上世纪70年代中期，现象学和社会批判理论的引入促使了发展传播学向以参与式传播为中心的多元范式转型。随着资助主体及其关注重心的改变，发展传播学的研究焦点逐渐从个体变革转向社会变革，从信息扩散转向公民参与，从国家、国际转到社区，权力问题突显并日益中心化，发展传播的理论和实践呈现出多元策略聚合的态势。在此背景下，行动研究应成为当下中国发展传播学的研究和实践取向。

In the mid-1970s, the introduction of phenomenology and critical theory accelerated the paradigm transition of development communication. With the changing of sponsorship and concern, the foci of development communication researches transferred from individual change to social change, from information diffusion to citizen participation, and pays more emphasizes on community than nation-state and the world. Power issue appears and comes to the center, which shows the integration of strategies both at practical and theoretical dimension. Under this circumstance, action research might be the orientation of development communication researches and practices in China.