REFLEXIVITY IN A UNIVERSITY PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH PROJECT IN TRANSITIONING SOUTH AFRICA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2415-5829/2180Keywords:
participatory research, transformation in South Africa, facilitator bias, reflexivity, power relationshipsAbstract
This article reflexively describes the influence of bias on the interaction between facilitators and participants in a participatory research project at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. The bias uncovers racial power hierarchies in one small group which are represented in the wider context of the country in contradiction to the formally espoused democracy, in existence for nearly two decades. The author argues that biases of power are generally unrecognised in dialogue and promote the inequities which can be recognised in the legacy of apartheid. Identification of such biases is key to transforming society in South Africa.Metrics
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