Empowering marginalised groups through co-operative inquiry: Illustrated by a practical example

African Journal of Disability

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Empowering marginalised groups through co-operative inquiry: Illustrated by a practical example
 
Creator Fredericks, Jerome P. Visagie, Surona van Niekerk, Lana Pharaoh, Hamilton G.
 
Subject Rural Health wheelchair users; minibus taxis drivers, caregivers; access; accessibility; transport.
Description Background: Cooperative inquiry gives a voice to marginalised groups and breaks down power imbalances which makes it suitable for researching practical issues at community level.Objectives: The objective of this article is to illustrate how cooperative inquiry can be utilised to empower members of marginalised communities in facilitating social change.Method: The study setting is in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa. A cooperative inquiry methodology was used. The inquiry group consisted of wheelchair users (9), their care givers (8), taxi drivers (7) and stakeholders (4). Data collection comprised 16 sessions, alternating between action and reflection. Inductive thematic analysis of data of all the phases was done to ensure that cooperative inquiry gives voice to marginalised communities.Results: The four themes that is, practical arrangements, understanding process, purpose, bonding and a cohesive group were identified. The themes showed progress from logistics, through individual understanding, to the group becoming one, and working together. Each of these phases is important in the development of a cooperative inquiry.Conclusion: Cooperative inquiry methodology can bring people together in a positive way to facilitate social change, and developing practical solutions to challenges.Contribution: Making use of a cooperative inquiry methodology to bring social change, minibus taxi services can be made accessible for wheelchair users. Concepts of social justice and decolonisation were imbued in the methodology.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor National Research Funds
Date 2024-02-26
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ajod.v13i0.1205
 
Source African Journal of Disability; Vol 13 (2024); 15 pages 2226-7220 2223-9170
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1205/2643 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1205/2644 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1205/2645 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1205/2646
 
Coverage South Africa; Western Cape; Paarl 2021-2022 Age above 18 years, Males and Females, Wheelchair users; Minibus Taxi Drivers
Rights Copyright (c) 2024 Jerome P. Fredericks, Surona Visagie, Lana van Niekerk, Hamilton G. Pharaoh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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