, HMCMY80
ASSIGNMENT 3 SEMESTER 2
DUE 26 OCTOBER 2026
From Subjects to Co-Researchers: A Literature Review of the Convergent Principles of
Participatory Research and Decolonised Methodologies
Introduction
The production of knowledge about Indigenous communities has historically been entangled with
colonial projects of extraction, classification, and control. For generations, researchers entered
Indigenous territories, gathered data from community members, and departed, leaving behind
little benefit and often considerable harm (Smith, 2021). In response, scholars and communities
alike have advanced alternative frameworks that reposition Indigenous peoples not as passive
subjects of inquiry but as co-producers of knowledge. Two such frameworks are participatory
research and decolonised research methodologies. While emerging from different intellectual
traditions—participatory research from Freirean critical pedagogy and action research, decolonised
methodologies from postcolonial and Indigenous scholarship—their guiding principles converge
around a shared commitment to epistemic justice, collaborative inquiry, and community
empowerment (Chilisa, 2019; Chubb, Fouché and Strydom, 2021). This literature review examines
these convergences, analysing how the guiding principles of participatory research, as articulated
by Chubb, Fouché and Strydom (2021), align with the goals of decolonised research methodologies
in empowering Indigenous communities and promoting collaborative knowledge production.
The review proceeds in four parts. First, it defines the key concepts of decolonisation and
participatory research. Second, it outlines the central objectives of decolonised research
methodologies. Third, it analyses the specific ways in which participatory research principles
contribute to Indigenous empowerment and collaborative knowledge production. Finally, it
synthesises these findings and considers their implications for research practice.
Defining Decolonisation and Participatory Research
Decolonisation, in its broadest sense, refers to the dismantling of colonial structures, logics, and
legacies that continue to shape social, political, and epistemic relations long after formal
independence (Mignolo, 2007). In the context of research, decolonisation is not merely a metaphor
but a material and epistemological project that challenges the hegemony of Western knowledge
systems and asserts the validity of Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing (Smith, 2021).
Mignolo (2007) distinguishes between the historical process of political decolonisation and the
ongoing project of decoloniality, which addresses the coloniality of power, knowledge, and being
that persists in institutional structures and research practices. Decolonising research, therefore,
entails interrogating who produces knowledge, for whom, and under what conditions. It demands a
redistribution of epistemic authority, such that Indigenous communities are recognised as
legitimate knowers and holders of valuable knowledge (Chilisa, 2017). As Chilisa (2017) argues,
decolonising methodologies in the African context involve integrating Indigenous knowledge
ASSIGNMENT 3 SEMESTER 2
DUE 26 OCTOBER 2026
From Subjects to Co-Researchers: A Literature Review of the Convergent Principles of
Participatory Research and Decolonised Methodologies
Introduction
The production of knowledge about Indigenous communities has historically been entangled with
colonial projects of extraction, classification, and control. For generations, researchers entered
Indigenous territories, gathered data from community members, and departed, leaving behind
little benefit and often considerable harm (Smith, 2021). In response, scholars and communities
alike have advanced alternative frameworks that reposition Indigenous peoples not as passive
subjects of inquiry but as co-producers of knowledge. Two such frameworks are participatory
research and decolonised research methodologies. While emerging from different intellectual
traditions—participatory research from Freirean critical pedagogy and action research, decolonised
methodologies from postcolonial and Indigenous scholarship—their guiding principles converge
around a shared commitment to epistemic justice, collaborative inquiry, and community
empowerment (Chilisa, 2019; Chubb, Fouché and Strydom, 2021). This literature review examines
these convergences, analysing how the guiding principles of participatory research, as articulated
by Chubb, Fouché and Strydom (2021), align with the goals of decolonised research methodologies
in empowering Indigenous communities and promoting collaborative knowledge production.
The review proceeds in four parts. First, it defines the key concepts of decolonisation and
participatory research. Second, it outlines the central objectives of decolonised research
methodologies. Third, it analyses the specific ways in which participatory research principles
contribute to Indigenous empowerment and collaborative knowledge production. Finally, it
synthesises these findings and considers their implications for research practice.
Defining Decolonisation and Participatory Research
Decolonisation, in its broadest sense, refers to the dismantling of colonial structures, logics, and
legacies that continue to shape social, political, and epistemic relations long after formal
independence (Mignolo, 2007). In the context of research, decolonisation is not merely a metaphor
but a material and epistemological project that challenges the hegemony of Western knowledge
systems and asserts the validity of Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing (Smith, 2021).
Mignolo (2007) distinguishes between the historical process of political decolonisation and the
ongoing project of decoloniality, which addresses the coloniality of power, knowledge, and being
that persists in institutional structures and research practices. Decolonising research, therefore,
entails interrogating who produces knowledge, for whom, and under what conditions. It demands a
redistribution of epistemic authority, such that Indigenous communities are recognised as
legitimate knowers and holders of valuable knowledge (Chilisa, 2017). As Chilisa (2017) argues,
decolonising methodologies in the African context involve integrating Indigenous knowledge
