The thesis inquires into the living value of participatory practices to sustainability. The two problems of lack of recognition of participatory practices and the lack of address of sustainability matters are drawn into one collective inquiry initiative. Twelve Australian participatory practitioners, working in three states, in various aspects of social and environmental sustainability in the public, community and academic sectors voluntarily participated in the initiative for over eighteen months. The author, being the initiating researcher and practising participatory principles from the outset, chose not to facilitate a pre-determined method at any stage so as to let a systemic form of inquiry come into being. Working through three emergent iterations, the Inquiry and its thesis propose that globally, participatory practices are distinguishable in four generic constituents of Governance, Development, Learning and Activism and that incorporating all four of these elements constitutes a participatory practice with transformative qualities at systemic scales. Practically, the co-researchers created participatory practices from an eclectic range of such traditions, modes and disciplines, integrated through dialogic, reflexive, autobiographical and contextual inclusions. The ongoing Inquiry entity resists collapse to a defaulted instrumentalist stance and continues to unfold as a sociological embodiment of the thought it generates. Referring to Polanyi, Bohm, Bourdieu, Foucault, Torbert and Miller the author interprets the Inquiry’s legacy as establishing an articulate, committed and responsive open community within which we freely develop capabilities that are inhibited by our daily life worlds while also crucial for transformation towards participatory sustainability in these same worlds. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The thesis inquires into the living value of participatory practices to sustainability. The two problems of lack of recognition of participatory practices and the lack of address of sustainability matters are drawn into one collective inquiry initiative. Twelve Australian participatory practitioners, working in three states, in various aspects of social and environmental sustainability in the public, community and academic sectors voluntarily participated in the initiative for over eighteen months. The author, being the initiating researcher and practising participatory principles from the outset, chose not to facilitate a pre-determined method at any stage so as to let a systemic form of inquiry come into being. Working through three emergent iterations, the Inquiry and its thesis propose that globally, participatory practices are distinguishable in four generic constituents of Governance, Development, Learning and Activism and that incorporating all four of these elements constitutes a participatory practice with transformative qualities at systemic scales. Practically, the co-researchers created participatory practices from an eclectic range of such traditions, modes and disciplines, integrated through dialogic, reflexive, autobiographical and contextual inclusions. The ongoing Inquiry entity resists collapse to a defaulted instrumentalist stance and continues to unfold as a sociological embodiment of the thought it generates. Referring to Polanyi, Bohm, Bourdieu, Foucault, Torbert and Miller the author interprets the Inquiry’s legacy as establishing an articulate, committed and responsive open community within which we freely develop capabilities that are inhibited by our daily life worlds while also crucial for transformation towards participatory sustainability in these same worlds. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The focus of this study is to explore what I, a Canadian educator, can learn about development deriving from my relationship with five Burkinabé street youth and from participating in a development project. Furthermore, this thesis explores the following questions: What are the possibilities and challenges associated with Participatory Development according to my experiences during my project? What can be learned from my development experiences? How can my international “development” experience influence my practice in the Canadian classroom? Two conceptual frameworks have guided this thesis: Narrative Inquiry and Participatory Development. The latter was selected for two reasons; firstly, the non-profit development organization I represented and worked with in Kingston, Ontario strongly believe in working with partner organizations in a participatory fashion. Secondly, I was personally interested in exploring whether a participatory approach could be successful in eliminating the power relationships sometimes present in development work. The former was chosen because it offered the most flexibility in terms of writing design and supported the three levels of narrative: experience, telling, and interpreting (Polkinghorne, 1988). As such, this thesis is a self-study narrative that enabled me to present my story as a young teacher, volunteer and researcher. My research has been shaped by (1) my experiences, (2) stories of others, (3) my experiences with individuals who have impacted my journey, (4) my relationships with five Burkinabé street youth, and (5) finally my learning that took place before, during and after my three month volunteer project. ii My experience of volunteering in Burkina Faso has taught me that development is a complex field that should not be as easily accessible to those whom are inexperienced and unprepared to handle the challenges inherent in development work. My self-study cautions new researchers doing fieldwork abroad, volunteers and non-profit organizations of the possible negative effects such as harming the host community/culture, experiencing culture shock or reverse culture shock and practicing volunteer tourism while claiming to do development. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2010-08-24 16:49:22.151

This study explores the relationship between two orthodoxies in contemporary development: gender mainstreaming and participatory development. Specifically, this study examines whether these two strategies stand in conflict, in theory and in practice, where the donor agency the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) serves as the empirical case. Discourse analysis was conducted to examine whether the conflict can be discerned in Sida’s written suggestions for how to work with gender mainstreaming in development cooperation. To add nuance and depth, interviews have been carried out with Sida staff members to gain broad perspectives on the potential conflict. This study argues that the conflict can be discerned based on the underlying principles of gender mainstreaming and participatory development. While this study also provides a first attempt to illustrate how the conflict manifests itself in practice, future research is needed to establish the conflict’s empirical appearances. However, this study contributes with valuable indications of the conflict’s appearance and manifestation in practical development efforts that Sida is engaged in.

This paper critically evaluates guidelines concerning participatory development by the World Bank and USAID. It focuses on the different conceptual frameworks adopted in order to examine the differing ways of adopting participation in their development agenda. A literature –based method was adopted and the analysis included evaluation of five documented experiences including the Ghana Secondary Education Improvement Project and Ghana Water Sanitation and Hygiene Project from both the World Bank and USAID. Baum project cycle stages have been taken as activities for project participation. The findings are; the need for better planning; ensuring sustainability; and involving beneficiaries. / Article was sent as 4 word documents - I compiled into pdf version and let Farhad know 21/06/2016 - sm / The full text will be available at the end of the publisher's embargo, 31st July 2018.

State processes and programs are often constructed and implemented with the intention to ameliorate the lives of the inhabitants living within those borders. However, in order for citizens to benefit from these programs and processes, for example, anti-poverty programs and decentralization projects, their participation is a necessity. But societal contexts in which citizen participation occurs vary to great extents. It is important then to investigate these differences so as to further our understanding of the workings of participation. This research conducts a comparative analysis between two states in India, Kerala and Bihar, of contextual factors impacting participation. It shows that both trust in the state as well as formal education affect the level of participation of the population. This research engages with and attempts to add to the literature of participatory development by analyzing and explaining some of the impact that context has on participation of inhabitants.

State processes and programs are often constructed and implemented with the intention to ameliorate the lives of the inhabitants living within those borders. However, in order for citizens to benefit from these programs and processes, for example, anti-poverty programs and decentralization projects, their participation is a necessity. But societal contexts in which citizen participation occurs vary to great extents. It is important then to investigate these differences so as to further our understanding of the workings of participation. This research conducts a comparative analysis between two states in India, Kerala and Bihar, of contextual factors impacting participation. It shows that both trust in the state as well as formal education affect the level of participation of the population. This research engages with and attempts to add to the literature of participatory development by analyzing and explaining some of the impact that context has on participation of inhabitants.

This is a Participatory Approach (PA) study done in Ghana, West Africa. We focus on two Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) in Ghana which uses a PA in their development work. Historically the development work in most African countries has been influenced by western countries, where development often was imposed from the top down, but nowadays, with PA, development seek to engage the local population in a community during the development process. Ghana has been struggling with poverty for several years, and the NGOs are of importance for the development in the country. The purpose of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of development workers’ perception of Participatory Approach and to increase the knowledge about how development workers’ at NGOs in Ghana are working with Participatory Approach. This is a qualitative research and we have used three methods in this Bachelor’s thesis. We have done six semi - structured interviews, one focus group and one field research. We had the interviews and the focus group with development workers at two NGOs. At the field research we had the opportunity to observe the development workers in action. The research questions in this Bachelor’s thesis are: - At two NGOs in Ghana, in what ways can the development workers’ perception of Participatory Approach be understood? - At two NGOs in Ghana, in what ways can the practise of Participatory Approach be understood? The development workers perception of PA, is that PA is important to get sustainable projects and to ensure ownership for all stakeholders in the development process. PA is an empowering process with focus on capacity building. The acceptance of oneself being in need is as important as the participation. Their perception about PA also include some challenges. PA is time- and money consuming , the flexibility that PA need is limited by deadlines and budgets. There are challenges related to social- and cultural values, your own as a development worker and the community’s. The contextual knowledge must be highlighted and the limitations of the organizations must be considered. Another concern is when peoples opinions are influenced by their expectaitions from what the NGOs can provide. The practise of PA is understood as a process where all stakeholders are involved from the beginning, a process to engage the community and make them active participants in every step in a development project. The development workers main role is to build capacity of the people on the field. They uses different tools to ensure participation; Stakeholder analyses, Community conversations and Key informants interviews. The practise can be understood in terms of different levels of participation and different intensity within different cycles in a development project. Depending of the role of the actor and the stage the process are going through, some actors are more active than others.

State processes and programs are often constructed and implemented with the intention to ameliorate the lives of the inhabitants living within those borders. However, in order for citizens to benefit from these programs and processes, for example, anti-poverty programs and decentralization projects, their participation is a necessity. But societal contexts in which citizen participation occurs vary to great extents. It is important then to investigate these differences so as to further our understanding of the workings of participation. This research conducts a comparative analysis between two states in India, Kerala and Bihar, of contextual factors impacting participation. It shows that both trust in the state as well as formal education affect the level of participation of the population. This research engages with and attempts to add to the literature of participatory development by analyzing and explaining some of the impact that context has on participation of inhabitants.

In Uganda, relative to its neighbouring countries such as Kenya and Tanzania, the practice of Theatre for Development (henceforth TfD) has been considered quite problematic. Within the arts fraternity in Uganda, there have been critics who hold that TfD exists and is practiced in Uganda on one hand, while on the other there are those who argue that TfD does not exist as a distinct form of practice in Uganda. Those who dispute the existence of TfD in Uganda say that TfD is just a commercial label coined by people who want to take advantage of the large amounts of money from donors. These rivalling critical positions compelled me to postulate that TfD practice in Uganda could be embroiled in neoliberal tendencies where the funding factor shapes the nature of practice. Consequently, this thesis sets out to examine the nature of TfD practice in Uganda keeping in focus the basic principles that underpin its practice such as participation, giving voice, community ownership, dialogue, time and sustainability as the critical framework. Alongside these principles, the thesis kept in view the forces or processes which influence the TfD process such as postcolonialism/, power related dynamics, the politics of funding and global capitalism among others. The thesis focused on analysing how the above principles and forces have played out in projects by local and international practitioners in Uganda. It also made an effort to reflect on the nature of TfD practice in Uganda by drawing from my own practical experiences in a child rights TfD project. Looking at the work by local practitioners such as IATM, and Rafiki Theatre Company, this thesis discovered that TfD practice in Uganda has been hindered by the high-handed role of international development funders who determine the issues which the projects address. Through the work of international practitioners such as Jane Plastow and Katie McQuaid, it was however, discovered that implementing the ideal TfD process espousing the empowerment participation or the bottom up model in Uganda is not completely difficult to achieve. Their work offered a fundamental challenge to local practices in that the facilitators made a good effort to observe closely the core principles of effective practice such as participation, giving voice, balancing the dynamics of power and sustainability, something local practitioners need to emulate. However, the discussion in the thesis indicates that the work by international practitioners was not devoid of the influence of the forces that normally threaten effective practice such as the facilitator-participant power dynamics, issues related to project funding and postcolonial and neo-colonial inclinations.