To Have or to Be: Reclaiming the Transformative Essence of Participatory Action Research

Abstract

This article interrogates the tension between “having” and “being” orientations in participatory action research (PAR), using Erich Fromm’s philosophical framework to reconceptualize knowledge production, power, and ethics in community-engaged scholarship. Bridging critical theory with on-the-ground PAR practice, the research discusses how the “having” paradigm that focuses on extractive outcomes contrasts with the “being” approach’s emphasis on process, relationality, and existential engagement. In particular, the analysis highlights three critical junctures where the “being” orientation reconfigures PAR practice: (1) co-defining research agendas “with” communities rather than “for” them, (2) privileging longitudinal relationship-building over time-bound deliverables, and (3) reconceiving “data” as emergent wisdom from lived experience. The article concludes with reflexive guidelines for researchers seeking to navigate the “being” paradigm shift in diverse sociocultural settings, as necessary foundation for ethical, contextually grounded social transformation.