2025/11/01 by Gaby Jacobs · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Business, Management and Accounting · Health Professions · #Participatory Visual Research Methods #Management and Organizational Studies #Health Policy Implementation Science
paper · doi:10.1177/16094069251406158
openalex publication_date 2025/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/12/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Participation is seen as a key methodological principle in Participatory Action Research (PAR), and the literature shows an increasing number of reflections on the challenges of participation. However, beneath the surface of the stories being told, there can often other stories be found, such as stories about conflicts, frustrations, moral sensitivities or even failures, that are challenging to our personal identities as researchers. I conducted an auto ethnographic study as the leader of a collaborative PAR project, called Project Z, using data from my personal experiences and reflections. I reflect on the participation of organizations, and the participation of clients in the project. The organizational learning theory by Chris Argyris and psychodynamic theories by Jessica Benjamin and Melanie Klein, are used to understand the undercurrent in these processes, i.e. the unspoken experiences, thoughts and emotions. My conclusion is that PAR will benefit from communicative spaces in which the undercurrent in participation is explicated in order to strengthen participation to create societal impact.