Rattling the Cage: Moving beyond ethical standards to ethical praxis in self-study research

Abstract

The ethical practice underpinning self-study research has been addressed extensively in the literature of self-study of teacher education practices. Less attention has been paid to how researchers deal with ethical tensions and dilemmas when they arise unexpectedly during self-study research. In this article, we examine how the extrapolation and examination of one critical incident in the process of conducting self-study research challenged our ethics as researchers and led us to new understanding and knowledge. Our focus is on the initial acknowledgment of what we considered to be an ethical dilemma as it had rattled our cage. We were uncomfortable, disturbed, and challenged. We analyzed the data using critical incident analysis and discussed the outcomes in relation to being ethically responsive as researchers. Our responsiveness has led us to ethical praxis, whereby we now routinely and intentionally incorporate ethical dilemma identification and data analysis into our research designs. This study also highlights that our responsibilities as researchers are both private and public. By distilling the essence of a single critical incident, we can contribute new knowledge to the conversation about ethical practice.

Keywords:

• ethics
• ethical praxis
• critical incident analysis

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution, expertise, and insights of the teachers involved in this research. We also thank our colleagues who provided critical comment and feedback related to the ethical issues raised in this paper and the associated implications for self-study research.