Reflections on methodology: Dilemmas in a research project about the educational experiences of refugee-background youth

Reflections on methodology: Dilemmas in a research project about the educational experiences of refugee-background youth

In this presentation I will share some reflections on how I have dealt with methodology design in the early stages of my PhD candidature leading up to data collection. I will particularly focus on the dilemmas that I have encountered so far as I search for a methodology that would allow me to ethically report on the educational experiences of refugee-background youth while positioning my research within decolonial thinking. This process becomes even more complex when I take into consideration the contradictions between my theoretical underpinnings and the constraints of 'academic' standards and PhD expectations. A decolonial paradigm criticises the hegemony of Eurocentric principles in academia and contests concepts of universal reason and scientific rationality. Standard qualitative methodologies and thesis formats are part of this system of knowledge production that is seen as oppressive and shortsighted by decolonial thinkers. By choosing to work within this critical epistemology I placed myself in an in-between space where I question what has been established as academic tradition at the same time that I attempt to complete a PhD that fulfills the institutional requirements of a Western university. Another goal of this presentation is to generate a discussion with the audience about their views/experiences on methodology and how (if possible at all) new scholars can break away from 'standard' PhD methodologies/thesis writing, while working within the contexts of Australian universities.

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