Culturally disruptive research: a critical (re)engagement with research processes and teaching practices

Abstract

Purpose As scholars, educators and policymakers recognize the impact of partnership-based research, there is a growing need for more in-depth understanding of how to conduct this work, especially with and in diverse project teams. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical examination of adopting a culturally disruptive approach in a research–practice partnership (RPP) that includes Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers, designers and educators who worked together to collaboratively design culturally situated experiences for sixth graders. Design/methodology/approach Following a design-based implementation research methodology, data from design and implementation are presented as two case studies to illustrate key findings. Findings Leveraging the frame of culturally disruptive pedagogy, key tensions, disruptions, self-discoveries and resulting pedagogical innovations are outlined. While the authors experienced multiple forms of disruptions as researchers, designers and educators, they focused on tracing two powerful cases of how culturally disruptive research directly and immediately resulted in pedagogical innovations. Together the cases illustrate a broader shift toward interdependence that the team experienced over the course of the school year. Research limitations/implications A new frame for conducting culturally disruptive research is presented. Both the theoretical application and practical implementation of this frame demonstrate its usefulness in conceptualizing culturally situated research through cultivating an uncomfortable yet generative interdependence. Practical implications Findings include examples and strategies for how to practically conduct multi-sector, interdisciplinary research and teaching. Scholars and educators share their stories which illustrate the practical impact of this work. Originality/value Critical insights presented in this paper build on and contribute to the growing body of work around RPPs, community-based research and other critical partnership methods.

Practice-Based Methodological Design for Performance-Composition and Interdisciplinary Music Research

“…In more conventional paradigms of academic investigation, research strategies are purposefully designed to position the researcher as an "outsider looking in", premised on the belief that researcher-subjectivity may cloud the objective "truth", thereby compromising reliability and universal replicability of research findings in the traditional sense. As practice-led/ based studies place the researcher at the centre of the investigation, questions as to the reliability of outcomes have been deliberated (Jackson & Mazzei, 2012;Leavy, 2017;Litts et al, 2020). Conversely, it may be argued that such discourse has inadvertently strengthened the engagement of practice-centred research among academics who are also creative arts practitioners.…”

From Producing to Reducing Trauma: A Call for “Trauma-Informed” Research(ers) to Interrogate How Schools Harm Students

“…Similarly, YPAR, while gaining popularity within classrooms, is typically viewed as a pedagogical orientation, rather than a rigorous research methodology. Both within and beyond education research, relational and participatory methods such as CBPR and YPAR offer powerful opportunities to engage in trauma-reducing scholarship with minoritized communities and youth as coresearchers (Fisher et al, 2019;Litts et al, 2020;Stanton, 2014). As a starting place, research teams could engage with community members and youth coresearchers to identify ways specific classes, programs, and/or policies reinforce trauma, as well as determine potential responses.…”

Teorías y prácticas educativas contrahegemónicas. Sobre la pedagogía disruptiva

“…De un modo particular, la disrupción -pedagógica, innovadora o educativa-hace referencia a desafiar epistemologías escolares (Anderson y Justice, 2015) y sistemas de valores y de conocimiento que mantienen formas de saber y de ser convencionales (Litts et al, 2020) y jerarquizadas. En esta línea, lo disruptivo viene acompañado de principios y estrategias que invitan a descubrir y formular nuevos interrogantes, construir otros recursos y herramientas (Pilonieta, 2017), crear lenguajes y caminos que inviten a una circularidad en las relaciones educativas y socioafectivas (Ahmed, 2018), personalizar la educación, flexibilizar en términos de tiempo y lugar los recursos educativos y fomentar el aprendizaje activo buscando el interés y la participación del alumnado en su propio aprendizaje, pues como señalan Valverde-Berrocoso et al (2023) en Educación Secundaria se utilizan en gran medida metodologías Teri.…”