Methodology, the Western, and myself: the West/non-West binary in a non-Western educational researcher's pursuit for a PhD

Edited book (chapter)


Saito, Akihiro. 2011. "Methodology, the Western, and myself: the West/non-West binary in a non-Western educational researcher's pursuit for a PhD." Midgley, Warren, Tyler, Mark A., Danaher, Patrick Alan and Mander, Alison (ed.) Beyond binaries in education research. New York, USA. Routledge. pp. 17-26
Chapter Title

Methodology, the Western, and myself: the West/non-West binary in a non-Western educational researcher's pursuit for a PhD

Book Chapter CategoryEdited book (chapter)
ERA Publisher ID3137
3415
Book TitleBeyond binaries in education research
Authors
AuthorSaito, Akihiro
EditorsMidgley, Warren, Tyler, Mark A., Danaher, Patrick Alan and Mander, Alison
Page Range17-26
SeriesRoutledge Research in Education
Chapter Number2
Number of Pages10
Year2011
PublisherRoutledge
Taylor & Francis
Place of PublicationNew York, USA
ISBN9780415885126
Web Address (URL)http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415885126/
Abstract

Contemporary educational research, as other social science disciplines, is embedded in Western intellectual traditions. Such is a reiterated motif in non-Western academia as well as cross-cultural research. Where methods and methodologies as invented in one geographical place are deemed as foreign, there arises a suspicion: 'Are those foreign methods and methodologies valid in our local context?' Although this question appears to posit a valuable thought-provoking vantage point for a non-Western researcher, there seems to lurk a dualism that perpetuates the binary relationship of West versus Non-West. This chapter depicts how the author as a non-Western educational researcher sought to reconcile this binary through an ongoing dialogue with his inner self as a non-Westerner about the identity formation of himself, of the founders of methods and methodologies, and of non-Western academia. The chapter is structured through four stages. First, I lay a backdrop to the chapter in which I retrospect on my experience that gave rise to and guided my reflection on the binary. Second, I tell a narrative of the nation to which I (am purported to) belong so as to restore historicity that recontextualises the binary. Third, I seek to unfix the subject positions that conform to the binary discourse in the context of performance and performativity. Fourth, I identify the way a dualism operates behind the suspicion. I argue the validity of methodologies cannot be dismissed on the mere basis of the dualism undergirded in the use of essentialist categories revolving around the discourse of binary: the foreign as other versus the local as self. Such a methodological distrust seems to be valuable, but in reality it is circular and limiting. It fails to be reflexive about its own dichotomous assumptions.

Keywordseducation research; education; research; binary opposites; West; non-West
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020369999. Other creative arts and writing not elsewhere classified
390203. Sociology of education
500319. Poststructuralism
470212. Multicultural, intercultural and cross-cultural studies
500206. History and philosophy of the social sciences
Public Notes

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.

Byline AffiliationsFaculty of Education
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/9zzy0/methodology-the-western-and-myself-the-west-non-west-binary-in-a-non-western-educational-researcher-s-pursuit-for-a-phd

  • 2145
    total views
  • 19
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Going cosmopolitan, staying national: identity construction in popular discourses on English as a lingua franca
Saito, Akihiro. 2017. "Going cosmopolitan, staying national: identity construction in popular discourses on English as a lingua franca." International Journal of Applied Linguistics. 27 (1), pp. 263-285. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12130
Is English a nuisance or an asset? Japanese youths' discursive constructions of language attitudes
Saito, Akihiro. 2014. "Is English a nuisance or an asset? Japanese youths' discursive constructions of language attitudes." System. 44 (1), pp. 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2014.02.001
Is english our lingua franca or the native speaker's property? The native speaker orientation among middle school students in Japan
Saito, Akihiro. 2012. "Is english our lingua franca or the native speaker's property? The native speaker orientation among middle school students in Japan." Journal Of Language Teaching And Research. 3 (6), pp. 1071-1081. https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.3.6.1071-1081
The construction of language attitudes, English(es), and identities in written accounts of Japanese youths
Saito, Akihiro. 2013. The construction of language attitudes, English(es), and identities in written accounts of Japanese youths. PhD Thesis Doctor of Philosophy. University of Southern Queensland.
Immigrant communities face educational challenges in the 'motherland'
Saito, Akihiro. 2011. "Immigrant communities face educational challenges in the 'motherland'." LingAppl@ Quarterly. 2, pp. 2-2.
Does the ownership rest with us? Global English and the native speaker ideal among Japanese high school students
Saito, Akihiro and Hatoss, Aniko. 2011. "Does the ownership rest with us? Global English and the native speaker ideal among Japanese high school students." International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning. 6 (2), pp. 108-125. https://doi.org/10.5172/ijpl.2011.108
Language attitudes and discursive positioning among Japanese youth on a study English abroad program
Saito, Akihiro. 2010. "Language attitudes and discursive positioning among Japanese youth on a study English abroad program." Desmond, Timothy (ed.) 2nd Asian Conference on Education: Internationalization or Globalization? (ACE2010). Osaka, Japan 02 - 05 Dec 2010 Osaka, Japan.
The sociocultural landscape of English: the discursive constructions of attitudes toward English among Japanese undergraduates on a study English abroad program
Saito, Akihiro. 2010. "The sociocultural landscape of English: the discursive constructions of attitudes toward English among Japanese undergraduates on a study English abroad program." 12th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology. Brisbane, Australia 16 - 19 Jun 2010 Brisbane, Australia.