Quand l’action concertée devient source de savoirs : étude sur les apprentissages réalisés par des acteurs impliqués dans une expérience de développement local en organisation communautaire en milieu rural

Abstract

Since 1980, several Quebec rural municipalities have turned to the local development approach to offer better living conditions to their residents. Rural communities face complex economic, social and environmental challenges requiring that the people involved have certain knowledge and skills. This research aims to discover the phenomena that contribute to the development of the ability to act for those involved in a local development process in rural areas. A case study was conducted from the local development approach in community organization and from two components of the concept of individual empowerment: participation and skills. The results reveal that the participation and the acquisition of knowledge depend on various factors such as the characteristics of the people's profile, the factors that foster the presence of people within the collective project, the readiness to learn and the learning methods.