Industrial participatory action research, emergence of a research-knowledge democracy project with metal workers.

Participatory action research has been used by Latin American social sciences researchers in order to deal with social and community problems to encourage social changes. Participatory action research experiences with industrial workers have been less visible. This paper focuses on workers’ research experience at state-owned Venezuelan metallurgical industries. The methodological approach is based on workers’ educational needs with participation in their own emancipation process. Workers and researchers share experiences, knowledge, and set the basis for increased democracy at industry through workshops, meetings, and other educational activities. These experiences allowed the emergence of an industrial participatory action research project that is being deepened through participatory appraisal and education research programs with readings, “generating questions,” working roundtables, consensus and dissent, experience systematization, and a living language of participation to strengthen local and national education-research network with people, especially workers, increasing their voice through knowledge democracy and technology democracy which implies industrial democracy too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]