Flipping the Paradigm: Studying Up and Research for Social Justice

• In Event: 25.027 - Multimethod Approaches to Research for Social Justice and Equity in Education

Abstract

Most studies for social justice focus on marginalized populations. Yet structures of oppression and domination are created and perpetuated by those who hold power in the society. Educational studies that focus on the powerful and the elites, however, are relatively rare. As Nader (1979) observed, this omission is unfortunate because all lives are affected by the elites’ actions and decisions. This paper explores possibilities for addressing this gap through qualitative research of the powerful. This line of methodological writing has appeared under such topics as “studying up,” researching elites, or researching the powerful. While there is a sizable body of scholarship that provides suggestions for how one can engage in this work, it has been rare for researchers to examine research of the powerful through the lens of equity and social justice. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to consider the methodological tools researchers could deploy as they engage in their inquiry of the powerful for social justice.
Researchers engaged in researching the powerful for social justice have to address a number of challenges (Walford, 1994). This paper explores four sets of such challenges and describes potential means of addressing them. The first challenge researchers face is access. Difficulties in accessing the powerful can be addressed either by a flexible design or inventive approaches to participant recruitment drawing on researcher’s own personal networks as well as social media platforms. Second, the difficulty of conducting data collection is considered through the lens of power inequalities and status differentials in the interview encounter. Recommendations for addressing those range from adopting a deferential posture of the powerless to asserting one’s own position as a knowledgeable expert on the topic of research. Particular discretion is required in considering how much of researcher’s political commitments can be divulged at this stage of research in ways that would not jeopardize the ongoing inquiry. Third, the issues of data analysis and interpretation are examined considering the elites’ proclivity to withhold damaging information and to craft narratives that justify their actions. The danger of reporting interview findings as given, as Briggs (2003) demonstrates, lies in allowing the elites to protect their positions of privilege thus perpetuating systems of injustice. Therefore, analytical tools that contextualize the data obtained from interviews should be used to deconstruct the narratives presented and subject them to critique. Throughout the study, ethical considerations of researcher’s transparency with the participants are considered in light of potential conflicts between participants’ self-presentation as benefactors of the marginalized and their role in maintaining systems of injustice. The final challenge invites researchers to consider how they can share their research findings with marginalized groups to equip them with the tools necessary to dismantle systems of oppression. The significance of this paper lies in demystifying research with the powerful to encourage more educational researchers to “study up,” particularly as they engage in research for equity and social justice.

Author

• Elena Aydarova, Auburn University