Abstract:
Oppression of racial groups, indigenous people, and the disabled continues to be a worldwide problem (Christ, 2007; Mertens, 2007). Historically, acts such as colonization, suppression of knowledge, language, and culture (Denzin, 2010) have resulted in whole groups being voiceless and powerless to change their social conditions. Smith (2006) argues that traditional western research does little to alleviate the oppression that these groups face. Fortunately numerous innovative research techniques have recently emerged that challenges traditional methodologies which does little to support the disenfranchised. Participatory Action Research (Rahman, 2008), Auto-Ethnography (Grbich, 2007), and Narrative Storytelling (Meyer, 2004) are three of the methodologies that have emerged to overshadow the western-based research methods promoted in postsecondary institutions that have done little to alleviate the imbalances in power and authority over the disenfranchised. This chapter highlights the importance of teaching research inclusive of a critical transformative and emancipatory paradigm (Kemmis, 2008; Greene, 2007) that is used to frame research methodologies that better meet the needs of disenfranchised minorities. This chapter also advocates for postsecondary institutions to advance more inclusive curricula designed to brings voice to the oppressed while providing students the skills they need to help advocate for the causes they believe in.
