On being transgressive in educational research! An autoethnography of borders

Abstract

Autoethnography and narrative inquiry, with their focus on researching the personal dimensions of human experience, are overlapping realms within the field of qualitative research. While the dominant ways of knowing and researching in the academy remain that of empirical observation and critical analysis from a distanced perspective, these approaches attribute little meaning to the culturally relevant and reflexive accounts of those involved in the autoethnographic and narrative inquiry. In this paper, I critically reflect on my experiences of negotiating identities as an academic and educational researcher over time against a backdrop of professional anxieties produced by policy and political imperatives that have increasingly pervaded modern higher education in the UK. Adopting an autoethnographic style, I contemplate the complexities and opportunities that have inscribed my various identities as an educational researcher over a career, crossing from traditional research to creative narrative and arts-informed approaches.

Keywords:

• Autoethnography
• narrative
• educational research
• identity
• borders

Notes on contributor

Ruth Leitch is Professor of Education at Queen’s University Belfast in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work.

Notes

1. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) was undertaken approximately every 5 years 1986–2008 to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by UK Higher Education Institutions. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) replaced the RAE for the period 2008–2013 and reported in 2014.