Learning From Within: The Role of Community-Based Partnerships

Most developmental science occurs within a so-called WEIRD narrative: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic. Although developmental psychology has long relied on cross-cultural research to enrich and inform theories of human development, the narrow focus on children from WEIRD countries creates a biased understanding of how children develop. It is critical to diversify developmental science and ensure it reflects and responds to local contexts and cultures. In this article, we discuss how community-based participatory research (CBPR) can be integrated into theoretical frameworks of human development and used to increase the representation of traditionally marginalized populations in developmental science. We argue that a CBPR-informed approach can ensure that child development priorities are culturally sensitive, which can support the development of programs aimed at enhancing children s development which are embedded in local cultural norms and become part of the social fabric of the community under study.