'James always hangs out here: making space for place in studying masculinity at school (O'Donoghue)
It's Friday afternoon--just 20 minutes shy of the end of what felt like an extremely long week. My students are visibly antsy. The sun is shining and they are glancing longingly out the window.
"Can we please go outside" a student begs.
The class is noisy and unfocused and I am fighting a losing battle in maintaining a sense of order within the confines of the walls.
"Ok"-I say, "we can all go outside for the last 15 minutes if--" the excitement and anticipation is palpable-- "if you can remain silent and focused for a full 5 minutes to finish up your paragraphs"
There is a frantic scurrying as students pull their chairs close to their desks, eyes dart frantically over their screens as they hurry to finish the work, quiet whispers and exaggerated glances are exchanged reminding one another of their collective vow of silence.
5 minutes pass and they are free--outside they run, unable to get past one another fast enough. The boys grab a basketball and form two teams on the basketball court. The girls, unsure of their place outside at one become spectators and take the gendered role of 'cheerleaders' in support of this masculine display of athleticism. One boy, uninterested in basketball, sits alone--he is positioned away from the girls, away from the boys, and away from where I, the teacher, am located. His physical space within the group demonstrates his perception of acceptance within the hetero-normative gender roles being performed in the schoolyard.
In reading Donal O'Donoghue's article, I wish I had a camera to hand to this young man in order to capture his perception of space. What function do specific spaces around our school hold? In fact, if each of these students were given a camera and asked to document and represent the spaces around the school, what would we learn?
What does this particular research method offer, and what does it not offer?
O'Donoghue's states that:
"In coming to understand and re/present that which is nonverbal, nonlinear, multimodal and multidimensional, it is important to search for research methods that are nonverbal, nonlinear, multimodal and multidimensional that can best interrogate, capture and re/present that which is being studied."
Approaching this study from an arts-based methodology, particularly that of a/r/tography affords the researcher the flexibility to see the world through the eyes of the participant. Furthermore, arts-based research allows for attention to "the particular, rather than the general" (O'Donoghue) in each photograph and accompanying text represents the experience of a particular child. Taken together, certain themes can emerge to provide a more full picture of what students are experiencing on an individual and holistic level. If a camera was given to 'James' who hangs out in the corner, I wonder what James' perception and representation of space would be?
While there are many benefits to this method of research, there is also the risk of misinterpreting the meaning of the visuals and accompanying text. Additionally, depending on the age and exposure of the participants to using cameras, it may take the researcher a period of time to guide children on how to document their experiences.
How does this method compare to interviewing, both in terms of collection strategies and analysis methods?
During interviewing, the researcher can ask questions and delve further into answers provided by the participant. At the same time, the participant may be actively trying to hold something back, or may not even be aware of his/her own feelings or understandings on a given topic. This is especially true in working with 10/11 year olds, as O'Donoghue was in this study.
Visuals can be a powerful tool of expression, but can also be interpreted in a number of ways depending on the viewer's experiences. In observing, analysing and producing art, we each bring our own life experiences and views about the world to a piece of work. As such, analysis methods may conform to the viewpoints and interpretation of a particular researcher. It may be necessary to have multiple interpretations of visuals in order to better confirm analysis.
"Can we please go outside" a student begs.
The class is noisy and unfocused and I am fighting a losing battle in maintaining a sense of order within the confines of the walls.
"Ok"-I say, "we can all go outside for the last 15 minutes if--" the excitement and anticipation is palpable-- "if you can remain silent and focused for a full 5 minutes to finish up your paragraphs"
There is a frantic scurrying as students pull their chairs close to their desks, eyes dart frantically over their screens as they hurry to finish the work, quiet whispers and exaggerated glances are exchanged reminding one another of their collective vow of silence.
5 minutes pass and they are free--outside they run, unable to get past one another fast enough. The boys grab a basketball and form two teams on the basketball court. The girls, unsure of their place outside at one become spectators and take the gendered role of 'cheerleaders' in support of this masculine display of athleticism. One boy, uninterested in basketball, sits alone--he is positioned away from the girls, away from the boys, and away from where I, the teacher, am located. His physical space within the group demonstrates his perception of acceptance within the hetero-normative gender roles being performed in the schoolyard.
In reading Donal O'Donoghue's article, I wish I had a camera to hand to this young man in order to capture his perception of space. What function do specific spaces around our school hold? In fact, if each of these students were given a camera and asked to document and represent the spaces around the school, what would we learn?
What does this particular research method offer, and what does it not offer?
O'Donoghue's states that:
"In coming to understand and re/present that which is nonverbal, nonlinear, multimodal and multidimensional, it is important to search for research methods that are nonverbal, nonlinear, multimodal and multidimensional that can best interrogate, capture and re/present that which is being studied."
Approaching this study from an arts-based methodology, particularly that of a/r/tography affords the researcher the flexibility to see the world through the eyes of the participant. Furthermore, arts-based research allows for attention to "the particular, rather than the general" (O'Donoghue) in each photograph and accompanying text represents the experience of a particular child. Taken together, certain themes can emerge to provide a more full picture of what students are experiencing on an individual and holistic level. If a camera was given to 'James' who hangs out in the corner, I wonder what James' perception and representation of space would be?
While there are many benefits to this method of research, there is also the risk of misinterpreting the meaning of the visuals and accompanying text. Additionally, depending on the age and exposure of the participants to using cameras, it may take the researcher a period of time to guide children on how to document their experiences.
How does this method compare to interviewing, both in terms of collection strategies and analysis methods?
During interviewing, the researcher can ask questions and delve further into answers provided by the participant. At the same time, the participant may be actively trying to hold something back, or may not even be aware of his/her own feelings or understandings on a given topic. This is especially true in working with 10/11 year olds, as O'Donoghue was in this study.
Visuals can be a powerful tool of expression, but can also be interpreted in a number of ways depending on the viewer's experiences. In observing, analysing and producing art, we each bring our own life experiences and views about the world to a piece of work. As such, analysis methods may conform to the viewpoints and interpretation of a particular researcher. It may be necessary to have multiple interpretations of visuals in order to better confirm analysis.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we, as researchers should keep in mind that there are certain risks associated with any type of of methodology. There is no perfect one. Just like what you said, it may take researchers some time to guide/train how children to use and record their experiences using camera. Also, not everyone feels comfortable recording themselves on camera; however, i think the self-reflection process would be extremely valuable and beneficial. It is also interesting what you mention about having multiple interpretations of visual for analysis. It sounds similar to the concept of “triangulation”-using different visual approaches to ensure the accuracy and validity of the data collected.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteA story to show the risk of misinterpretation. A classmate of mine, whom I have only got to know for a few months, told me something he had seen on CNN. I was waiting for him to tell me about the news, but somehow my facial expression sent out a wrong message. He added: Oh, you know, CNN, it's a news channel in America.
I agree with you that methods used in this article would enable incredible richness in capturing the non-verbal and other unorthodox data for research. But at the same time, those data could be misinterpreted by a mile. I wonder what would help to lower the risks? Maybe get to know the participants before the research would be useful, together with triangulations.
Fascinating conversation! Sarah, your story about your class added another dimension to this discussion, as did Jingyu’s CNN story. Great points made here about triangulation, interpretation, etc.!
ReplyDelete