Facilitating knowledge democracy in a global North/South academic collaboration

Meredith, Margaret ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4541-3821 and Quiroz, Catalina ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3825-6506 (2022) Facilitating knowledge democracy in a global North/South academic collaboration. Educational Action Research, 30 (5). pp. 810-827.

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Facilitating knowledge democracy 12.12.20.docx - Accepted Version

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2020.1866632

Abstract

This article explains an action research response to the need for knowledge democracy in research projects between academics in global North and global South countries. It argues that if unspoken assumptions about knowledge creation are left unexamined, such collaborations can replicate forms of ‘epistemic injustice’. The paper is premised on the belief that such collaborations should be based upon practical acknowledgement of plurality in the domain of knowledge and upon the right and responsibility of people to contribute to research conceptualisations and questions as equals. The article focuses on the facilitation processes applied during an initial, five-day strategic planning meeting for athree-year Erasmus Mundus research project, in which academics from universities in Spain, Portugal, Peru and the UK participated, and the conceptualisations and strategic direction of the project were established. The authors draw upon their experiences as project co-designers and joint co-ordinators. We conclude that if international research projects are to promote knowledge democracy, processes need to be established in which relevant concepts and objectives can be articulated and the research questions established by all partners, in order to accommodate multiple perspectives. The insights offered also have relevance for collaborations between multiple stakeholders inside and outside of academia.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	"This is an accepted version of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Educational Action Research on 19/01/2021 available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2020.1866632"
Status:	Published
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2020.1866632
Subjects:	L Education > L Education (General)
School/Department:	School of Education, Language and Psychology
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/4874