Participatory Research, Popular Education, and Action for Social Change

This paper is based on the involvement of a long-time scholar activist reflecting on the use of popular education and participatory research in his development. The use of these pedagogies and methods, dating back to social movements in the global south and north, have been used with a vision of transforming the unjust power relations of colonialism, patriarchy, and capitalism while creating new models that involve the participants in research and action to create radical systemic change. The author presents examples from his history of teaching, research, and organizing on how these methods have been applied and how they can be used in the contemporary period.