Abstract
This article is a reflective account of a researcher’s journey whilst embarking on a study which was political in its intentions and participatory in its orientation. Learning from feminist writings, where researchers have shared stories and explored notions of insider/outside, academic/activist, the central argument of the article is the development of an activist approach to environmental education research. The article draws on a doctoral research study which was a critical ethnography of a school and community engaged in a socially critical approach to environmental education.
If I had tried to enter
I may have never been invited
If I had seen the cracks
I may have fallen in
If I had seen your tears
I may not have cried with you
If I had strained to hear
I may not have heard your voices
If I had sought the one true story
I may have never known
If I had watched your struggle from a distance
I may have never shared your pain
Reflective prose, Researcher’s Personal Journal, September 1994