Engaging critical methodologies in qualitative research methods with undergraduate psychology students

Abstract

This article describes the experiences of teaching undergraduate psychology students in an Australian context. The degree course the students take has no community or critical units, but it is one of very few in Australia that has a compulsory standalone unit in qualitative methods. While qualitative methods are by no means necessarily inherently critical or community focused, it has presented an opportunity to the teachers of the unit (the authors of this paper). The authors of this paper, who employ community critical methodologies in their research, aim to design teaching which is also grounded in such theory, wherever possible and despite significant limitations. Such teaching is informed by: challenging taken for granted assumptions; deconstruction and problem posing; making things uncomfortable; and relating differently. The paper describes a design of teaching where all the students undertake research projects exploring the research question: "what does psychology offer community?" Following a description of the methodologies and teaching practices, the authors reflect subjectively on their experiences working with the students, on opportunities which arose and on structural boundaries which appear to make community critical methodologies in university teaching very difficult.

The society for community research and action on a path toward conocimiento: From silences and statements to solidarities in action in U.S. community psychology

“…Certainly, members within and beyond the CERA council continue to do the work of engaging in critical reflexivity, unlearning/relearning, deconstructing power, whiteness and anti‐Blackness, and enacting decoloniality/decolonization at varied intersections. This process often begins with the self/individual, and moves toward the relational, collective, structural, and institutional levels (for examples of recent scholarship engaged in decolonial and anti‐whiteness theory and practice, see Beals et al, 2021; Coleman et al, 2021; Fernández, 2018; Fox & Nic Giolla Easpaig, 2021). Moreover, there have been some notable attempts at organizational change and healing.…”

“…The cyclical, iterative, and nonlinear process of conocimiento characterizes an epistemological framework for how people come to develop a critical consciousness alongside and in relationality with others (Espinosa‐Aguilar, 2005; Haddock‐Lazala, 2020; Keating, 2006). In this way, conocimiento is an individual and collective consciousness‐raising process that involves a critical social analysis and solidarity‐in‐action that aligns with critical methodologies (Fox & Nic Giolla Easpaig, 2021) oriented toward the disruption of whiteness and white supremacy (Coleman et al, 2021; Fernández, 2018). Together, these practices bridge the personal, sociocultural, and political with collaborations among communities in struggle working toward systems change, liberation and healing.…”

“…I describe some of these email replies as the SCRA's steps toward conocimiento . Auto‐ethnography is an ethnographic critically reflexive approach, a critical methodology (Fox & Nic Giolla Easpaig, 2021), which involves introspection and critical social analysis of embodied subjectivities within a context. As a methodology that involves attending to power within settings, relationships and dynamics, auto‐ethnography can assist the researcher‐ethnographer in identifying patterns that at first glance may not appear significant, yet when documented or noted over time an acknowledgment of their significance surfaces.…”

Experienced qualitative researchers’ views on teaching students qualitative research design

“…A balance must be struck between potentially competing intentions: to design the ideal project, or, to design a project that is practically feasible and appropriate to the research question and context. Fox and Nic Giolla Easpaig (2021) reflect that discussions with students whom desire to undertake research exploring the experiences of First Nations peoples in Australia offer opportunities to nuance students' understandings of the need for research to be respectful, responsive to context and shared experiences of coloniality. We see the tension inherent to balancing pragmatism and idealism in research design reflected in the JARS-Qual guidelines emphasis on methodological integrity underpinned by fidelity and utility (Levitt, et al, 2018, p. 33).…”

Ensino de investigação qualitativa em psicologia (da educação): impacto percebido em alunos de mestrado

“…A formação em IQ permite aos alunos, não só desenvolver competências de investigação, mas ganhar sensibilidade para a realização de investigação que promova mudança social, uma pesquisa agente de mudança (Fox & Easpaig, 2021), sendo que na Psicologia da Educação esta motivação se revela muito pertinente, partilhando, mais uma vez, da perspetiva de Nolen (2020), quando afirma que os tempos atuais são muito favoráveis ao desenvolvimento de investigação que se traduza num trabalho que "faça a diferença" na vida e na formação de crianças e adultos.…”