Emancipatory Research as Empowerment: An Illustration from a Research Study of Persons with Disabilities in Palestine

Abstract

In this chapter, Biggeri and Ciani introduce emancipatory research as a participatory methodology that can produce relevant information for policy-making as well as for individual and social empowerment. The focus is on the research methodology itself, which promotes emancipation. This is illustrated through a case study that focuses on the capabilities of persons with disabilities in Palestine. The research in question was carried out by women with disabilities and members of disabled people’s organizations. Research participants were empowered through training and mentoring before leading all phases of the research process from the identification of objectives through to the dissemination of results. Professional researchers stepped back during the process and only acted as facilitators and advisors. This shift in power relations made it possible for local people to drive the research process and production of knowledge with the objective of empowering them to take part in, and directly influence, decision-making. The core of emancipatory research is rooted in the Freirean tradition of enquiry and empowerment which brings back the ideals of participatory approaches in a radical, challenging and transformative way.