A framework of community-engaged vocational research methodologies from liberatory perspectives

With the broadening scope of research inquiries into work, employment, industrial and organizational processes, and vocational development addressing issues with systemic oppression, there is a pressing need for discussion on using research methodologies as tools for catalyzing liberatory change. This article is underpinned by liberation theories and perspectives, which critically examine the Euro-American systems of thoughts that justify and perpetuate decisions, conditions, and culture that may exclude marginalized knowers, knowledge, and ways of knowing. Building on the work of other liberation scholars, we propose a new framework of community-engaged vocational research methodologies, which expands the existing methodologies: a) from distance to proximity, b) from academic capitalism to community vocational outcomes, c) from researcher authority to community partnership, and d) from theoretical knowledge to actionable knowledge. We discuss guiding Global Majority values to address tensions that may arise from expanding and complicating the traditional boundaries of methodologies. The framework also shows expansion through intersectional, interdisciplinary, anti-oppressive, and action-oriented approaches. With the introduction of this framework, we invite readers to broaden the scope of research methodologies and transform them into processes and tools for people who generate, need, and use the community-based knowledge of work and working.