THE GUEST FROM ENGLAND: EXPLORING ISSUES OF POSITIONALITY IN A FOREIGN AND YET FAMILIAR SETTING

ABSTRACT

By adopting a reflective–reflexive approach, the paper explores aspects of positionality in relation to gender and culture and examines in what way they affect the generation of status and power within the relationships and social interactions of the research participants. By drawing on my personal experience as a female researcher operating in a male-dominated, foreign and yet familiar setting, I will analyse the mechanisms involved in the negotiation of the positions occupied by the various players and how this determined my status in terms of insider/outsidership. Particular attention will be paid to the facilitation of access to the field and the construction of knowledge. The data informing this paper were collected as part of a study of school-based models of initial teacher training in Germany, including contributions from the directors, tutors and mentors of three teacher training Seminars as well as my own observations. The relatively small sample of respondents and the researcher's subjective perspective of reporting and interpreting the findings preclude any conclusions of a general nature to be drawn. However, interesting data emerged, suggesting that aspects of gender and culture as well as the researcher's biographical background constitute powerful factors in the positioning of the research participants, which have methodological and epistemological implications. In the light of these findings I would argue that by adopting a reflective–reflexive approach the quality of the research account can be enhanced by making the mechanisms involved in the negotiation of positions of power and control more transparent. Finally, the analysis presented is intended to act as a caveat against the simplistic assumption that a researcher's familiarity and biographical affiliation with the setting will assist him/her in establishing and maintaining control over the research process.

Keywords:

• cross-cultural research
• insider/outsidership
• access to data
• aspects of gender
• power and control
• the principle of reciprocity