Critical emancipatory research for social justice and democratic citizenship
Loading...
Date
2012-12
Authors
Nkoane, Molebatsi Milton
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Education, University of the Free State
Abstract
This article proposes a research paradigm located within the respectful relationship between participants
and researcher(s) towards construction of positive holding, interactions and invitational environments
which privilege social justice. I outline power as expressed at the heart of any form of human society
through communication. For analysing power relations, issues of social justice and democratic citizenship
become central. This article also demonstrates that social justice in research depends on interactions
between the participants and researcher(s). I further argue for the need to engage with the methodological
expectations of critical emancipatory research (CER), using the power of language and communication.
I interrogate and trouble the power of text in the form of spoken or written words or any other means of
communication. In addition, the article conceptualises communication as a medium of expression between
the researcher(s) and participants; the researcher should not be regarded as aloof from the conditions
of the participants. Therefore, the argument developed for social justice and democratic citizenship
is that researcher(s) should be sensitive to the plight of all participants, recognising their voices or
experiences. The article concludes by acknowledging the fact that human language is a product of human
communication and that communication is important for knowledge production.
Description
Keywords
Social justice, Democratic citizenship, Narratives, Critical emancipatory research, Power relations, Discourse analysis
Citation
Nkoane, M. M. (2012). Critical emancipatory research for social justice and democratic citizenship. Perspectives in Education: Rethinking citizenship and social justice in education: Special Issue, 30(4), 98-104.