This article explores the methodological opportunities and challenges I encountered,
as a disabled researcher, while doing research on the educational experiences and
career aspirations of a group of young disabled people, still in full-time
mainstream or special education. While the key barriers facing disabled researchers
are recognized, they are challenged in this article and rather seen as
opportunities. Further, they are diluted by the ontological privileges that are at
the disposal of the disabled researcher, including the use of empathy, which
provides a way of understanding other people's experiences in the context
of both similarities and differences between the researcher and the researched. This
article focuses on three methods of qualitative enquiry – namely,
classroom observation, forum theatre workshops and individual interviews. It
explores how they were employed to ensure the voices of young disabled people were
captured by the research process in ways that reflect their views and recognize them
as active social agents who are able to make decisions about their own futures.
Ainley, J.
,
Robinson, L.
,
Harvey-Beavis, A.
,
Elsworth, G.
and
Fleming, M.
(1994) Subject Choice in Years 11 and 12.
Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service
.
2.
Barnardo's
(2001) Children's Disability Resource Centre:
Barnardo's Consultation with Children and Young People.
London: Barnardo's
.
3.
Becker, H.
(1966/7)
‘Whose Side Are You On?’
, Social Problems14:
239–247
.
Blumer, H.
(1971) ‘Society as Symbolic
Interaction’, in
A.N. Rose
(ed.) Human Behaviour and Social Processes, pp.
1–5.
London: Routledge
.
6.
Boal, A.
(1998) Legislative Theatre: Using Performance to Make
Politics.
London: Routledge
.
7.
Boal, A.
(2002) Games for Actors and Non-Actors.
London: Routledge
.
8.
Bogdan, R.
(1974) Being Different: The Autobiography of Jane Fry.
London: Wiley
.
9.
Bondi, L.
(2003)
‘Empathy and Identification: Conceptual Resources for Feminist Fieldwork’
, ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies2(1):
64–76
, URL (consulted July 2004): http://www.acme-journal.org/vol2/Bondi.pdf
10.
Christensen, P.
and
James, A.
(2000) Research with Children Perspectives and
Practices.
London: Falmer Press
.
11.
Clifford, S.
and
Herrmann, A.
(2002) Making a Leap: Theatre of Empowerment – A
Practical Handbook for Creative Drama Work with Young People.
London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
.
12.
Cochran, L.
(1990) ‘Narrative as a Paradigm for Career
Research’, in
R.A. Young
and
W.A. Borgen
(eds) Methodological Approaches to the Study of Career, pp.
77–102.
New York: Prager
.
13.
Crenshaw, K.W.
(1995) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality,
Identity Politics and Violence against Women of Colour; Part Six: Intersection
of Race and Gender’, in
K. Crenshaw
,
N. Golaude
,
G. Peller
and
K. Thomas
(eds) Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings that Formed the
Movement, pp. 357–383.
New York: The New Press
.
14.
DFEE (Department for Education and Employment)
(1997) Green Paper: Excellence for all Children: Meeting
Special Educational Needs.
London: HMSO
.
15.
DFEE
(2001) Special Education Needs and Disability Act 2001.
London: HMSO
.
16.
Dfes (Department for Education and Skills)
(2004) Removing Barriers to Achievement.
Nottingham: DfES Publications
.
17.
Disability Rights Commission
(2000) DRC Disability Briefing: November 2000.
London: Disability Rights Commission
.
18.
DIY Theatre Company
and
Goodley, D.
(1999)
‘People with Learning Difficulties Share Views on their
Involvement in a Performing Arts Group’
, Community, Work & Family1(3):
367–379
.
19.
Donmoyer, R.
and
Yennie-Donmoyer, J.
(1995)
‘Data as Drama: Reflections on the Use of Reader's
Theatre as a Mode of Qualitative Data Display’
, Qualitative Inquiry1(4):
402–428
.
20.
Edwards, A.D.
and
Westgate, D.P.G.
(1987) Investigating Classroom Talk.
Lewes: Falmer Press
.
21.
Finch, J.
(1984) ‘“It's Great To Have
Someone To Talk To”: Ethics and Politics of Interviewing
Women’, in
C. Bell
and
H. Roberts
(eds) Social Researching: Politics, Problems, Practice, pp.
70–87.
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul
.
22.
Fitzgerald, H.
(2004)
‘Dramatising PE: Using Drama in PE Research’
, Paper presented to British Educational Research Association
Annual Conference, Manchester, September.
23.
Fitzgerald, H.
,
Jobling, A.
and
Kirk, D.
(2003a)
‘Listening to the “Voices” of Students with
Severe Learning Difficulties through a Task-based Approach to Research and
Learning in Physical Education’
, Support for Learning British Journal of Learning Support18(3):
123–129
.
24.
Fitzgerald, H.
,
Jobling, A.
and
Kirk, D.
(2003b)
‘Valuing the Voices of Young Disabled People: Exploring
Experiences of Physical Education and Sport’
, European Journal of Physical Education8(2):
175–201
.
25.
Gerber, D.A.
(1990)
‘Listening to Disabled People: The Problem of Voice and
Authority’, in R.B. Edgarton ‘The Cloak of Competence’
, Disability, Handicap and Society5(1):
3–23
.
26.
Giroux, H.A.
and
Freire, P.
(eds) (1993) Raising Curtains on Education: Drama as a Site
for Critical Pedagogy.
Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey
.
27.
Harvey, M.
(1984)
‘Pupil Awareness of the Career Pathways and Choice Points in High School’
, Educational Review36(1):
53–66
.
28.
Hodkinson, P.
and
Bloomer, M.
(2003)
‘Cultural Capital and Young People's Career Progression
Part 2: Making Sense of their Stories’
, Career Research and Development8:
3–6
.
29.
Hodkinson, P.
,
Sparkes, A.C.
and
Hodkinson, H.
(1996) Triumphs and Tears: Young People, Markets and the
Transition from School to Work.
London: David Fulton
.
30.
hooks, b.
(1995) Art On My Mind: Visual Politics.
New York: The New Press
.
31.
Jones, J.R.
(1983) ‘History Methodology’,
in
G. Morgan
(ed.) Beyond Method: Strategies for Social Science Research, pp.
124–140.
London: Sage
.
32.
Karl, M.
(1995) Women and Empowerment: Participation and Decision
Making.
New Jersey: Zed Books
.
33.
Lawrence, R.L.
and
Mealman, C.A.
(2000)
‘Unleashing the Artist Within: New Directions for Research in
Adult Education’
, Paper presented at the Adult Education Research Annual
Conference, University of British Columbia, Canada,
2–4 June.
34.
Leicester, M.
(1999) Disability Voice – Towards an Enabling Education.
London, Philadelphia, PN: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
.
35.
Martin, A.
(2004) ‘Do the Right Thing’,
Care & Health Magazine, 24–25 September.
36.
Moser, C.A.
(1958) Survey Methods in Social Investigation.
London: Heinemann
.
37.
Norris, J.
(2000)
‘Drama as Research: Realizing the Potential of Drama in Education
as a Research Methodology’
, Youth Theatre Journal14:
40–51
.
38.
Oakley, A.
(1981) ‘Interviewing Women: A Contradiction in
Terms’, in
H. Roberts
(ed.) Doing Feminist Research, pp.
30–61.
London: Routledge
.
39.
O'Kane, C.
(2000) ‘The Development of Participatory
Techniques: Facilitating Children's Views about Decisions which Affect
Them’, in
P. Christensen
and
A. James
(eds) Research with Children Perspectives and Practices, pp.
70–85.
London: Falmer Press
.
40.
Read, J.
and
Clements, L.
(2001) Disabled Children and the Law: Research and Good
Practice.
London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
.
41.
Reay, D.
(1996)
‘Insider Perspectives of Stealing the Words Out of
Women's Mouths: Interpretation in the Research Process’
, Feminist Review53:
57–73
.
42.
Reinharz, S.
(1979) On Becoming a Social Scientist.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
.
43.
Riessman, C.K.
(1994) ‘Subjectivity Matters: The Positioned
Investigator’, in
C.K. Riessman
(ed.) Qualitative Studies in Social Work Research, pp.
133–138.
London: Sage
.
44.
Roberts, D.
,
Flynn, M.
and
Hirst, M.
(1988) ‘Development and Piloting of an Interview
Schedule for Use with Young People with Mental Handicap’,
Working Paper DHSS 483 10/88,
University of York: Social Policy Research Unit
.
45.
Save the Children (1999) Children and Participation
Research, Monitoring and Evaluation with Children and Young People.
London: Save the Children
.
46.
Schutz, A.
(1967) Collected Papers Volume I, 2nd edition.
The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff
.
47.
Springgay, S.
(2003) Communities Seeing Themselves Seeing: Visual Art as
Educational Research.
Chicago, IL: Presentation for American
Educational Research Association
.
48.
Stanley, L.
and
Wise, S.
(1993) Breaking Out Again: Feminist Ontology and
Epistemology.
London: Routledge
.
49.
Taylor, R.D.
(1998)
‘Flaming the Spark of Controversial Research’
, Youth Theatre Journal12:
84–88
.
50.
Vernon, A.
(1997) Reflexivity: The Dilemmas of Researching from the
Inside’, in
C. Barnes
and
G. Mercer
(eds) Doing Disability Research, pp.
158–176.
Leeds: The Disability Press
.
51.
Warton, P.M.
and
Cooney, G.H.
(1997)
‘Information and Choice of Subjects in the Senior School’
, British Journal of Guidance and Counselling25(3):
389–397
.
Wheatley, E.
(1994)
‘Dances with Feminist: Truth, Dares and Ethnographic Stares’
, Women's Studies International Forum17(4):
421–423
.
54.
Whitely, S.
and
Porter, J.
(2004) ‘Student Perceptions of Subject Selection:
Longitudinal Perspectives from Queensland Schools’, URL
(consulted October 2004): http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/publications/research/te/tepa/stud-perc-98.pdf
