| Abstract: | This article discusses the concept of popular participation within the context of nonformal education and analyzes the use of the mass media as a tool for promoting such participation. It is argued that the central issue of popular participation is that of power; it is concerned with the struggle for the control of resources on the part of the oppressed masses. Participatory research principles emphasize the active involvement of people on whom the research is focused at all stages of the educational process and reject the possibility of scientific objectivity. Control of the mass media can be exercised over both the hardware itself and the program content. The latter form, which is more feasible in developing countries, includes several discrete stages where some degree of popular participation is possible: identification of the campaign topic, production of materials, and creation of a 2-way flow of communication. The role of the media person and the political climate in which the radio campaign is operating affect the degree to which authentic participation is possible. Popular participation must be organized; it does not just happen. Among the issues in this area that need to be addressed by future surveys are the role of the professional media person, the technical limitations on participation, and the extent to which a radio network needs to be decentralized to make participation an ongoing feature. |
