A Participatory Inquiry Paradigm

Abstract

This article starts with a critique of Guba and Lincoln's outline of competing paradigms for research, in particular arguing that the constructivist position fails to account for experiential knowing. The arguments for a participatory worldview are articulated based on a subjective-objective ontology; an extended epistemology of experiential, presentational, propositional, and practical ways of knowing; a methodology based on cooperative relations between coresearchers; and an axiology that affirms the primary value of practical knowing in the service of human flourishing.