‘Power is not an evil’: rethinking power in participatory methods

Abstract

In recent years, participatory techniques have become popular amongst researchers working with children, both within geography and beyond. Using a focus group with primary school children as a point of departure, I argue for a reconceptualization of the power relations of participatory research. I draw on Foucault and De Certeau to theorize power in terms of strategies, tactics and the art of ‘making do’, concluding with some remarks about the distinctions between power, resistance and domination.