Prof Ronél Ferreira, Head of the Department of Educational Psychology in the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria (UP), uses intervention research to facilitate positive change in resource-constrained school settings and vulnerable communities. This style of research not only involves people at ground level as active participants, but also empowers them to become partners of change who eventually drive the process of change themselves. The way in which Prof Ferreira applies participatory intervention research sensitises participants to their strengths and available resources, and allows them to identify the challenges they experience in their particular setting. Once established, a process is facilitated whereby the participants think of creative ways to use their strengths and resources to address and overcome the identified challenges. One of the great benefits of this style of research is that it leads to social change and upliftment, which can be sustained if participants take ownership and drive their supportive initiatives. Read more here http://www.universityofpretoria.co.za/en/news/post_2375664-partners-of-change-in-south-africas-education-system