This article emanates from an in-depth qualitative study that examined ideological beliefs among Indigenous parents regarding school desegregation and school “choice” policies in South Africa. The author discusses the politics of qualitative research design and methodology along two primary dimensions: decolonizing research and the importance of Indigenous languages in research. First, the author argues that the language used in qualitative interviews should be situated within the larger sociocultural context of the inquiry in order to affirm and reinforce cultural identities of research participants, not just of the researcher. Second, the author contends that decolonizing approaches in research interrupt and interrogate colonial tendencies at multiple levels, thereby challenging traditional ways of conducting qualitative research. Following on Smith, and Mutua and Swadener, and Denzin, Lincoln, and Smith, and others, the author argues that decolonizing approaches and culturally affirming linguistic choices in research have the potential to return marginalized epistemologies to the center.

This paper examines recent education and teacher education reforms in the USA and Namibia and analyzes two tensions that have been a central part of debates about teacher quality and teacher education in many parts of the world: whether we should prepare teachers as technicians or as reflective practitioners; and whether we should prepare teachers for teacher-centered or learner-centered instruction. Although the USA and Namibia are very different countries in size, economic development, and in numerous other ways, the authors argue that their national governments, like many others, have chosen to follow similar paths in reforming their K-12 and teacher education systems. Both countries demonstrate an emphasis on the investment of scarce resources in constructing and maintaining elaborate accountability systems by preparing teachers to meet externally prescribed standards to produce good standardized test scores. The paper argues that this approach, tied to a technicist view of teaching and teacher education, is misguided.

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As literacy research moves across physical and cultural boundaries, populations, languages, and so forth, current policies and practices influence new research with Indigenous populations. In the last Journal of Literacy Research (JLR) issue, Keehne, Sarsona, Kawakami, and Au (2018) raised many critical ideas and shared an indigenous framework about Hawaii schools to explore culturally responsive instruction. To extend a focus on Indigenous populations, we asked Bekisizwe Ndimande to address the question: "What should literacy researchers keep in mind when reading, reviewing, and engaging in studies using Indigenous research methods?"

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Data suggest that having a positive, internalized racial identity is related to healthy outcomes. Although some scholars have highlighted the role of education in providing a context to develop such an identity, there is a dearth of research in this area. This study analyzed racial life narrative interviews with 15 Black South Africans to explore the role of education in shaping individuals' perceptions of being Black during and after apartheid. We uncovered three interrelated dimensions: Educational System Shapes Opportunities, Educational Context Influences Racial Awareness (through opportunities for student activism, curriculum, and personal experiences with discrimination), and Education as (Racial) Empowerment.

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