Slaying my own ghosts: My process into action research

Abstract

In this article, I explain how I broke with the epistemological tradition in which I had been trained, in a process I call "Slaying my own ghosts." I took this step when I was deciding on the approach of my action research dissertation. I explain the breaks with five ideas: there are diverse ways of generating knowledge; the researcher constructs knowledge through interpretation; context matters; the action researcher alters the process for good; action research produces academic and pragmatic knowledge. The article is written in the first person because it is associated with a personal process that I needed to resolve in order to develop the approach of my thesis. My analysis of this personal process highlights the indissolubility of the relationship between the researcher and the person as well as the difficulty and complexity of processes of change. I believe it may be of help to both researchers who have decided to develop action research dissertations and those who have to lead processes involving profound changes in people.

Narrativa Transmedia, Inclusión y Cultura Ciudadana: “La Paz es mi Cuento inclusiva”

“…Finalmente, vale la pena anotar que este desarrollo metodológico le apostó a una pauta que permitiera descifrar las cosmovisiones de los niños y niñas participantes alrededor de la paz y la cultura ciudadana, como insumo para la generación de una transmedia inclusiva que permitiera visibilizar a esta población y así contribuir a la inclusión social. Es que como bien lo afirma Romano (2018), en el constructivismo social, la realidad se construye a partir de las cosmovisiones de los sujetos. Por ello resulta importante interpretar la realidad sobra paz y cultura ciudadana, a partir de los testimonios y vivencias de los niños y niñas participantes, quienes además la contaron de su viva voz, lo cual de define también en este trabajo como representación social.…”

Challenging the way we know the world: overcoming paralysis and utilising discomfort through critical reflexive thought

“…Reflexivity is thus understood as destabilising Western notions of validity and legitimacy to appreciate the subjective and embodied nature of knowledge production (Romano 2018). Fundamentally, that means critiquing notions of objectivity derived from Western science, where the emphasis on 'external evidence, testing and universal laws of generalizability' narrows the possibility of what counts as knowledge (Kovach 2009: 78).…”