Mokytojui - visaverčiam tyrimo dalyviui - kylantys iššūkiai atliekant etnografinį tyrimą

LTŠiame straipsnyje keliamas tyrimo klausimas: su kokiais iššūkiais susiduria mokytojas-visavertis tyrimo dalyvis, kuris atlieka etnografinį tyrimą? Literatūros analizė teigia, jog mokytojas-visavertis tyrimo dalyvis turi privalumų: geresnis grupės kultūros supratimas; laisvesnis ir natūralesnis elgesys su tiriamaisiais; artimesnis santykis su tiriamaisiais (Bonner ir Tolhurst, 2002), bet ir susiduria su tam tikrais iššūkiais: objektyvumo stoka, tyrimo etika, skirtingų vaidmenų valdymas, konfliktinių situacijų poveikis tyrimui ir kt. Pugh, Mitchell, and Brooks (2000) pataria išlaikyti pusiausvyrą tarp tam tikrų vaidmenų: tyrėjo ir vidinio (insider) žmogaus bendruomenėje vaidmens, taip sumažinant kylančių iššūkių skaičių. Šiame straipsnyje kreipiamas dėmesys į mokytojo-tyrėjo, visaverčio tyrimo dalyvio (insider), išskirtinumą, pateikiamos autorės įžvalgos, kaip jai pavyko susidoroti su iškylančiais iššūkiais. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Etnografinis tyrimas; Iššūkiai; Mokytojas; Visavertis tyrimo dalyvis; Challenges; Challenges, teacher-researcher; Complete participant; Ethnographic inquiry; Teacher-researcher.

ENThe study of cultural practices is a process of the research during which the scholar tries to obtain the inside information about the daily life and social events of those who are being investigated. The researcher' s goal is to understand the social culture construction process from inside, or, in other words, to observe it through the eyes of those who are being studied (insider perspective). What and how we will observe depends on the chosen method of participant observation. Spradley (1980) distinguishes five participant observation types: non-participatory, passive participation, moderate participation, active participation, and complete participation. According to this, we can separate two main types: complete participant (insider) is the one who already knows the environment he is researching and participates in the group; non-participant is the one who comes "fresh" and does know neither the environment he is studying nor the people. Even though in the academic literature pays a lot of attention to analyze the roles of insider and outsider (differences, similarities, comparisons etc.) it is pretty difficult to find content about what challenges does the teacher-complete participant (insider) has to face and how it is possible to overcome those challenges. Research question: what kind of challenges does the teacher-complete participant is facing during the ethnographic research? Research goal: to find out, what problems does the teacher-complete participant encounter when doing ethnographic research. The literature analysis reveals that researcher-complete participant has a lot of advantages: he is able to understand the researched culture better; his behavior towards the researched ones is more natural and relaxed; he is able to develop a much closer relationship with the group (Bonner & Tolhurst, 2002).On the other hand, the complete participant also faces many challenges: lack of objectivity, research ethics problems, management of different roles (researcher-teacher), the influence of conflict situations etc. Scholars (Chavez, 2008; Innes, 2009; Kusow, 2003) states that researchers-complete participants may lack objectivity. It becomes a challenge to be objective because the researcher already has his own perception of the group culture which can prevent him from "seeing the reality". As a consequence, the researcher may come to wrong conclusions. Brannick & Coghlan (2007) suggest attempting to analyze research results from different perspectives: both from the own eyes (as a researcher) and from the perspective of the ones who are being studied. According to Dadich (2004), the scholar usually has to face ethical problems: for example, research participants often try to cater the researcher, they only want to show their bright sides. Other scholars (Delyser, 2001; Kanuha, 2000) points out another ethical problem teacher-complete participant has to solve: how to balance between being the insider and being the researcher. This problem is also discussed by Spradley (1980): he states that in our daily life we are participants who do not think about the rules and act as usual without observing ourselves from the side. The scholar marks out two main goals the complete participant should always keep in mind: 1. Take actions in certain situations. 2. Observe people and actions they are doing in those situations. Conflict situations are even a bigger challenge for a teacher – researcher. When reading academic literature we can notice that in ethnographic based researches the importance of "close and warm" relationship with the studied group is highlighted.The co-operation between the researcher and the group is very important. It is also crucial winning the trust of the group. The scholar should be considered as a friend so the group would not be afraid of him, would be more willing to give useful information for the research. Nevertheless, in conflict situations teacher is being placed in a crossroad: he has the power to lead the learning process but is also influenced by numerous emotions, the mood of students and also by his attitude towards the job itself. When failing to guide the education process, it is natural that a teacher is induced by negative emotions: anger, disappointment, desire to run away from the students or to somehow repress them using the "power" he has. That is where the biggest problem appears: how to maintain a warm relationship in the conflict situations? These challenges are the main ones which teacher-complete participant has to face. They require the researcher to work very rigorously, incorporate academic literature, intuition, and self-observation. Only by doing that the scholar will be able to obtain "pure" results of the research which will provoke to rethink, reflect, and analyze not only the information of the research but also himself. This article explains what kind of challenges teacher-complete participant has to face during the ethnographic research process both from the theoretical and practical perspective. It also reveals what methodological problems appear while gathering data using participant observation method. Even though the article gives suggestions how a teacher-complete participant can deal with emerging issues, the question of conflict situations remains unsolved. That is why the conflict situations problem can be discussed and analyzed in another academic article. [From the publication]