Nurtured by Knowledge: Learning to Do Participatory Action-Research

This book examines the frustrations and limitations of conventional Western academic research on social change and describes the struggle to fashion a new approach based on the principle that people have a universal right to participate in the production of knowledge that directly affects their lives. The heart of the book is a series of case studies of participatory action-research (PAR) attempted in such diverse places as Canada, India, Africa, and Latin America.

Susan E. Smith is lecturer emerita in theology at the University of Auckland. Apart from her native New Zealand, she has worked in Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. A member of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions, she alsoserves on the executive committee for Mission Studies.