Unlearning what we know is true: getting more from less in remote educational research
Unlearning what we know is true: getting more from less in remote educational research Conference Paper
Post-Graduate Research Seminar Series, Flinders University, Adelaide
- Author(s): Guenther, J
- Published: 2011
Abstract: Most researchers are on a quest for deeper understanding, new and greater knowledge and recognition of their learnings. We value critical thought. We often pride ourselves in finding ‘truth’. But what if we have got it all wrong? What happens if our own version of reality is so displaced that the things we learn and understanding we gain takes us away from the truth and not closer to it? This presentation discusses research in the context of remote education, particularly in communities where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make up most of the population. Educators often talk about scaffolding—building on a framework of past learnings. However, what happens when those of us who come from non-Indigenous backgrounds are confronted by a different culture, a different worldview, different values, is that we either become very confused because what we see does not match what we ‘know’ to be right and true, or we tend to make judgements about what we see based on what we ‘know’ to be right and true. Either way, we can easily end up with errant results and even more errant conclusions—unless we first unlearn our cultural assumptions and so begin to learn from those who belong to a different world. John Guenther has for a number of years been part of and led research and evaluation projects across the Northern Territory. His experiences have led him to reflect on the research process in these complex and intellectually challenging contexts. As a non-Indigenous researcher he will share from these experiences—and in particular talk about what he has unlearnt about himself, and then what he has gained from his experiences working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and community members.