Participatory training for social development : insights from the experience of an informal training network

This provocative article criticises participatory training for having become 'reduced to a pre-planned technique-happy mass of simulations and role plays without any contribution to critical thinking.' A model of training for participatory trainers is given, based on the experience of PRIA (Society for Participatory Research in Asia) and UNNATI (Organisation for Development Education) in India. Issues addressed in the seven training modules developed by UNNATI are summarised in a box : the role of training, how adults learn, group process, self-development of trainer, training methods, training design and facilitation. This kind of training leads trainers to understand why people do not participate and to 'realise the dangers of the 'imparting' model of educating people'.