Conducting research in an ethical manner entails both official procedures, including research permits31 and the informed consent of participants, and the practice, behaviour and reflexivity of the researcher. Essentially, ethical decision making is about being conscious of one’s values, principles and allegiance to ethical codes, intuition and feelings within a context characterised by professional and power relationships (deLaine 2000). Scheyvens, Nowak and Storey (2006) have emphasised building mutually beneficial relationships and acting in a sensitive and responsible manner as crucial characteristics of ethical fieldwork in a foreign setting. Discussing ethical strategies for youth voice research, Kiragu et al. (2011, 260–261) suggest five strategies for respectful placement of the voices of vulnerable young people at the centre of a study, including: 1) participant engagement, 2) building a relationship be-tween researcher and researched, 3) researcher subjectivity, 4) considerations of power and 5) research as intervention. The ethical issues related to this present study are discussed in relation to these five strategies.
According to Kiragu et al. (2011), participant engagement can be enhanced by adopting appropriate and engaging research methods. In this study, both the empathy-based stories and the questionnaire were received with enthusiasm. The stories of Asha
31 A research permit for this study was granted by the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH). Research permit No. 2009-297-NA-2008-168
and Roza enabled the girls to think about future scenarios, and many respondents stated this was the first time they had thought about the coming transition in such concrete terms. Many stories written by the students ended by explaining the personal plans of the girls and the personal commitments made, which were inspired by Asha’s and Roza’s stories. This alone could be an argument for using empathy-based stories when studying young people, especially girls, in a setting where they are in a marginalised position and where little room is left for them to express their thoughts and opinions.
Similarly, the interviews were received well by the participants. Some were reserved and hesitant in the beginning, but the vision board exercise greatly motivated the young women to think about their future and speak more freely during the formal interview.
Discussing methods used in studies by Northern researchers in the Global South, Nast (1994) has suggested choosing methods that promote mutual respect, identify commonalities and differences between researchers and research participants in non-authoritative ways, and that allow for ‘others’ to be heard and empowered. In Tanza-nian culture, lengthy greetings and asking about how one’s family is doing are common practices in every social encounter. This culture greatly facilitated building relationships with the research participants through informal conversations. In these situations, we collaborated with my colleague who served as an interpreter and made a joint effort to create an open and relaxed atmosphere for the interviews.
During the interviews, researcher subjectivity was conveyed by presenting the interviewees with the questionnaires they had filled out over a year ago and discussing how they felt about their answers at that time. Presenting and discussing the vision boards also provided opportunities for a democratic approach to the data. In their study on socially excluded Irish teenagers, Byrne et al. (2009) implemented participatory data analysis utilising the VCR method and considered it to enhance long-term, process-focussed, respectful and ethical engagement with the research group. In the future, it would be interesting to try participatory data collection, analysis and reporting in the Tanzanian context as part of student voice research (see Flecha 2011; McLeod 2011).
Issues related to the sense of power and control raise various ethical concerns in research utilising student voice. Kiragu et al. (2011) have suggested careful and con-sistent decisions regarding transcribing voices, language usage and representing voices in written documents to be key considerations regarding power.32 In the VCR method, there is a risk of oversimplification when representing voices and reaching interpreta-tions (Mauthner & Doucet 2003).33 The intensive listening practiced in the VCR readings acknowledges the relationship between the listener (researcher) and the speaker (interviewee), especially with respect to power, privilege and hierarchies
32 These are discussed in more detail in chapter 5.3 under ’Considerations on language, transla-tion and interpretatransla-tion’.
33 With regards to this study, these issues are discussed in detail in the previous chapter 5.3 on language.
(Lehtomäki et al. 2014). While reading the transcripts, I acknowledged some of the silences and misunderstandings caused by the unequal relationship. The interviewees coming from more privileged backgrounds were generally more open in their discussions and also asked for my reasons for conducting the interviews. One of the interviewees asked to be interviewed in English; since she was fluent, I had no reason to refuse. For me as a researcher, interviewing naturally felt more comfortable when done without interpretation. But as Bujra (2006) has reminded, English speakers are likely to be representing the wealthy and powerful. Had I chosen only interviewees competent in English, I may have not been able to include the perspectives of girls coming from poorer and rural backgrounds.
Recognition of the role of researcher as fully involved and responsible for one’s actions entails commitment to empowering research participants (Scheyvens et al.
2006, 141). Kiragu et al. (2011) have argued that, especially among vulnerable youth, it is essential that the people involved get something out of participating the study. In their studies, developmental activities like photography workshops and shared reflections on their involvement in the study have been used to ‘give something back’.
My research interviews focused on over-aged examination repeaters and thereby reinforced the focus of the study on marginalised groups. I aimed at using the interviews to provide the girls who participated with an empowering experience. The vision boards created in the collage exercise and the portrait photographs taken were given to the girls. Being able to make a genuine contribution to the lives of the participants through the reflective questions, vision boards and photographs made the interview experience very positive both for the participants and the researcher.
Furthermore, the decision to conduct the interviews at the university campus proved to be a success. Many of the girls said that entering the campus for the first time greatly motivated them to pursue their professional goals.
6 Overview of sub-studies
The research findings have been published in four peer-reviewed research articles in international research journals. Each sub-study engaged in a discussion around specific themes, including: 1) qualitative methodology in cross-cultural research on education;
2) the role of family in the educational advancement of Tanzanian girls and women; 3) the value given to education in the transition to adulthood; and 4) the potential role of female students’ perspectives in the development of secondary education. To position the studies within the whole of this dissertation, an overview of the four sub-studies is presented here describing the focus, methodological approach and key findings of each study. In this chapter, the findings of the sub-studies are summarised according to the overall research themes and questions to form a basis for the final discussion.
6.1 Study I – Methodological explorations in the study of students’ socio-cultural