ERIC Number: EJ1352991
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Nov
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0255-7614
EISSN: EISSN-1744-795X
Available Date: N/A
Collaborative Untangling of Positionality, Ownership, and Answerability as White Researchers in Indigenous Spaces
Bennett, Catherine; Fitzpatrick-Harnish, Kate; Talbot, Brent
International Journal of Music Education, v40 n4 p628-641 Nov 2022
Decentering whiteness and decolonizing educational research is not a simple matter for researchers who may (initially) be unaware of their social locations. This paper begins by describing the three authors' individual work within indigenous populations and subsequently explores the impact of their critical journey together as a community of scholars working to decolonize their research practice. Following an overview of their individual stories, the authors share principles of ethical scholarly engagement within indigenous communities, particularly positionality, ownership, and answerability, that they hope will be valuable to others who may embark upon similar critically reflective journeys. Alongside each of these principles, they pose "unanswered questions" so as not to uphold their journey as a model, but rather to illuminate how this work is messy, challenging, eye-opening, unsettling, and ongoing. The authors conclude that it is the "methodological responsibility" of white scholars to do the ethical work to understand, untangle, and dismantle potentially harmful dispositions, orientations, and practices before engaging with indigenous communities, and suggest that such transformation may be most powerfully pursued in a purposeful and collaborative space.
Descriptors: Colonialism, Researchers, Communities of Practice, Indigenous Populations, Whites, Educational Research, Indigenous Knowledge, Ethics, Models, Interpersonal Relationship, Cooperation, Research Methodology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A