Counter-narrative as method: Researching immigrant teachers differently

Abstract

This article addresses the ethical question concerning how educational research helps immigrant teachers gain authority and ownership over their self-understanding and self-becoming. By critically examining prior research and analysing the dominant discourse surrounding this specific group, we highlight the limitations and ethical implications of existing findings. We problematise current methodological approaches ito advocate for the necessity of counter-narratives. By empowering immigrant teachers to ‘author(w)rite’ their own accounts, this form of authorship broadens scholarly discourse, allowing them to pursue self-understanding and assert agency over their narratives. To illustrate our contention, we present our counter-narratives in the form of satirical poetry within boxed texts, highlighting the need to expand and complicate conventional research practices. Through subversive discourse, we emphasise more empowering methodologies in the ethical interpretation and representation of immigrant teacher participants. We suggest that counter-narratives offer an alternative lens through which to examine the lived realities and emotions of immigrant teachers, ultimately enriching scholarly discussions and fostering a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of their humanity.