Participatory research in education: Epistemological, methodological and ethical challenges

This special issue of Theory and Research in Education examines participatory research as a political and methodological project that raises fundamental epistemological questions about knowledge, legitimacy, and authority in educational inquiry. Seeking to democratize knowledge production, participatory research engages those historically excluded—such as children and disabled people—as co-researchers and challenges hierarchical structures of expertise. Rooted in liberation pedagogy, feminist and decolonial epistemologies, and disability studies, it explores how research can become a site of shared meaning-making and social transformation. The special issue brings together three theoretical and epistemological contributions with two empirical studies, showing how participatory research redefines both the methodology and the politics of educational practice, linking epistemic justice with democratic renewal in education.