PARADIGM SHIFT IN POPULATION RESEARCH
There is a paradigm shift in population research. The shift is from estimation to explanation and from quantitative methods to qualitative methods. There is also a shift from the study of demographic processes to heath and emancipation. This paradigm shift is caused by both improved data and by changes in intellectual climate. So far the emphasis was on exploring “scientific” connections between different processes, size and growth of population but gradually the attention has been shifted to complex relationships between demographic variables, culture, power, social reproduction, ethnicity and gender.
The above shift has several implications for the discourse in the broader field of population studies. It is not possible to address the new issues caused by shifting paradigm in the conservative framework of research. The paradigm shift needs a change in orientation and a change in research methodology.
Table 12.2 presents the key aspects of the old approach and some suggestions for the future. It is proposed that what the population planning needs today is a participatory approach with the aim of empowering the community. The conservative approach was based on the neo-Malthusian theory that population growth has adverse effects on development and that it is of utmost importance to reach replacement level fertility as soon as possible. This was a wrong assumption. The relationship between population and development is dynamic, situational and symmetrical. Subjective understanding of population depends heavily on the history, culture, awareness, social structure and resource map of the people (Chambers, 1980; Chambers, 1997). To be effective, the population policy must address the issue of population in a holistic manner and community, rather than regional and national level planning, would offer the best solutions. Solutions should emerge from participatory exercises (Kumar, 2002) and not from the tool kits of experts.
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