ABSTRACT

This article is written with the recognition that, as higher education studies evolve as a multidisciplinary area of inquiry, there is a need to reflect on the theoretical and practical concerns emerging from conducting higher education research. This is especially the case for early-career researchers who enter this relatively new field of study. This article attempts to explore the fieldwork component of the research process considering our experiences as early-career researchers conducting PhD studies in four universities in southern and eastern Africa. The article focuses on issues related to ethics, gaining and negotiating access to the field, and dealing with positionality during fieldwork. While reflecting on these experiences, we also attempted to explore if there are any fieldwork dynamics that are peculiar to the African higher education context that may be considered during data collection. Reflecting on our experiences, we have argued that, in some institutions, necessary procedures for researching higher education need to be in place, while with the ones that have institutionalised mechanisms the procedures adopted need to be aligned with contextual realities and should focus on ethical considerations rather than protecting the reputation of universities. Our fieldwork experience has also made us realise that the advice given to early-career researchers both in the literature, seminars and courses they attend may not adequately prepare them for the unpredictable fieldwork dynamics. In that regard, we have suggested that there is a need to prepare emerging researchers to be open-minded, flexible, reflexive, innovative and adaptable when going out to the field.

摘要

撰写本文时认识到，随着高等教育研究发展为一个多学科的探究领域，有必要反思开展高等教育研究中出现的理论和实践问题。对于进入这个相对较新的研究领域的早期职业研究人员来说尤其如此。本文试图探讨研究过程中的实地考察部分，考虑到我们作为早期职业研究人员在南部和东部非洲四所大学进行博士研究的经验。本文重点关注与道德、获得和谈判进入该领域以及处理实地工作中的立场相关的问题。在反思这些经历的同时，我们还试图探索在数据收集过程中是否有任何非洲高等教育环境特有的田野调查动态。回顾我们的经验，我们认为，在一些机构中，研究高等教育的必要程序需要到位，而对于那些具有制度化机制的机构，所采用的程序需要与背景现实保持一致，并应侧重于伦理考虑而不是保护大学的声誉。我们的实地考察经验也使我们意识到，在文献、研讨会和他们参加的课程中为早期职业研究人员提供的建议可能不足以让他们为不可预测的实地考察动态做好准备。在这方面，