Praxis, ethics and power: developing praxeology as a participatory paradigm for early childhood research

The discipline and practice of participatory, practice-led research has grown rapidly in recent years and it is now widely accepted as making an important and serious contribution to the knowledge base of early childhood. Despite this progress recently we have come to understand that our worldview has needed to shift again in response to the troubling paradoxes we face in attempting to live out our participatory vision in our research practice. We are conscious too of the need to respond to a continued and sometimes reasonable professional critique of the robustness of our participatory methods. It is this shift in perspective that is set out in this article, and has led us to accept that praxis in itself is not enough, and that to realise authentically a participatory paradigm in our research requires us to develop a worldview in which reflection (phronesis) and action (praxis) done in conjunction with others, needs to be immersed within a more astute awareness about power (politics) and a sharpened focus on values (ethics) in all of our thinking and actions. We see this mix of phronesis, praxis, ethics and power at the heart of a ‘praxeological’ worldview in modern early childhood research. This paradigm is helping us to shift our research work into what we hope will be a more profound and intensely participatory, and thus more authentically democratic, phase. In this article we aim to share our developing vision of ‘praxeological research.’ We look at its key elements; trace its roots, theoretically and conceptually; and explore the particular contribution it can make in research. We exemplify how an early childhood praxeologist with a participatory worldview might ethically operate in their inquiries, and consider what methodologies they might use and what challenges they might face in attempting to make praxeology a part of their ‘life of inquiry.’ Finally, we shall explore issues of power, status, visibility and progress within the research world of early childhood.