and buildings. Through a participatory methodology, with the support of the Tietê-Jacaré Watershed Committee and the involvement of municipalities, the productive sector, and civil society organizations, guidelines were defined to mitigate impacts and prevent new occurrences. Considering that the Jaú River is an important source of public water supply, providing water for more than 57 thousand people, the proposed actions are based on principles of nature-based solutions aiming to maintain the natural properties of riverbeds, maximize permeability, recover riparian forests along watercourses, and ensure appropriate land use and conservation practices..

Agroecology integrates science, practice, movement, and future food systems

Agroecology is an interdisciplinary field that brings together agricultural practice and ecological principles. This article explores agroecology's theoretical foundations, practical applications, and historical evolution, along with its impact on modern agricultural methods. Agroecology looks at how biophysical and social elements combine to produce food sustainably, promote social justice, and protect the environment. The first section of the article looks at how agroecology developed as a scientific field, discussing its fundamental ideas, practices, and objectives- all of which emphasize participatory, adaptive, and holistic methodologies. The inquiry also looks into how agroecology might support biodiversity, resilience to climate change, and sustainable livelihoods. This article also explores the rise of agroecology as a movement driven by social activism, environmental consciousness, and a search for alternative food systems. After that, the article dives further into the history of agroecology, emphasizing the pioneers' contributions and the development of agroecological principles over time. The text goes on to outline the fundamental principles of agroecology. Its main objectives are enhancing resource efficiency, strengthening resilience, and ensuring social equality. This article discusses the practical applications of agroecology in various agricultural settings, such as permaculture, agroforestry, and agroecological farming systems. A few agro-ecology case studies have been described. Finally, the article highlights the future of food systems. The article concludes by highlighting the necessity of combining scientific understanding with indigenous ecological and cultural knowledge and stating that agro-ecology is viable for a more just and sustainable future for agriculture and food security.

‘There is a No that means Yes!’ – Coercive and aggressive sexual behaviours in adolescents’ heterosexual relationships in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

ABSTRACT This qualitative study examined sexual negotiation in heterosexual romantic relationships of rural adolescents in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Participatory visual research methodology alongside focus group discussions were employed with 18 and 19-year-old adolescent boys (n = 10) and girls (n = 12) to understand how sex is negotiated in heterosexual relationships. Findings suggest adolescent boys and girls had little understanding of mutual sexual consent, and lacked the skills for exercising it. Adolescent boys’ coercive and aggressive sexual behaviours in romantic relationships were embedded in hegemonic masculinity characterized by male dominance, hypersexuality and multiple partners; and included boys pleading for sex, buying gifts, threatening to dissolve the relationship if sex is not initiated, screening pornographic films and rape. Sexual violence prevention strategies commencing during early adolescence are needed and should focus on developing adolescents’ understanding of mutual sexual consent, incorporate skills for autonomous sexual negotiation, and emphasize gender transformative and equitable norms.